Government Contractor – DUNS Number Is Going Away

Date Published: May 8, 2020                                                                                        Episode #131   Hello, and welcome to Federal Contracting Made Easy, where we take the complex world of government contracting and break it down into simple steps that anyone can master. Today’s topic is on “DUNS Numbers are Going Away.”

The General Services Administration (GSA) is replacing the DUNS number with a new 12-character identifier ID.  How soon will this happen?  GSA states that this is happening by December 2020.

Why Change the DUNS Number?

Dun & Bradstreet created the DUNS number back in 1962. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) required a number as part of the formal entity verification process since 1998. Why the change?  GSA opened the contract to new vendors last year.  As a result, they awarded the new contract to Ernst & Young, which will administer the new ID number and manage the transition from Dun & Bradstreet.  Next, we will look at the new Unique Entity ID.

Unique Entity ID

Dun & Bradstreet created the DUNS Number in 1962.  It has been the official entity verification number since 1998. That is when a change to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) required the DUNS number.  Why the change?  GSA opened the contract to new vendors last year.  As a result, they awarded the new contract to Ernst & Young, which will administer the new ID number and manage the transition from Dun & Bradstreet.  Next, we will look at the new Unique Entity ID.

 My Thoughts

I think that this change is long overdue. Registering to do business with the government should not require someone to contact another business. The assignment of a number automatically is ideal.

Personally, I hate being contacted by Duns & Bradstreet pushing their services on me.  Many small business owners purchased their services believing that it was required by the Government.  Although Dun & Bradstreet has gotten better about letting potential clients know that their service is not required in order to receive a DUNS number.  It is still frustrating to get a solicitation phone call for a service that you don’t want.

SAM.Gov should generate the Unique Entity ID.  That would be optimal, in my opinion.  This change should have happened years ago—way to go GSA.

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