Federal contracting · answer
How do I check if a contractor is debarred or excluded?
Search the company or person in the SAM.gov exclusions list — the free, public federal system of record. Match on the Unique Entity ID (UEI) or CAGE code, not the name alone, because names repeat across unrelated entities.
The facts
Start at the SAM.gov exclusions list. It is the federal system of record for suspensions, debarments, and other exclusions, it is free, and it requires no login to search. Enter the entity or individual name to see any active or terminated exclusion records.
Match on a confirmed identifier, not the name. Company names repeat and change; the reliable keys are the 12-character Unique Entity ID (UEI) and the 5-character CAGE code. Confirm the UEI or CAGE before treating a name hit as the same party — a name-only match is not proof of identity.
For ongoing obligations, checking once is not enough — exclusions are added and lifted continuously, so a clean result has a shelf life. Re-screen on a fixed cadence. Fonteum exposes a programmatic procurement screen at /api/v1/procurement/screen that returns an entity's registration, exclusion, award, and integrity records, each source- and date-stamped, so a re-check is reproducible and links back to SAM.gov for confirmation.
Source: SAM.gov exclusions list (U.S. General Services Administration), the federal system of record. Confirm current status at SAM.gov →
Statutory basis
Contracting officers must check SAM.gov Exclusions before award; the list is the consolidated government-wide record of excluded parties.
Go to the source
Related questions
Is checking SAM.gov free?
Yes. Searching the SAM.gov exclusions list is free and needs no account. Entity registration and some advanced features differ, but the public exclusions search is open to anyone.
How often should I re-screen?
On a fixed cadence appropriate to the obligation, because exclusions are added and lifted daily. A one-time clean result does not stay clean; many programs re-screen monthly. Fonteum's procurement screen returns dated records so each re-check is reproducible.