On January 8, 2025, in UNICA-BPA JV, LLC, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustained a protester’s challenge to its elimination from the competition for failing to have an active System for Award Management (SAM) registration at the time of its initial proposal submission. The GAO sustained the protest because the protester’s registration was in fact active at the time it submitted its final proposal revision (FPR) even though it was inactive at the time of initial proposal submission. The facts of the case are straightforward:

  • The acquisition at issue was a Department of Homeland Security (Agency) procurement for dormitory management support services. The solicitation was issued on November 29, 2023.
  • The protester timely submitted its proposal by the January 2, 2024 deadline and was subsequently notified of its exclusion from the competitive range on April 25, 2024. The protester filed a protest based on its exclusion, which prompted the Agency to take corrective action and readmit the protester to the competition.
  • On May 30, 2024, the Agency opened discussions with the protester and later amended the solicitation. The protester timely submitted its FPR on July 10, 2024. The following month, on August 6, 2024, DHS issued a pre-award notice that identified the protester as the apparently successful offeror.
  • A disappointed bidder then filed a protest in which it argued that the protester could not be awarded the contract because it did not have a SAM registration at the time of initial proposal submission. The Agency agreed and rescinded the pre-award notice on August 23, 2024. Several weeks later, on September 26, 2024, the Agency excluded the protester from the competition.

Notwithstanding a few limited exceptions, contractors working for the federal government must be registered in SAM as a condition of receiving taxpayer dollars for performance on a prime contract. As Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.204-7, System for Award Management, makes clear, a company’s registration in SAM serves many important functions, including (i) the provision of key identifying characteristics of the contractor (e.g., unique entity identifier information, Commercial and Government Entity code data, certain financial and tax information, physical and mailing addresses, and relevant points of contact), and (ii) annual contractor attestations as to compliance with critical representations and certifications (e.g., various mandatory FAR requirements, business size requirements, North American Industry Classification System code classifications). This information collectively serves as a blueprint on which the government can rely to assess a contractor’s ability to receive and continue to perform federal work.

As most seasoned contractors know all too well, the SAM registration and renewal process is not always “smooth sailing.” There are often delays, repeated requests for information that has already been provided, and iterative rounds of unnecessary dialogue with federal government personnel. Given this glacial processing pace, the unfortunate reality is that—on occasion—an entity’s registration lapses or otherwise fails to become active by a desired timeline (e.g., the submission of an offer and/or award of a contract).

In sustaining the protest, the GAO determined that the Agency misconstrued the plain language of FAR 52.204-7(b)(1), which provides in pertinent part that offerors are “required to be registered in SAM when submitting an offer or quotation.”[1] The protester argued that its elimination from the competition was improper because—while it did not have an active SAM registration when it submitted its initial proposal in January 2024—it was in fact registered in SAM when it submitted its FPR in July 2024. While the GAO acknowledged that the Agency could have eliminated the protester based on SAM registration noncompliance after receipt of the initial proposal, it did not do so. Instead, the Agency entered into discussions with the protester and requested an FPR, which “superseded” the initial proposal and formed the “offer” for the purposes of triggering the SAM registration requirement imposed by FAR 52.204-7(b)(1).

Lessons Learned

At bottom, this is a case in which a protester got unusually lucky. Indeed, the Agency backed itself into a corner by continuing to evaluate the protester’s proposal and soliciting the FPR. Don’t count on such fortune. Instead, in order to avoid needless litigation and potential liability, contractors should ensure ample time in keeping current their registration in SAM well in advance of any request for proposal/request for quotation (RFP/RFQ) deadlines and attendant RFP/RFQ submission. Companies should also be vigilant about maintaining their registration at the time of award and throughout contract performance.


[1] The regulation was amended in November 2024 via interim rulemaking in ways that do not impact this case.