Improvements Coming Soon to the Entity Validation Process in SAM.gov

Changes are coming to SAM.gov for new and renewing entities completing the entity validation process.  Validating your entity (making sure an entity is who it says it is) is a vital security step that helps prevent fraud.  

Soon, we will be  making several improvements to this process in SAM.gov based on industry and user feedback. These include:

• Providing information at the beginning of the process about what information and documentation you should gather. 

• Asking for all entity information up front so you just have one ticket for all required entity information. 

• Step-by-step instructions for picking an entity from the search results and for providing your documentation.

• The ability to indicate where you want to use one document for multiple pieces of entity information.

• Clear confirmation that your documents were submitted and links to information on what happens next.

• Improved help articles on FSD.gov and improved on-screen help like popup boxes, definitions, and links to relevant resources.

• Cleaner, simplified appearance of the screens in the entity validation workflow.

These changes address key enhancements  our customers requested and will: 

• Make screens more user-friendly and easier to complete.

• Provide more specific step-by-step instructions on detailed tasks.

• Link to more help information, and provide more on-screen help.

Some things won’t change as a result of these improvements. Entity validation is still required, as is attaching documents (for some entities). Timelines for existing validation requests are not affected by these changes. 

In addition to usability testing input and direct user feedback, changes to the website were informed by a review of validation documents submitted by customers over the past few months.  We want to increase the likelihood that customers understand the requirements for documentation and that they submit acceptable documentation the first time as often as possible.

We will continue to enhance the entity validation workflow in future releases with continued input and feedback from SAM.gov customers.