The short answer is yes, but there has been an important change regarding government contractors and the DUNS number. For years the Dun and Bradstreet (DUNS) number was recognized as the universal standard to track businesses worldwide.
It was originally designed to track and enhance credibility and allow potential customers, lenders, and suppliers learn about your business. The nine-digit unique number was something needed to obtain if a business wanted to contract with the government.
As of April 4th, 2022, it is no longer recognized as a business identification number for the federal government, however in some cases it can still be used.
For the federal government, The DUNS number has now been replaced with the Unique Entity Identifier number (UEI) that can now be obtained once a business registers for the System of Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov.
According to the General Services Administration (GSA) the UEI is the official “new non-proprietary identifier”, and will both be requested, and assigned by, SAM.
It is still important to obtain a DUNS number since it is still recognized for large businesses, state, local, and education sectors of the government. Therefore, if you are interested in contracting with the government, you should both obtain a DUNS number as well as the UEI.
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