4.1102 Policy
Source: FAR 4.1102 on acquisition.gov
SAM registration is mandatory for most federal contract offers and quotations, with limited exceptions, and contractors must keep their SAM information accurate and up to date to avoid payment or compliance issues.
Overview
FAR 4.1102 establishes the policy that offerors and quoters must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at the time of offer or quotation submission to meet annual representations and certifications requirements. There are specific exceptions, such as certain micro-purchases, classified contracts, contracts awarded during military, diplomatic, or emergency operations, contracts with individuals outside the U.S., urgent non-competitive awards, and some foreign vendor actions. Contracting officers are encouraged to require SAM registration for contracts awarded under exceptions when practical. The regulation also mandates that contracting officers use the legal business name and address from SAM for contract identification and prohibits altering SAM data. Contractors must notify the contracting officer of legal name changes and comply with novation or change-of-name requirements. Assignees must register separately in SAM, and improper changes to payment information can result in payment suspension.
Key Rules
- SAM Registration Requirement
- Offerors and quoters must be registered in SAM at the time of offer/quotation, with specific exceptions listed.
- Exceptions to SAM Registration
- Includes micro-purchases with purchase cards, classified contracts, certain overseas and emergency operations, contracts with individuals outside the U.S., urgent non-competitive awards, and some foreign vendor contracts.
- Use of SAM Data
- Contracting officers must use the legal business name and address from SAM for contract documentation and cannot alter this data.
- Notification of Name Changes
- Contractors must notify the contracting officer of legal name changes and comply with FAR subpart 42.12 for novation or change-of-name agreements.
- Assignment of Claims
- Contractors cannot change payment information in SAM to reflect an assignee; assignees must register separately.
Responsibilities
- Contracting Officers: Ensure offerors/quoters are registered in SAM, use SAM data for contract documentation, require SAM registration for exceptions when practical, and enforce notification and novation requirements.
- Contractors: Register in SAM, notify contracting officers of legal name changes, comply with novation/change-of-name procedures, and avoid improper changes to payment information.
- Agencies: Oversee compliance with SAM registration and data integrity requirements.
Practical Implications
- This section ensures the integrity and traceability of contractor information for federal contracts, streamlining compliance and payment processes. Failure to register or update information properly can delay awards or payments. Contractors should maintain accurate SAM records and promptly communicate changes to avoid compliance issues.
(a) Offerors and quoters are required to be registered in SAM at the time an offer or quotation is submitted in order to comply with the annual representations and certifications requirements except for—
(1) Purchases under the micro-purchase threshold that use a Governmentwide commercial purchase card as both the purchasing and payment mechanism, as opposed to using the purchase card for payment only;
(2) Classified contracts (see 2.101) when registration in SAM, or use of SAM data, could compromise the safeguarding of classified information or national security;
(3) Contracts awarded by–
(i) Deployed contracting officers in the course of military operations, including, but not limited to, contingency operations as defined in http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section101(a)(13)&num=0&edition=prelim" target="_blank">10 U.S.C. 101(a)(13) or humanitarian or peacekeeping operations as defined in https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section3015&num=0&edition=prelim" target="_blank">10 U.S.C. 3015(2);
(ii) Contracting officers located outside the United States and its outlying areas, as defined in 2.101, for work to be performed in support of diplomatic or developmental operations, including those performed in support of foreign assistance programs overseas, in an area that has been designated by the Department of State as a danger pay post (see https://aoprals.state.gov/" target="_blank">https://aoprals.state.gov/);or
(iii) Contracting officers in the conduct of emergency operations, such as responses to natural or environmental disasters or national or civil emergencies, e.g., Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section5121&num=0&edition=prelim" target="_blank">42 U.S.C. 5121);
(4) Contracts with individuals for performance outside the United States and its outlying areas;
(5) Contracts awarded without providing for full and open competition due to unusual or compelling urgency (see 6.302-2);
(6) Contract actions at or below $40,000 awarded to foreign vendors for work performed outside the United States, if it is impractical to obtain SAM registration; and
(7) Micro-purchases that do not use the electronic funds transfer (EFT) method for payment and are not required to be reported (see subpart 4.6).
(b) If practical, the contracting officer shall modify the contract or agreement awarded under paragraph (a)(3) of this section to require SAM registration.
(c) Contracting officers shall use the legal business name or "doing business as" name and physical address from the contractor's SAM registration for the provided unique entity identifier to identify the contractor in section A of the contract schedule, similar sections of non-uniform contract formats and agreements, and all corresponding forms and data exchanges. Contracting officers shall make no changes to the data retrieved from SAM.
(d)
(1)
(i) If a contractor has legally changed its business name or "doing business as" name (whichever is shown on the contract), or has transferred the assets used in performing the contract, but has not completed the necessary requirements regarding novation and change-of-name agreements in subpart 42.12, the contractor is required to provide the responsible contracting officer a minimum of one business day's written notification of its intention to change the name in SAM, comply with the requirements of subpart 42.12, and agree in writing to the timeline and procedures specified by the responsible contracting officer. Along with the notification, the contractor is required to provide the contracting officer sufficient documentation to support the legally changed name.
(ii) If the contractor fails to comply with the requirements of paragraph (d)(1)(i) of the clause at 52.204-13, System for Award Management Maintenance, or fails to perform the agreement at 52.204-13, paragraph (d)(1)(i)(C), and, in the absence of a properly executed novation or change-of-name agreement, the SAM information that shows the contractor to be other than the contractor indicated in the contract will be considered to be incorrect information within the meaning of the "Suspension of Payment" paragraph of the EFT clause of the contract.
(2) The contractor shall not change the name or address for electronic funds transfer payments (EFT) or manual payments, as appropriate, in the SAM record to reflect an assignee for the purpose of assignment of claims (see subpart 32.8, Assignment of Claims).
(3) Assignees shall be separately registered in SAM. Information provided to the contractor’s SAM record that indicates payments, including those made by EFT, to an ultimate recipient other than that contractor will be considered to be incorrect information within the meaning of the "Suspension of payment" paragraph of the EFT clause of the contract.