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Module 2: Become Award-Eligible. Written explanation, fictional example, and sources.
Educational content. Follow the applicable solicitation and contract. Official sources are provided below.
12 min · Progress tracking is not available yet
After this lesson you should be able to explain that annual representations and certifications live in SAM.gov, that they must be reviewed at least annually, and that entity registration must be renewed every 365 days to stay Active. You should also know where AsherGate can store a dated copy, and that a stored copy does not keep SAM.gov current.
FAR 4.1201 requires offerors and quoters to complete electronic annual representations and certifications in SAM at https://www.sam.gov as part of required registration under FAR 4.1102. All registrants must review and update those representations and certifications as necessary, but at least annually, so they stay current, accurate, and complete. They are effective until one year from the date of submission or update to SAM.
FAR 52.204-8 is the solicitation provision that uses those SAM entries. When 52.204-7 is in the solicitation, the offeror verifies by submitting the offer that the applicable representations and certifications in SAM have been entered or updated within the last 12 months, and that they are current, accurate, complete, and applicable to that solicitation as of the date of the offer, including the business size standard for the NAICS code referenced in the solicitation. If 52.204-7 is not in the solicitation and the offeror has an active SAM registration, the offeror may choose to use that SAM verification or instead complete the individual representations in the solicitation. Changes listed in the offer apply to that solicitation only and do not update SAM.
Completing representations does not award a contract. It is part of remaining eligible to have an offer considered. If a representation is wrong, the problem is not solved by uploading a PDF into AsherGate.
SAM.gov says you must renew your registration every 365 days to keep it active. You can make updates anytime or during renewal. If you are already registered, you already have a Unique Entity ID. FAR 52.204-13 requires the contractor to maintain registration in SAM during performance and through final payment, and to review and update SAM information annually from the date of initial registration or subsequent updates so it stays current, accurate, and complete. Updating SAM does not change the contract’s terms.
AsherGate can store a dated copy of an Active record, a Unique Entity ID screenshot, or a note of the renewal date you copied from SAM.gov. It does not renew the registration, does not email SAM.gov, and does not treat the upload date as the 365-day anniversary. Check status on SAM.gov.
Using the Saltmarsh story below, the facts copied from SAM.gov are an expiration on the 365th day and representations last updated more than 12 months earlier. FAR 4.1201 and SAM.gov both require an annual pass. An AsherGate file dated last spring does not keep the record Active.
The official step is to open Entity Workspace on SAM.gov, renew or update there, and wait until the record is Active. Then download or print the current status, store that copy in Company Documents with the expiration date copied from SAM.gov, and keep solicitation files in their own draft. Do not submit an offer from AsherGate while the record is expired.
Fictional example
Saltmarsh Surveying Co is a fictional land-survey shop in Charleston, South Carolina. It completed SAM.gov entity registration the previous year and stored a PDF of the Active record in AsherGate Company Documents.
A teammate opens a fictional RFQ, AG-RENEW-26-0703, from a fictional Cooper River Mapping Desk. Before they price anything, they check SAM.gov. The registration is no longer Active. The 365th day has passed. The representations on file were last updated more than 12 months earlier. The AsherGate PDF still shows last year’s Active screen.
They renew on SAM.gov, wait for Active status, and replace the Company Documents file with a new dated copy. They write a team note that the vault copy is evidence for the team, not the live record the contracting officer will verify. They do not send a quotation while the registration is expired.
Each official source is listed with the teaching claim it supports. Product behavior is labeled separately. Review dates are when AsherGate last checked the page.
Acquisition.gov · Official source · Reviewed 2026-09-27
Supports: Offerors complete electronic annual representations and certifications in SAM as part of registration. Registrants review and update them at least annually. They are effective until one year from submission or update.
Acquisition.gov · Official source · Reviewed 2026-09-27
Supports: By submitting the offer, the offeror verifies that applicable SAM representations were entered or updated within the last 12 months and are current, accurate, complete, and applicable as of the date of the offer. Offer-only changes do not update SAM.
Acquisition.gov · Official source · Reviewed 2026-09-27
Supports: The contractor must maintain SAM registration during performance through final payment and review and update SAM data annually from the initial registration or later updates. Updating SAM is not a contract modification. If 52.204-7 Alternate I applied and the contractor could not register before award, 52.204-13 requires registration within 30 days after award or before three days prior to the first invoice, whichever occurs first.
SAM.gov / GSA · Official source · Reviewed 2026-09-27
Supports: You must renew your registration every 365 days to keep it active. You can update anytime or during renewal. Check status on SAM.gov.
SAM.gov / GSA · Official source · Reviewed 2026-09-27
Supports: There is no charge to maintain entity registration. You must renew every 365 days for the registration to remain active. Allow at least ten business days after you submit for the registration to become active.
Acquisition.gov · Official source · Reviewed 2026-09-27
Supports: Registration in SAM at the time an offer is submitted is required in order to comply with the annual representations and certifications requirements, except for the listed exceptions.
AsherGate · AsherGate product · Reviewed 2026-09-27
Supports: Company Documents can store a dated copy of registration evidence with an expiration field. The vault does not renew SAM.gov or keep representations current.