Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

New login required for SAM

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To do business with the federal government, you need an account in the System for Award Management (SAM).

Whether you already have a SAM account or need to set one up, you need to know there is a new login procedure.

All users attempting to login to SAM are now automatically re-directed to first create a Login.gov user account.  If you already have a SAM username and password they no longer work, and you will be unable to access your SAM account until you have created a Login.gov account.

Creating a Login.gov Account
In order to create a Login.gov account, you will need each of the following:
  1. The email address and password associated with your SAM account.
  2. Access to the same email account to receive all confirmation emails.
  3. A working telephone number through which you can receive the security code that will be sent to you from Login.gov.
Need help with any step of the SAM registration process?

Never fear!  The Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) will provide you with help at no charge.  Simply contact the GTPAC counselor located nearest you; our staff directory is at: http://gtpac.org/team-directory.  (Businesses located outside the state of Georgia can obtain free help from their nearest procurement technical assistance center.  Consult the national contact list at: http://www.aptac-us.org/find-a-ptac.)

Other recent changes to SAM

Each business must mail an original, signed notarized letter to GSA’s Federal Service Desk within thirty (30) days of their SAM activation or risk having their SAM registration deactivated.

Because of recent fraudulent activity associated with the SAM database, the General Services Administration (GSA) issued a rule in late March 2018 that requires all SAM registrants (“entities”) to provide an original, signed notarized letter identifying your company’s “authorized Entity Administrator.”   The notarized letter must follow a strict format.  GSA’s notarized letter template is available here: SAM_Notary_Letter_Template_4.12.18_GSA_version

In instances where businesses have federal contract awards or contract payments pending, GTPAC — and the other PTACs across the country — can offer special assistance to expedite the processing of their notarized letters.  When contacting your PTAC counselor, be sure to let us know if you are facing either of those two circumstances.

Don’t get stuck with an expired SAM registration — be alert to changes in the renewal process

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If your business is registered in the federal government’s System for Award Management (SAM), you must renew your registration annually.

Be alert: Change is coming!

Whether you are familiar with the SAM renewal process or a newcomer to the process, things are about to change on June 29th.

Beginning June 29, 2018, two changes take place:

  • A new login process for SAM takes effect.  As a result of the new process, all users attempting to log in to SAM will be automatically be re-directed to create a Login.gov user account.  Your current SAM username and password will no longer work beginning on June 29th, and you will be unable to access your SAM account until you have created a Login.gov account.  (See “Creating a Login.gov Account” below.)
  • You’ll have more time to submit a notarized letter.  Businesses who create or update their registration in SAM also will no longer need to have an approved Entity Administrator notarized letter on file before their registration is activated or renewed.  Once your SAM account is activated, you’ll have 30 days to submit the notarized letter.  (See “Creating a Notarized Letter” below.)
Creating a Login.gov Account
In order to create a Login.gov account, you will need each of the following:
  1. The email address and password associated with your SAM account.
  2. Access to the same email account to receive all confirmation emails.
  3. A working telephone number through which you can receive the security code that will be sent to you from Login.gov.

Remember, once June 29, 2018 arrives, your SAM username and password will be deactivated, and you will no longer be able to access your SAM account with those credentials.

Creating a Notarized Letter

Each business must mail an original, signed notarized letter to GSA’s Federal Service Desk within thirty (30) days of their SAM activation or risk having their SAM registration deactivated.

Because of recent fraudulent activity associated with the SAM database, the General Services Administration (GSA) issued a rule in late March 2018 that requires all SAM registrants (“entities”) to provide an original, signed notarized letter identifying your company’s “authorized Entity Administrator.”   The notarized letter must follow a strict format.  GSA’s notarized letter template is available here: SAM_Notary_Letter_Template_4.12.18_GSA_version

Need help with any step of the SAM registration or renewal process?

