Every federal contract above the micro-purchase threshold is posted on SAM.gov, and you cannot receive a federal award without being registered there. It is free, it is slow, and doing it before you need it is the whole trick.
The System for Award Management is the federal government’s single point of entry for two separate things: contract opportunities, where agencies post solicitations, and entity registration, the record that makes your business eligible to receive a federal award.
Both are free. Neither is optional if you want federal work.
Florida has substantial federal property — military installations, Veterans Affairs medical centres and clinics, national parks and seashores, federal courthouses, Coast Guard stations and post offices. All of it needs roofing, electrical, paving, HVAC and every other trade on a continuing basis, and all of it is procured through SAM.gov.
Registration is free and always has been. Companies that charge to complete SAM registration are selling you a government service that costs nothing. The government publishes guidance saying exactly this, and the mailings and calls offering to handle it for a fee are a persistent nuisance rather than a legitimate offering.
Your Unique Entity ID replaced the old DUNS number and is assigned through SAM.gov itself. You obtain it as part of registration rather than from a third party.
This is where registrations stall. SAM validates that your business exists as stated by matching your legal name and physical address against public records. If your incorporation documents, your utility bills and your SAM entry disagree on so much as a suite number, validation fails and you enter a documentation exchange that can take weeks.
Get your legal business name and physical address exactly right, matching your incorporation paperwork, before you start. This single point of care saves more time than anything else in the process.
You will provide business information, a taxpayer identification number, banking details for electronic payment, NAICS codes describing what you do, size and socioeconomic representations, and answers to a substantial set of federal representations and certifications.
The NAICS codes matter. They determine which opportunities you match and which small business size standards apply to you. Select the codes that genuinely describe your work rather than everything adjacent.
Registration expires annually and must be renewed. An expired registration makes you ineligible for award, and contractors discover this at the worst possible moment. Diary the renewal date the moment you register.
The Contract Opportunities section is where solicitations live. Useful filters:
Save your searches and enable email notifications. It is free, it works, and the number of contractors who never configure it is remarkable.
| Type | What it means |
|---|---|
| Sources Sought | Market research. The agency is identifying capable firms. No award, but responding puts you on their radar and can influence how the solicitation is written. |
| Presolicitation | Advance notice that a solicitation is coming. Useful for planning capacity and lining up subs. |
| Combined Synopsis/Solicitation | Both in one document, common for simplified acquisitions. Often shorter timelines. |
| Solicitation | The actual bid or proposal request. |
| Award Notice | Who won and for how much. Free competitive intelligence on pricing and on who is active in your trade. |
Federal agencies restrict a substantial share of contracts to small businesses and to specific socioeconomic categories. If you qualify for any, certification changes what you can bid.
The main ones for a trade contractor: small business set-asides, SDVOSB, 8(a), HUBZone, and women-owned small business. Filtering searches by set-aside type is the highest-value thing a certified firm can configure.
Davis-Bacon prevailing wages apply to federal construction, with certified payroll every week. If you have only done Florida county work, this is an entire compliance regime you have not encountered — see our guide to prevailing wage in Florida.
Miller Act bonding requires performance and payment bonds on federal construction above a threshold. See bid bonds explained.
FAR clauses govern the contract, and there are many. Read the clause list rather than assuming it mirrors a local contract.
Documentation is heavier throughout — submittals, daily reports, payment applications with specific formats.
All of that is administrative cost and it belongs in your price. A contractor who bids federal work at local-work rates and discovers Davis-Bacon and weekly certified payroll after award has already lost the margin.
We read SAM.gov, MyFloridaMarketPlace, FDOT and every county portal overnight, then send one email at 7am with what matches your trade and counties. Twenty-five founding seats at $79/mo, locked for life.
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