RAIN-2021-G01-R1
Status of EPA Implementation of Government-wide DUNS/UEI Transition
Second Revision Date: February 4, 2022
First Revision Date: November 16, 2021
Original Notification Date: April 23, 2021
Effective Date: May 17, 2021
Second Revision Purpose: This revised Recipient/Applicant Information Notice (RAIN) informs recipients and applicants of EPA federal financial assistance that all EPA funding opportunities (competitive and non-competitive) will begin using UEI-compatible grant application packages and provides details about the transition.
First Revision Purpose: This revised Recipient/Applicant Information Notice (RAIN) informs recipients and applicants of federal financial assistance of the various Unique Entity Identifier resources provided by the Federal Service Desk (fsd.gov), including addition of related resource “What Does the new Sam.gov UEI mean for me?”
Original Purpose: This Recipient/Applicant Information Notice (RAIN) informs recipients and applicants of the status of EPA’s implementation of the Government-wide transition from using DUNS as a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) to a SAM.gov created UEI.
Revision Summary: Entities can now obtain an SAM.gov generated Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) at Sam.gov. You can register your entity, obtain a UEI, or both. Entities should note that obtaining an SAM.gov generated UEI is not the same as completing a SAM.gov entity registration. Please see the related resources “What Does the new Sam.gov UEI mean for me?” below for real life entity examples.
Summary: As explained in the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) Unique Entity Identifier Update, beginning April 2022 DUNS numbers will no longer be used as a UEI and only the SAM.gov created UEI will be accepted. Until that time, the DUNS number remains the official identifier for doing business with the U.S. Government and entities will continue to register in SAM.gov using their DUNS number.
To support this transition, starting on May 17, 2021 Grants.gov will deploy forms compatible with the new UEI number. This will allow funding opportunities posted in Grants.gov to have DUNS-compatible application packages, UEI-compatible application packages, or both.
Revised Action: In the coming weeks, EPA will begin using UEI compatible grant application packages. When using a UEI compatible grant application package, applicants must use their SAM.gov generated UEI when completing forms in EPA grant application packages. The EPA application package, the contents of which is further described in RAIN-2018-G07-2, includes two forms that require a UEI:
- SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance
- EPA Form 4700-4, Preaward Compliance Review Report for All Applicants and Recipients Requesting Federal Financial.
All EPA competitive funding opportunities with a close date on or after April 1, 2022, will use UEI-compatible grant application packages. All entities applying for EPA competitive funding opportunities with a close date on or after April 1, 2022, will need to use their UEI to complete the UEI-compatible grant application packages and associated forms.
All EPA noncompetitive funding opportunities will be transitioned to UEI-compatible grant application packages on February 21, 2022. Grants.gov Workspace applications that are already in progress prior to the transition date will be alerted to update to the UEI-compatible forms listed above with a click of a button on February 21, 2022. Applicants that have not started an application package prior to February 21, 2022, will automatically be directed to the UEI-compatible forms.
Applicants with technical questions relating to Grants.gov should contact Grants.gov at 1-800-518-4726 (U.S.), 1-606-545-5035 (International), or support@grants.gov.
Applicants with questions about EPA’s transition to UEI should email EPA_Grants_Info@epa.gov.
Please note that until April 4, 2022, new SAM.gov registrants will still need a DUNS to register in SAM.gov.
Related Resources:
- RAIN-2018-G07-2, Full Application Submission with Initial Proposal Submission Requirement
- GSA's Unique Entity Identifier Update
- Grants.gov Planned UEI Updates in Grant Application Forms
- Federal Service Desk UEI Fact Sheet
- Federal Service Desk Guide to Getting a Unique Entity ID
- What Does the new Sam.gov UEI mean for me? (pdf)