Never fear!  The Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) will provide you with help at no charge.  Simply contact the GTPAC counselor located nearest you; our staff directory is at: http://gtpac.org/team-directory.  (Businesses located outside the state of Georgia can obtain free help from their nearest procurement technical assistance center.  Consult the national contact list at: http://www.aptac-us.org/find-a-ptac.)

In instances where businesses have federal contract awards or contract payments pending, GTPAC — and the other PTACs across the country — can offer special assistance to expedite the processing of their notarized letters.  When contacting your PTAC counselor, be sure to let us know if you are facing either of those two circumstances.

Free help available to aid businesses with new SAM registration and renewal requirements

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If your business needs assistance in either establishing or renewing your registration in the federal government’s vendor database known as the System for Award Management (SAM), you can get free help.

Whether you are seeking SAM registration for the first time or you need to accomplish your annual renewal in SAM, the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) will provide you with help at no charge.  (Businesses located outside the state of Georgia can obtain free help from their nearest procurement technical assistance center.  Consult the contact list at: http://www.aptac-us.org/find-a-ptac.)

New SAM Registration Requirements

There are new registration and renewal procedures that are now in place.  Because of recent fraudulent activity associated with the SAM database, the General Services Administration (GSA) issued a rule in late March 2018 that requires all registrants (“entities”) to provide an original, signed notarized letter identifying your company’s “authorized Entity Administrator.”   The notarized letter must be submitted and approved before your registration will be activated.

The notarized letter template is available here: SAM_Notary_Letter_Template_4.12.18_GSA_version

An update to the notarized letter rule was issued by GSA on June 11, 2018.  The update is in two parts:

  1. Effective June 11, 2018, entities who create or update their registration in SAM to apply only for federal assistance opportunities such as grants, loans, and other financial assistance programs  no longer need to have an approved Entity Administrator notarized letter on file before their registration is activated.  (Note that this does not include entities competing for federal contracts.)
  2. Effective June 29, 2018, all non-Federal entities who create or update their registration in SAM also will no longer need to have an approved Entity Administrator notarized letter on file before their registration is activated.  This rule includes businesses that are competing for, or that currently have, federal contracts.

It is important to note that all entities must mail the original, signed notarized letter to GSA’s Federal Service Desk within thirty (30) days of activation or risk having their SAM registration deactivated. 

New SAM Log-In Requirements Take Effect June 29, 2018
GSA is also implementing a new login process for SAM which takes effect on June 29, 2018.  As a result of the new process, all users attempting to log in to SAM on or after June 29, 2018 will be automatically directed to create a Login.gov user account.  Your current SAM username and password will no longer work beginning on June 29th, and you will be unable to access your SAM account until you have created a Login.gov account.
In order to create a Login.gov account, you will need each of the following:
  1. The email address and password associated with your SAM account.
  2. Access to the same email account to receive all confirmation emails.
  3. A working telephone number through which you can receive the security code that will be sent to you from Login.gov.

Remember, once June 29, 2018 arrives, your SAM username and password will be deactivated, and you will no longer be able to access your SAM account with those credentials.

Free Help Is Available!

As mentioned in the second paragraph of this article, GTPAC (or, if you’re located outside Georgia, your local PTAC) will help you with all aspects of the SAM registration and renewal processes.  Simply contact the GTPAC counselor located nearest you; our staff directory is at: http://gtpac.org/team-directory.

In instances where businesses have federal contract awards or contract payments pending, GTPAC and the other PTACs across the country can offer special assistance to expedite the processing of their notarized letters.  When contacting your PTAC counselor, be sure to let us know if you are facing either of those two circumstances.

Further Details

For more help with the SAM registration process, including how to protect your company’s interests, please read:

 

 

70,000 contractors must get notarized letters in next 60 days to continue working for government

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Up to 70,000 federal contractors are heading to their local notary to get that special stamp on a letter that’s destined for the General Services Administration to authenticate the vital details of their business, including who is the authorized “entity administrator associated with the DUNS number.”

