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Federal Grant Readiness Checklist

Before you can apply for most federal grants, your organization needs an EIN, an active SAM.gov registration with a Unique Entity ID, and a Grants.gov account with the right roles. Check off what you have and print the list of what is still missing.

Which agencies are you applying to?

Pick any that apply to add their extra registrations.

Progress

Every federal applicant

  • Your federal tax ID from the IRS. SAM.gov asks U.S. entities for their Taxpayer Identification Number, and the name on it must match IRS records exactly.

    Get an EIN from the IRS

  • SAM.gov does not keep its own passwords. You sign in to SAM.gov through Login.gov, so the person registering your organization needs a Login.gov account first.

    Create a Login.gov account

  • SAM.gov (System for Award Management) is where the government records which organizations can receive federal awards. Registration is free. Grants.gov says: "Allow up to 10 business days for SAM registration to become active." NIH says to allow three weeks or more for an initial registration.

    SAM.gov entity registration

  • The UEI is the ID number SAM.gov assigns to your organization. It goes on every federal application and links the application to your SAM.gov record.

    Find or request a UEI on SAM.gov

  • Grants.gov says: "You must renew SAM.gov registration every year." Check your expiration date in SAM.gov. NIH suggests allowing two weeks for a yearly renewal.

    Check your registration on SAM.gov

  • Your E-Business Point of Contact (EBiz POC), the person named in SAM.gov, creates the Grants.gov account with the same email address used in SAM.gov, then adds an organization profile using your UEI.

    Grants.gov applicant registration

  • Only someone with the AOR role can submit an application for your organization. The EBiz POC assigns it in Grants.gov. NIH says to allow one business day or more for this step.

    How Grants.gov roles work

Applying to NIH

  • NIH uses eRA Commons to track applications and awards. Your organization registers, then creates accounts for each principal investigator. NIH says to allow two weeks or more.

    NIH organization registrations

Applying to NSF

  • NSF proposals are prepared and submitted in Research.gov. Your organization and each person on the proposal need an account.

    Research.gov

Applying for SBIR or STTR

  • SBIR and STTR applicants register in the SBA Company Registry on SBIR.gov. It issues the SBC Control ID that agencies ask for on SBIR and STTR applications.

    SBA Company Registry

What you still need

Printed from govgrantsusa.com/tools/federal-grant-readiness-checklist on

Every item is checked. Confirm each registration is active before you submit.

Frequently asked questions

Most organizations need an EIN, an active SAM.gov entity registration with a Unique Entity ID (UEI), and a Grants.gov account with someone in the Authorized Organization Representative role. Some agencies use their own systems too, such as eRA Commons for NIH and Research.gov for NSF.

NIH says the full registration process "can take six weeks or more." Grants.gov says to allow up to 10 business days for a SAM.gov registration to become active, and longer if information cannot be verified. Start well before your deadline.

No. Grants.gov states that SAM.gov registration is free. Be careful with anyone who charges to register you or claims you must pay to stay registered.

Your checkmarks are saved only in this browser on this device, using local storage. Nothing is sent to GovGrantsUSA. Clearing your browser data clears the checklist.

Sources

Official sources this tool is based on, checked October 2026.

Planning aid only. Federal rules change; confirm against the cited official source and your award terms.

Independent platform. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any government agency. Data from public federal sources.

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