DOI Grants Unique Entity Identifier

On April 4, 2022, the Federal government will transition to using the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) in place of the DUNS number to uniquely identify entities doing business with the government.  As of that date, all entities receiving grants or cooperative agreements from the Department of the Interior (DOI) will be required to have a Unique Entity Identifier created in SAM.gov.  Information pertaining to this transition, including instructions on how to obtain a Unique Entity Identifier can be located on the SAM.gov UEI webpage.

As a result of this transition, DOI grant and cooperative agreement recipients should be aware of the following information:

• The DUNS number, assigned by Dun and Bradstreet, will remain the official Identifier for all DOI recipients through April 3, 2022.
• The UEI number, assigned by SAM.gov, will become the official identifier for all DOI recipients as of April 4, 2022.
• All active entities with a SAM.gov registration should now have a UEI assigned within SAM.gov.
• Questions and concerns pertaining to an entity’s UEI should be directed to the SAM.gov helpdesk.

For entities that may be submitting an application for a DOI grant or cooperative agreement, please be aware of the following DOI guidance. Please note that the guidance below may be supplemented by additional guidance from DOI programs or Bureaus:

• All grant or cooperative agreement applications submitted to DOI on or after April 1, 2022 must use version 4 of the SF-424 form that contains the UEI number in place of the DUNS. After April 1, the DOI will no longer be able to accept applications submitted using the SF-424 version 3 (or earlier versions) containing a DUNS number. 
• For applications submitted on or before March 31, 2022, applications shall be submitted using version 3 of the SF-424 form, unless a different version is specifically identified within the announcement.
• Please note that any applications submitted using the version 3 of the SF-424 form containing a DUNS number must be received and accepted by the DOI no later than March 31, 2022.

Please direct any questions or concerns to your Bureau Awarding Office. 

Additional resources pertaining to the UEI transition can be found on the following websites:

• US General Services Administration UEI webpage;
• SAM.gov UEI webpage;
• Grants.gov UEI webpage.