These are the first details of the impact on vendors emerging from the latest case of fraud to affect GSA’s System for Award Management (SAM).

A GSA spokeswoman confirmed the agency already received 7,500 notarized letters.

“GSA is making internal business process improvements based on our analysis of the first set of letters received,” the spokeswoman said in an email to Federal News Radio. “We are continuously updating the instructions on SAM.gov to make it easier for entities to be in compliance. Additionally, we have posted templates on SAM.gov for entities to use when submitting their notarized letters.”

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/reporters-notebook/2018/04/70000-contractors-must-get-notarized-letters-in-next-60-days-to-continue-working-for-government/

See GTPAC’s advice for surviving the compromise of the government’s vendor data base here: http://gtpac.org/2018/03/26/tips-for-surviving-compromise-of-governments-vendor-database/

SAM.gov renewals and updates will require notarized letter, effective April 27th

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Effective April 27, 2018, all vendors who are renewing or updating their records in SAM.gov will need to comply with a new notarized letter requirement.

The General Services Administration (GSA) previously announced that because of suspicious fraudulent behavior involving vendor registrations in the SAM.gov database, it would begin requiring submittal of a notarized letter from new registrants.

With the latest announcement by GSA, the notarized letter requirement applies to all entities who are registered in the System for Award Management (SAM).  SAM is the federal government’s vendor database.  It also contains links to several other contract-related functions.

Here is the exact language of GSA’s announcement, dated April 4th: “Beginning on April 27, 2018, entities renewing or updating their registration will be required to submit an original, signed notarized letter confirming the authorized Entity Administrator associated with the DUNS number before the registration is activated.”

To assist vendors in this process, the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) has prepared a template.  The template is available here: SAM_Notary_Letter_Template_v1_GTPAC_03.23.2018

Update: GSA has prepared a template for preparation of the notarized letter.  The template is available here: SAM_Notary_Letter_Template_4.12.18_GSA_version

Georgia businesses who need assistance with this process should contact a GTPAC counselor for no-cost assistance.  A directory of our counselors appears at: http://gtpac.org/team-directory.

Businesses located outside the state of Georgia may obtain free help by contacting a Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) in their state.  A directory of PTACs is at: http://www.aptac-us.org/find-a-ptac.

 

SAM.gov hackers used spearphishing, spoofing, credential theft

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Cybercrooks who stole federal payments by hacking contractor accounts on a General Services Administration (GSA) website used sophisticated spearphishing techniques to steal login credentials and then diverted payments to bank accounts they controlled, an executive of a contractor targeted in the scam told FedScoop.

It’s unclear how much the scammers have netted through their scheme, which is being investigated by the GSA inspector general and federal law enforcement.

The inspector general’s office declined to comment, but sources familiar with the investigation told FedScoop that the cyberattacks that facilitated the fraud had been identified last year and were ongoing as
recently as last week.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.fedscoop.com/sam-gov-hackers-used-spearphishing-spoofing-credential-theft/

Also see Tips for Surviving Compromise of Government’s Vendor Database: http://gtpac.org/2018/03/26/tips-for-surviving-compromise-of-governments-vendor-database/

Federal vendor database — SAM — hacked

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The General Services Administration (GSA) has announced that fraudulent activity has allegedly taken place within the System for Award Management (SAM).

SAM is the federal government’s vendor database.  It also contains links to several other contract-related functions.

Existing SAM registrants are being advised to validate their registration information, particularly their financial information.  If an entity’s financial information in SAM — particularly bank routing information — has been exposed, it is possible for contract payments to be diverted.

Until SAM’s data breach issue is settled, it is going to be particularly difficult for new vendors to register in SAM.

The Federal Service Desk advises that a new entity registering in SAM at www.sam.gov is now required to prepare and submit a notarized letter identifying the authorized Entity’s Administrator before the entity will be activated within the SAM database.

