The General Services Administration (the “GSA”) is shifting from the 9-digit DUNS company identifier to a 12-digit alphanumeric Unique Entity Identifier (the “UEI”). The GSA originally planned to roll out the UEI in December 2020 but has extended this period until April 2022.

The GSA moved the deadline back 16 months for adopting the UEI to allow additional time for agency systems to be updated and tested in parallel with the existing DUNS. DUNS has historically been the official entity verification number used for doing business with the federal government, including use by contractors, grantees, universities, non-profits, and state and local municipalities.

The new UEI will be administered by Ernst & Young. The transition period has been extended due to concerns for recoding all legacy systems to accept the new 12-digit UEI, as well as delays caused by the COVID-19 response activities.

The change to the UEI allows for entity validation services not to be connected to the identifier itself. The new UEI non-proprietary identifier will be generated as part of the initial registration process in the System for Award Management (“SAM”). In the future, the new UEI will not be dependent on any one validation service provider.

While the DUNS is not going away immediately, once the transition is complete the federal government will no longer require DUNS for new entities doing business with federal agencies. However, it is anticipated that systems will run in parallel for an extended period to support historical record keeping.

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