Earlier this year, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced that all firms seeking federal financial assistance (FFA) from the U.S. Government are required to obtain an active SAM.gov registration including the issuance of a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). For GSA, the 12-digit UEI number replaces the 9-digit DUNS number provided by Dun & Bradstreet which were previously used by the agency to uniquely identify organizations receiving FFA. The only method of getting a free UEI number is directly through the official government website SAM.gov (SAM is abbreviated for System for Award Management).
All applicants for FFA from EXIM are impacted by this new UEI requirement, including new applicants and insurance policy renewals, however DUNS numbers will remain a mandatory part of EXIM’s application process because of the financial and credit information the DUNS number provides about a company.
At the time of publication, recipients of FFA from EXIM must be UEI-compliant by September 1, 2022. In addition, existing EXIM customers (recipients) who haven’t secured SAM.gov registration or obtained a UEI number by then will not be able to amend their policies (excluding a Special Buyer Credit Limit/Issuing Bank Credit Limit on multi-buyer or export letter of credit policies), guarantees or direct loans and/or renew their insurance policy. EXIM is in the process of notifying all affected customers by email about this requirement and timeline. New applicants and existing insurance policyholders and guaranteed lenders who have recently accessed EXIM Online (EOL), a transaction management system, may have noticed that the UEI field was added on May 26, 2022.
To register on SAM.gov and obtain a UEI number, applicants will need to provide business information, including ownership structure, key contacts, and other details. More guidance can be found in the Financial Assistance Awards section of the downloadable Entity Registration Checklist on SAM.gov. The application can be saved and doesn’t have to be completed all at once. For a limited time, EXIM is offering free professional registration assistance to out-of-compliance insurance policyholders, guaranteed lenders, direct loan borrowers and new applicants. Inquiries should be sent to UEIAssistance@exim.gov.
New Export Credit Insurance applicants are encouraged to contact their EXIM registered broker with questions about the UEI process. For those who are beginning their export journey and want to learn more about how EXIM’s financing support can level the playing field for U.S. exporters, please contact an EXIM trade finance specialist for a free consultation.
