Independent · not SAM.gov

Do Login.gov before you touch the SAM.gov form

Updated September 2026

The form is not the first step. Sign-in is. People lose an evening because they start entity data and then hit a Login.gov wall they could have finished at the kitchen table the night before.

What Login.gov is

Login.gov is the shared sign-in used by several federal sites, including SAM.gov. You create one account, prove you are you, and then use it to enter SAM.gov. There is no Login.gov fee and no SAM.gov fee attached to it.

What to have in your hand

A phone that receives texts or an authenticator app, an email you will still have in a year, and whatever identity proofing Login.gov asks for that day. Do this before you scan utility bills for entity validation.

What not to do

Do not buy a “SAM.gov login package.” Do not hand a registration agent your Login.gov password. If someone needs to file as you, that is a different, careful conversation with a person you already pay for compliance — not a search ad.

When the account exists, go back to the checklist and start the name-match work.