CAGE stands for “Commercial And Government Entity.” The CAGE code is used to uniquely identify suppliers to federal agencies and various governmental agencies themselves. The CAGE code is assigned by the Department of Defense’s Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). With a CAGE code, one can identify any facility at a specific location.

Check if you Qualify to be a GSA Contractor

Click here

The structure of the CAGE code

A CAGE code is always five characters. There is no any particular information encoded in the CAGE code. It is simply a unique index.

How CAGE Codes are used?

CAGE codes are used by the government as an automated way to identify entities. Selling to the federal government through any kind of a federal contract including GSA Schedule requires a company to have an assigned CAGE code.

How do I get a CAGE Code – sam.gov

To get your CAGE code, register at SAM.gov. This registration does not require you to have a CAGE code, only a DUNS number. After your System for Award Management registration completes, the SAM will transfer your entity information to the DLA. The DLA then assigns a CAGE code to your organization. No further actions from your side are needed after that. Obtaining a CAGE code is free of charge, and is fairly easy to do.

Important: the mere fact that your business has been assigned a CAGE code does not guarantee you any GSA contracting awards or further sales to the government. Having a CAGE code is like having a key, but you still need to find a door and open it.

How Do I Find my Organization’s CAGE Code

If you don’t know your CAGE code or simply want to check it for some reason, you can search got a CAGE code at SAM.gov. Open the SAM.gov website, open the search box and type in the official name of your organization. Make sure to provide the same entity name that you used when you registered in the System for Award Management. If you don’t know the official name of the organization you can attempt using its other particulars: DUNS number, address, town, zip code. Needless to say, you can also find CAGE codes of other organizations.

What is my SAM Code?

A SAM code is an erroneous synonym for a CAGE code sometimes used by agencies. In fact, “SAM code” simply does not exist, and asking a client for a SAM code is hardly professional. However, if an agent asks you about your SAM code, you can provide your CAGE code instead – this is what they need.

CAGE Code for Bidding on Government Contracts

As we have said above, a CAGE code is mandatory for pursuing government contracts. Obtaining a CAGE code is one of many obligatory things a company needs to do if it wants to become a GSA contractor.

Understanding the GSA Schedule Game

The GSA contracting is a complex game with long and sometimes unobvious rules. If you want to understand the GSA Schedule game better, please subscribe to our GSA blog. Make sure to dive deeper into our articles, where we discuss ins and outs of the GSA contracting process, explain terms, give advices and share our 12 years experience with you!