To assist vendors in this process, the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) has prepared a template.  The template is available here: SAM_Notary_Letter_Template_v1_GTPAC_03.23.2018

Update: GSA has prepared a template for preparation of the notarized letter.  The template is available here: SAM_Notary_Letter_Template_4.12.18_GSA_version

As specified by GSA, GTPAC’s template for the notarized letter specifies that it is to:

  • Be on your company/organization letterhead
  • Be signed by your company President, CEO, or other authorized signature authority
  • Contain your company/organization DUNS Number
  • Contain your company/organization Legal Business Name (as associated with the DUNS Number)
  • Contain your company/organization physical address (as associated with the DUNS Number)
  • Contain the new Entity Administrator’s name, phone number, address, and email address
  • Contain the following statement above the signature block of your letter with the appropriate information inserted where noted: “The purpose of this notarized letter is to designate [insert name of Entity Administrator] as Entity Administrator for [insert Legal Business Name].  I, [insert Name and Title of signatory], hereby confirm that [insert name of Entity Administrator] is an authorized officer, agent, or representative of [insert entity Legal Business Name, or, for individuals representing themselves, say him/herself]. This letter will authorize [insert name of Entity Administrator] to have access to the System for Award Management (SAM). SAM is a computer system managed by the U.S. Government, and it is only accessible by individuals who are either authorized to represent a particular entity, or by individuals representing themselves. Accessing or using SAM, or information contained therein, for any unauthorized or illegal purposes, may have civil and criminal penalties, and may negatively impact the status of the SAM registration maintained on this entity. I, the below-signed, attest to the accuracy of all information contained in this letter.”

Vendors are reminded that there is no cost to register in SAM — it is free.

You must mail the original letter, signed by the Notary, to:

FEDERAL SERVICE DESK

ATTN: SAM.GOV REGISTRATION PROCESSING

100 CAPITOL COMMERCE BLVD STE 309

MONTGOMERY, AL 36117-4260

Address Update:

FEDERAL SERVICE DESK

ATTN: ​SAM.GOV​ REGISTRATION PROCESSING

460 INDUSTRIAL BLVD

LONDON, KY 40741-7285

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Georgia businesses who need assistance with this process should contact a GTPAC counselor for no-cost assistance.  A directory of our counselors appears at: http://gtpac.org/team-directory.

Businesses located outside the state of Georgia may contact the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) in their state.  A directory is at: http://www.aptac-us.org/find-a-ptac.

Bipartisan Senate bill introduced to protect small businesses from contracting fraud

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U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) are introducing bipartisan legislation to help protect small businesses from falling victim to fraud when they register as vendors for federal contracts.

The Procurement Fraud Prevention Act would require small businesses to be notified that free assistance is available for help in procuring federal contracts through federal programs, including Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs), the Small Business Administration (SBA), and the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA).  Many business owners are unaware these resources exist and fall victim to scams that mislead them into paying high sums of money for contract procurement assistance.

All small businesses applying for federal contracting opportunities must register in the General Services Administration’s System for Award Management (SAM). Unfortunately, bad actors obtain businesses’ contact information from this public database and then email business owners asking for high sums of money in return for registration and contracting assistance. Some scammers impersonate government officials in order to mislead businesses into paying for these services.  As a result, many small businesses unwittingly sign up for services they were not seeking at the cost of hundreds or thousands of dollars. While various firms provide legitimate contracting assistance, bad actors intentionally use predatory tactics to drain money from small businesses.

The Procurement Fraud Prevention Act will require GSA and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to ensure that any direct communication to a small business about its registration in a procurement system, including SAM, contains information about cost-free federal procurement technical assistance services available through PTACs, SBA, MBDA, and other programs. These services — like those offered by the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) — are readily available to help small businesses succeed.

