The FAR Council has clarified the inconsistencies around when companies need to be registered in SAM.gov and as Richard Arnholt of Bass, Berry & Sims writes, the requirements are simpler but not softer.
Technology vendors, like all federal contractors, must register in the federal System for Award Management (SAM) to do business with the government and receive federal funds.
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council issued a final rule on Aug. 7, published in the Federal Register, that brings long-needed clarity to the SAM registration rules. According to the final rule, an offeror must be actively registered in SAM at "two points" only, at time of offer submission and at time of award.
This mercifully ends years of confusion created by a 2018 amendment to FAR 52.204-7. That revision was widely interpreted to require continuous SAM registration from submission through award, meaning even a brief lapse could render an offeror ineligible. That change, which was included in a September 2018 amendment to FAR 52.204-7, stated that an "offeror is required to be registered in SAM when submitting an offer or quotation and shall continue to be registered until time of award."
The intent of the 2018 amendment was to resolve inconsistencies, as some FAR provisions required SAM registration at time of proposal submission, while others required it only at time of award. The FAR Council sought to clarify that offerors must be registered both when submitting proposals and when the award is made.
However, subsequent interpretations by the Government Accountability Office and the Court of Federal Claims construed the amendment to require continuous registration between submission and award. For example, in TLS Joint Venture, LLC, GAO determined that an offeror had to be continuously registered in SAM from time of offer to award. Similarly, the COFC came to the same conclusion in Myriddian, LLC v. United States and Zolon PCS II, LLC v. United States.
To address confusion, the FAR Council issued the now adopted interim rule in November 2024 that stated, "the offeror must be registered at time of offer submission and at time of contract award but would not be required at every moment in between those two points."
While the final rule only became effective on Aug. 7, it is identical to the interim rule issued on Nov. 12, 2024, which was effective as of that issued date. It resolves an unintended problem created by the 2018 revision and should benefit all contractors, particularly small businesses, by removing the risk of disqualification for brief lapses so long as the requirement to be registered at the "two-points" – proposal submission and contract award – is met.
For vendors who move fast, restructure often, and manage complex teaming arrangements, this clarity is overdue. It restores long-needed predictability to federal procurement.
Software and emerging-tech firms experience frequent corporate and banking updates, M&A activity, and key-person changes, all of which can trigger SAM edits or renewals. Under the now retired continuous-registration view, these routine changes could derail otherwise competitive bids. This final rule lowers that risk.
That clarity does not, however, eliminate the registration compliance requirement. The new standard is simpler, not softer. While the rule eliminates the strict "continuous registration" interpretation, offerors must still ensure active registration at time of proposal submission and at time of award.
Contractors should proactively monitor account expirations and renewal issues, coordinate corporate changes to avoid collisions with live procurements, and document status at each registration point. Done well, this "two-point" discipline converts regulatory clarity into operational certainty. Of course, offerors must engage in appropriate diligence to confirm that all their representations and certifications on SAM.gov are accurate.
Originally published by Washington Technology.
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