How to Obtain a UEI (Unique Entity Identifier)

Many of South Arts grant programs (including Presentation Grants, Express Grants, Cross-Sector Impact Grants, Professional Development & Artistic Planning Grants, and Traditional Arts Touring Grants) are supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. As of April 2022, the federal government transitioned from the use of a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number to a new Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) through the SAM.gov system as the primary identifier. The SAM UEI is issued at no cost through the federal System for Award Management website (SAM.gov). This new SAM UEI is required of our applicants for grant programs supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Current Grantees: Your final report and grant payment cannot be approved without your Unique Entity ID (UEI) from SAM.gov.

Future Applicants: All organizations applying for South Arts funding supported by the National Endowment for the Arts will be required to have a Unique Entity ID (UEI) from SAM.gov.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Registering for a UEI is a free process. Although you may be contacted by third-party providers who may offer to help you for a fee, the process to obtain and maintain a UEI does not cost anything. We recommend being careful and judicious if you are contacted by a third-party provider trying to sell you their services.

How to get your Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) from SAM.gov

If your organization is registered in SAM.gov today, your UEI has already been assigned and is viewable in SAM.gov. This includes inactive registrations. The new UEI is currently located below the DUNS Number on your organization’s registration record. You must be signed in to your SAM.gov account to view. 
If you are not already registered in SAM.gov, please refer to SAM.gov's Instructions for Getting a UEI to get a UEI for your organization. You do not need to complete a full entity registration.

SAM.gov's Instructions for Getting a UEI

If you have any questions while obtaining a UEI, please consult the FAQ Page or this one-sheet resource document from the Federal Help Desk.

Need Help Validating Your UEI?

The Federal Service Desk has a list of resources to help you validate your entity.

Federal Service Desk Validation Resources