PTACs across the country, including GTPAC, regularly report small businesses coming to them after these fraudulent encounters, seeking corrective action, with some PTACs reporting up to 10 fraudulent solicitations per week.  The Georgia Tech PTAC serves 2,200 businesses across Georgia through offices in Atlanta, Gainesville, Carrollton, Athens, Augusta, Savannah, Albany, and Warner Robins.

“The nation’s small businesses are being exploited by fraudulent operators who mislead federal contracting newcomers into believing that they must pay exorbitant registration fees in order to be eligible for government contracts,” said Terri Bennett, president of the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC).  “The legislation introduced by Senator Gary Peters and Senator Susan Collins will require federal agencies to be proactive in notifying small businesses that the help they need is available at no cost through programs like the nationwide network of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs).  This should go a long way to stop the exploitation of small businesses.”

“Small businesses would benefit greatly from the Procurement Fraud Prevention Act,” said John Arensmeyer, Founder & CEO of Small Business Majority. “Many small businesses are falling victim to scams after they register with the System for Award Management to compete for a contract because they do not realize they are entitled to free registration and procurement assistance through existing federal programs. Small business owners have enough to worry about without scammers making them think they need to pay additional fees to compete, and we encourage lawmakers to approve the Procurement Fraud Prevention Act in order to make the federal contract procurement process as painless as possible for small firms.”

SAM’s link to SBA’s small business database is temporarily down

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SAM logoSmall businesses need to be aware of the fact that the link between the System for Award Management (SAM) and the Small Business Administration’s Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) is broken.  SBA estimates that repair of this link may make as much as six weeks.

The link between SAM and DSBS is important because it is the means by which many small businesses create and maintain a complete profile of their capabilities in SBA’s database.  Government contracting officers and large prime contractors use the DSBS database to identify small businesses for possible consideration as contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers.

SBA reports that the link between SAM and DSBS (pictured above) is down. Repair is expected to take six weeks.
SBA reports that the link between SAM and DSBS (pictured above) is down. Repair is expected to take six weeks.

Right now, registrants in SAM who try to use the link there to SBA’s DSBS (also known as “Supplemental Pages”) receive an error message.

There is a work-around for small businesses wishing to create or edit a file in DSBS.  Small businesses can access DSBS via SBA’s Global Login System (GLS).  To update your SBA Supplemental Pages via SBA’s GLS:

  • Go to https://eweb.sba.gov/gls/dsp_login.cfm.
  • You will need to register and set up an account in the GLS system if you haven’t already.
  • In GLS, you will request access to PRO-NET/DSBS and click SBA Supplemental Pages.
  • Once you are granted access to PRO-NET/DSBS, you can then click the link to update your SBA Supplemental Pages in DSBS.

Counselors with the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) are familiar with these systems and will assist any Georgia business with the SAM and DSBS registration processes.  Like all other services provided, GTPAC charges no fee for this assistance.

If you are located outside the state of Georgia, you can obtain help with registrations from the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) nearest you.  To search for a nearby PTAC, use the map at: http://www.aptac-us.org/find-a-ptac/

SAM ‘inelegant and cumbersome’ says GSA CIO

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The System for Award Management (SAM) is operational but it’s not what the future of acquisition systems should look like, said Sonny Hashmi, chief information officer at the General Services Administration (GSA).

Commonly called “SAM,” the consolidated acquisition system launched in August 2012 to bring together three previously separate systems.

“It is still inelegant and cumbersome. We have done just enough to make it operational,” said Hashmi during an April 11 chat on GitHub.

Shortly after the system went live, SAM ran into a variety of problems that required the back-end security architecture, business process management layer and database schema to be completely reconfigured.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/sam-inelegant-and-cumbersome-says-gsa-cio/2014-04-16

Don’t pay anyone to register your company in SAM.  SAM registration is free!  For details, please visit: http://gtpac.org/sam-gov-registration-is-free-and-help-with-sam-is-free-too 

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