Attempting to navigate the world of government contracting can sometimes feel like swimming through a sea of unfamiliar acronyms and mysterious requirements. Two of these that are crucial to understand are Unique Entity Identifiers (UEIs) and Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Codes. These are both necessary to have success in government contracting, but they can be a source of confusion for many as they are quite similar. In this blog, we’ll break down what each one is and what the differences between them are.
What is a CAGE Code?
The Commercial and Government Entity Code (or CAGE Code) is a unique five-character code that represents your company’s physical address. CAGE Codes are assigned by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) as a way of providing a standardized method of identifying a given facility at a specific location. It’s important to note that CAGE Codes are only assigned to entities within the U.S. If your business is located outside of the U.S., you will instead be assigned an NCAGE Code (or NATO Commercial And Government Entity Code).
What is a UEI?
A Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) is a unique 12-character alphanumeric code assigned to a business through the System for Award Management (SAM.gov). These codes provide a definitive, unique way of identifying your business in SAM.gov and across government contract opportunities. Essentially, the UEI is a verification that your organization is what you say it is. You may have also heard of a DUNS number—these were used prior to 2022 for entity validation, but have now been fully replaced by UEIs.
What is the Difference Between CAGE Codes and UEIs?
Now you know what CAGE Codes and UEIs are, but you may still be wondering, what’s the difference? After all, they’re both unique alphanumeric codes which provide a method of identifying your business. Although they are similar, they represent different things.
CAGE Codes are a way for the DLA to track businesses’ physical locations across the world, while UEIs are used as a way to authoritatively identify your business in place of your business name. While CAGE Codes are more related to the physical aspect of your business, UEIs pertain to digitally identifying your business.
UEIs provide a way to quickly search for and identify businesses without having to use the business name. This helps eliminate confusion, as each UEI is unique to only one business—but many businesses have the same or similar names.
Another major difference between CAGE Codes and UEIs is who uses them. CAGE Codes are assigned and managed by the DLA, and primarily used by the Department of Defense (DoD) for DoD-specific contracting needs. UEIs, on the other hand, are not specific to one department. Instead, they are used more generally across the entire government as a standard method of identification.
How Do I Get a CAGE Code and UEI?
Now that you understand CAGE Codes, UEIs, and the differences between them, you may be wondering how to obtain them. Luckily, obtaining CAGE Codes and UEIs is a fairly simple (and free!) process. There are some slight differences depending on whether your business is located inside of the US or not.
For Businesses Located in the U.S.
If your business is located in the US, the process for obtaining CAGE Codes and UEIs is actually the same. All you need to do is register your business in SAM.gov, and you will automatically be assigned both a CAGE Code and a UEI. The DLA may reach out to you if they need additional information in order to assign your CAGE Code. Keep an eye out for communications from the DLA regarding your CAGE Code assignment but be mindful of potential scammers. Registering in SAM.gov and obtaining your CAGE Code and UEI is completely free—if you received any communications asking you to pay for this service, it’s a scam.
For Businesses Located Outside of the U.S.
If your business is located outside of the US, there’s no difference to how you obtain your UEI—you just have to register in SAM.gov. However, before you register in SAM.gov, you will need to obtain your NCAGE Code. To do this, use the NCAGE Code Request Tool located in the ePortal on the NATO Support and Procurement Agency’s website. Once you have been assigned your NCAGE Code, you can then register in SAM.gov and be assigned your UEI.
Still Have Questions About CAGE Codes and UEIs?
In this blog, we covered the basics of CAGE Codes and UEIs. For more details about CAGE Codes, UEIs, and the differences between them, take a look at some of our other blogs on the subject such as What is A CAGE Code? and What is a Unique Entity Identifier?. If you still have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us—one of our experienced consultants would be more than happy to help.
