DaneDane Suite · SAM.gov & federal bids
SAM.gov for Arizona contractors
Federal work in Arizona starts with a free SAM.gov registration.
Military bases, national parks, VA clinics, tribal health centers, dams and federal buildings across Arizona hire contractors through public notices on SAM.gov. Here is what SAM.gov is, what registering takes, and how Dane Suite helps you find the jobs that fit your ROC license.
SAM.gov is the official U.S. government system. Dane Suite is not affiliated with SAM.gov, the General Services Administration (GSA), the SBA or any government agency. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice.
What SAM.gov is
SAM.gov (the System for Award Management) is where the federal government registers the businesses it pays and posts its contract opportunities. Anyone can search the notices. To be awarded a federal contract, your business needs an active SAM.gov registration — and many solicitations require it when you submit your offer, so register before you find the job you want, not after.
⚠ Registration is FREE — watch for paid “registration” scams
Registering, renewing and getting your Unique Entity ID cost nothing on SAM.gov. Companies send official-looking letters and emails, often with a deadline and a “renewal fee”, to make you think you must pay them. You don’t. Only use sam.gov (a .gov address), and never pay anyone to “activate” or “renew” your registration. If you want free one-on-one help, Arizona’s APEX Accelerator (formerly PTAC) counselors help businesses with SAM.gov at no cost.
Your Unique Entity ID (UEI)
Every business that registers gets a 12-character Unique Entity ID, assigned by SAM.gov for free. It replaced the old DUNS number in April 2022. You can request a UEI on its own, but bidding on contracts takes the full registration. A full registration also gets you a CAGE code, which identifies your business location to the Department of Defense and other agencies.
What you need before you start
- A Login.gov account for the person registering — SAM.gov signs you in through Login.gov.
- Your legal business name and physical address, exactly as the IRS has them (a P.O. box is not accepted as the physical address).
- Your EIN (federal Taxpayer Identification Number). The name and EIN must match IRS records, or the registration stalls. A new EIN can take a few weeks to reach the IRS records SAM.gov checks.
- Bank account and routing numbers for electronic payment — the government pays by direct deposit.
- Your NAICS codes — the codes for the kind of work you do (see the table below).
- Entity information: business type and structure, ownership, number of employees, average annual revenue, and points of contact.
- Representations and certifications — a set of yes/no questions about your business (size, ownership, compliance) that you answer and sign. Answer them accurately; they are statements to the government.
NAICS codes for your ROC license classes
NAICS codes tell agencies what work you do, and each code has its own SBA size limit for small-business set-asides. These are the codes Dane Suite’s Job Finder uses to match federal notices to Arizona ROC classes. They are a starting point — list every code that fits the work you actually do.
| Your ROC classes (examples) | Common NAICS codes |
|---|---|
| General building — B, B-1, B-2, KB-1, KB-2 | 236220 Commercial and institutional building · 236118 Residential remodelers |
| General engineering / heavy civil — A, KA | 237990 Other heavy and civil engineering · 237310 Highway, street and bridge |
| Sewer, storm drain, waterworks — A-12, A-16 | 237110 Water and sewer line construction |
| Electrical — C-11, CR-11, A-17 | 238210 Electrical contractors |
| Plumbing, HVAC — C-37, CR-37, C-39, CR-39 | 238220 Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors |
| Roofing — C-42, CR-42 | 238160 Roofing contractors |
| Concrete — CR-9 | 238110 Poured concrete foundation and structure |
| Painting — CR-34 | 238320 Painting and wall covering |
| Landscaping — A-21, CR-21 | 561730 Landscaping services |
| Excavating and grading — A-5, CR-2 | 238910 Site preparation contractors |
Federal maintenance and repair notices also use PSC codes (Y = new construction, Z = maintenance and repair of buildings and property, J = equipment maintenance such as HVAC and fire alarms). Check SBA’s size standards for your codes at sba.gov.
Set-asides in plain English
Many federal construction and repair jobs are set aside: only certain kinds of businesses may bid. Small Arizona contractors often qualify for the first one without knowing it.
Small business set-aside
Only businesses under SBA’s size limit for the job’s NAICS code may bid. For construction the limit is set by average annual revenue, and most small and mid-size trade contractors are under it. You claim it in your SAM.gov registration — no separate certification.
SDVOSB — service-disabled veteran-owned
For businesses at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans. Certification is through the SBA (VetCert).
