SAM.gov UEI Requirement
Beginning August 2026, USAC will use the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) banking information to remit payment for all Universal Service Fund (USF) invoices. All service providers and E-Rate participants who use the Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) invoicing method to receive USF disbursements must have an active SAM.gov Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) on their FCC Form 498 and must have a valid bank account associated with their UEI.
Note: Until August 2026, all payments will continue business as usual.
To prepare for this change, USAC will contact service providers and E-Rate BEAR applicants by email to ensure they have an active UEI listed on their FCC Form 498 and that the UEI is connected to a bank account.
Confirm Your UEI
Service providers and E-Rate participants who receive funding from USAC should confirm that their FCC Form 498 includes an active SAM.gov UEI and that it is connected to the correct bank account—specifically, the bank account that is designated to accept USF disbursements.
Service providers may log into E-File to confirm that the correct UEI is listed on their FCC Form 498 (Block 3, Line 24) and then log into SAM.gov to confirm that a valid bank account is linked to their UEI account.After the transition, USAC will pay this bank account. Once logged into SAM.gov, service providers should also verify that their SAM.gov registration is active (and not expiring soon) and check when their annual renewal is due.
E-Rate applicants who invoice through the BEAR method should log into the E-Rate Productivity Center (EPC) to confirm that their SAM.gov UEI is listed on their FCC Form 498 and then log into SAM.gov to confirm that the correct bank account is linked to their UEI. Once logged in to SAM.gov, E-Rate applicants should also verify that their SAM.gov registration is active (and not expiring soon) and check when their annual renewal is due.
After completing these steps, service providers and E-Rate applicants do not have to take any further action to continue receiving USF disbursements.
Add Your UEI
Service providers and E-Rate applicants who do not have a current SAM.gov UEI, and those who only have a SAM.gov UEI but no connected bank account, must visit SAM.gov and follow the registration process through to completion.
Because this process can take up to six weeks, USAC recommends starting as soon as possible.
If you are a service provider, watch the Update SAM.gov UEI on FCC Form 498 video for step-by-step instructions for adding your UEI to your FCC Form 498.
If you are an E-Rate applicant using the BEAR method, follow the steps below to add your UEI to your FCC Form 498. Please note that you must have School or Library Official user permissions to modify the form.
- Log in to EPC.
- Click the Records tab at the top of the page.
- Choose FCC Form 498 from the list of entries.
- Click on the nickname or 498 ID of the form you want to modify.
- Click Related Actions at the top of the page, then Modify FCC Form 498.
- Navigate to the Organization Numbers page of the form, enter the UEI and click Verify to receive a green check.
- Continue to click Save and Continue until you have submitted your form.
- Re-certify your form. Until the form has been re-certified, the form will display the status In Progress.
If you need help obtaining a UEI, visit sam.gov/help. For additional questions, please contact the Contributors/Service Providers Customer Service Center at (888) 641-8722 Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
If you are a service provider who participates in the NECA pool, read additional information on the SAM.gov UEI requirement for our NECA Pool Participants webpage.
Additional Information
The General Services Administration’s SAM.gov system has transitioned from the use of the Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number to the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)—requiring USAC to use SAM.gov registration to process USF payments. For more information, see the FCC’s Public Notice DA-22-371.