Federal Communications Commission DA 22-371 DA 22-371 Released: April 6, 2022 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TRANSITION FROM THE DATA UNIVERSAL NUMBERING SYSTEM NUMBER TO A NEW UNIQUE ENTITY IDENTIFIER FOR SAM.GOV AS OF APRIL 4, 2022 As of April 4, 2022, the Federal Government is no longer using the Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number to uniquely identify entities registered in the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) System for Award Management (SAM) SAM is the official site for registering to do business with the Federal Government. See SAM.gov, https://sam.gov/content/home. As of April 4, 2022, the Integrated Award Environment (IAE) systems (i.e., SAM.gov, Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS), Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS), Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act Subaward Reporting System (FSRS), Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), and Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS)) are complying with the Federal Government’s requirement to stop using the DUNS number for Federal award management. See also U.S. General Services Administration, Unique Entity Identifier Update, The New Unique Entity Identifier is Here, https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/organization/federal-acquisition-service/office-of-systems-management/integrated-award-environment-iae/iae-systems-information-kit/unique-entity-identifier-update. and is instead using the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) generated directly in SAM.gov, in accordance with 2 CFR Part 25. See 2 CFR Part 25 (Universal Identifier and System for Award Management). The requirement for a unique identifier for entities derives from the requirement in section 2(b)(1)(E) of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, Pub. L. No 109-282, (2006) that USASpending.gov include a “unique identifier of the entity receiving the [federal financial] award and of the parent entity of the recipient, should the entity be owned by another entity.” In support of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) programs that currently utilize SAM.gov registration, including the Affordable Connectivity Program, COVID-19 Telehealth Program, Emergency Connectivity Fund, and the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program, as well as FCC programs that will now utilize SAM.gov registration, including all of the Universal Service Fund programs, we provide an explanation of the transition from DUNS numbering to UEI numbering below. Previously, entities seeking to register on SAM.gov were required to obtain a nine-digit unique DUNS number through the Dun & Bradstreet website. See Dun & Bradstreet, Welcome to the D&B D-U-N-S Request Service for US Federal Government Contractors and Assistance Awardees, https://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/displayHomePage.do. Only after a DUNS number was assigned, was an entity able to register on SAM.gov. Effective immediately, entities can now go directly to SAM.gov to request a UEI and no longer need a DUNS number to register. Thus, entities may go directly to SAM.gov to: · Register their entity and request a UEI; · Make any updates to their legal business name and physical address associated with the UEI; and · Find customer support at a single support center for all UEI and entity registration issues. If your organization is currently registered in SAM.gov with either an active or inactive registration, you have already been assigned a UEI and can view it within SAM.gov. Entities who are not registered in SAM.gov will be assigned a UEI when they register. While you can acquire a UEI for your organization without having to complete a full entity registration in SAM.gov, please note that to receive payments from the FCC, full entity SAM.gov registration is required. Therefore, we recommend completing full entity registration in all instances at this time. The transition from using DUNS numbers to using UEIs does not impact your entity’s SAM.gov expiration date or when you need to renew your registration. Once an entity is assigned a UEI through SAM.gov, the UEI will never expire. Entities’ registrations in SAM.gov, however, require annual renewal, or the accounts are deactivated. Therefore, please ensure that your organization renews its SAM.gov registration prior to the expiration date listed in your entity’s record in SAM.gov. It is extremely important that you keep your information current in SAM.gov because payments may not be able to be processed if the SAM.gov registration is not updated and/or has expired. For Universal Service Fund recipients, the FCC is working with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) to complete a full transition to the collection of UEIs and the use of SAM.gov for the collection of payment information from Universal Service Fund recipients. If you are an E-Rate or Emergency Connectivity Fund program participant and only use the service provider invoicing (SPI) method and do not receive any direct payments or disbursements, you are not required to register in SAM.gov to obtain a UEI. Similarly, if you are a health care provider in the Rural Health Care program and do not receive any direct payments or disbursements, you are also not required to register in SAM.gov to obtain a UEI. However, if you are an E-Rate or Emergency Connectivity Fund program participant and use the Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) invoicing method, you are required to register in SAM.gov and obtain a UEI. Additional details will be forthcoming from USAC as this transition progresses. For additional more detailed information regarding the transition from a DUNS number to a UEI, please see SAM.gov at DUNS to UEI Transition. Additionally, the Federal Service Desk, available at FSD.gov, is the support center for all IAE systems. FSD.gov also includes resources that address the UEI transition, available at Frequently Asked Questions. For further information about UEIs or the UEI transition, you may also contact FSD.gov at 866-606-8220. For any other questions concerning this Public Notice, please contact Nelson Davis, at (202) 418-1979 or by email at Nelson.Davis@fcc.gov. - FCC - 2