WOSB / EDWOSB — women-owned
For businesses at least 51% owned and controlled by women; EDWOSB adds economic-disadvantage limits. Certified through the SBA, and set aside in industries where women-owned businesses are underrepresented.
HUBZone
For small businesses whose main office is in a Historically Underutilized Business Zone and at least 35% of whose employees live in one. Parts of Phoenix, Tucson, rural Arizona and tribal lands qualify — SBA has a map. Certified through the SBA.
8(a) Business Development
An SBA program for small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged people. It runs for up to nine years and allows some contracts to be awarded without open competition.
You’ll also see Indian Small Business Economic Enterprise (ISBEE / IEE) set-asides on Indian Health Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs work in Arizona. Eligibility rules are set by the SBA and the agency; the solicitation always governs.
How long it takes, and the yearly renewal
Plan on several weeks for a new registration — often two to four, sometimes longer if your business name, address or EIN don’t match IRS and validation records exactly. Start well before a bid you want is due. A registration is good for one year: you must renew it on SAM.gov every 12 months (free), or it expires and you can’t be awarded new work. SAM.gov emails reminders before it expires.
How Dane Suite helps
Job Finder — we find the bids
Every day Job Finder checks SAM.gov for federal notices in Arizona, plus ADOT highway advertisements and the bid-notice emails you sign up for from state, city and school-district portals. It keeps the ones that match your ROC license classes, area and set-aside eligibility, and puts them in your portal with the due date and a link to the official posting (email alerts coming soon).
Bid Prep — we help you get ready
With Bid Prep we help with your vendor registrations, a capability statement with your license details, the bid forms and a pricing draft.
What stays with you
You register your own business on SAM.gov (free — we walk you through what to gather), and you review, sign and submit every bid. We never register for you, never sign for you, and never submit a bid in your name.
Bid matching and Bid Prep can be part of an AI Department build. Start with the Owner Growth Call (—, one-time) to see what federal and Arizona bids are worth to your business. See all prices · Built for ROC contractors
Examples: what SAM.gov had open in Arizona
On 30 September 2026 our check found 9 open SAM.gov notices with an Arizona place of performance, 6 of them construction or trade work. Some of those 6:
| Notice | Agency | Where | Due (2026) | Set-aside |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| O'Donnell Dam Stabilization and Erosion Control | Department of the Interior | Arizona (BLM Arizona State Office) | Oct 2 | Total Small Business |
| iHouse Apartment Construction | Department of Health and Human Services | Tonalea, AZ | Oct 8 | Indian Small Business Economic Enterprise (IEE) |
| Design-Build to Budget (DB2B) Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TUAV) Hangar | Department of Defense | Fort Huachuca, AZ | Oct 19 | Total Small Business |
| DESIGN-BUILD TO BUDGET (DB2B) Airborne Equipment Parachute Repair Shop, Yuma Proving Ground, Yuma, Arizona | Department of Defense | Yuma Proving Ground, AZ | Oct 26 | Total Small Business |
| E21 PRCA HVAC REPLACEMENT | Department of the Interior | Planet Ranch Conservation Area (Bill Williams River), AZ | Oct 27 | Total Small Business |
| GRCA 257282 - Replace Wastewater Plant at South Ri | Department of the Interior | Grand Canyon, AZ | Nov 2 | None (open to all) |
Examples as of 30 September 2026, shown to illustrate the kind of work posted; most have closed since. Notices change daily (amendments, extensions, cancellations) — current notices and the official documents are on SAM.gov.
Questions
Do I have to pay anyone to register on SAM.gov?
No. SAM.gov registration and renewal are free. Anyone charging you to “register”, “activate” or “renew” is selling something you can do yourself for free on sam.gov.
Will you register my business for me?
No. Your business registers itself — the registration contains statements your business makes to the government, so the owner should make them. We help you gather what you need and explain each step.
Is my ROC license enough for federal work?
Federal jobs on federal land sometimes don’t require a state license, and others do — the solicitation says what’s required. Bonding, wage rules (such as Davis-Bacon on construction) and other requirements are spelled out in each solicitation.
Is Dane Suite part of SAM.gov or the government?
No. SAM.gov is the official U.S. government system, run by the General Services Administration. Dane Suite is a private Arizona business and is not affiliated with SAM.gov, GSA, the SBA or any agency. We read SAM.gov’s public notices and link you to the official posting.