Update: Notification of Upcoming Change in Federal-wide Unique Entity Identifier Requirements
Notice Number:
NOT-OD-21-170

Key Dates

Release Date:

August 5, 2021

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Issued by

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (NIH)

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

Office of Research and Development (ORD), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Purpose

The purpose of this notice is to update the applicant and recipient communities of the federal-wide transition from the DUN and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number to a new government-owned Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). By April 2022, the federal government will stop using the DUNS number to uniquely identify entities registered in the System for Award Management (SAM). SAM will become the central repository for the new UEI that will be incorporated into an institution’s SAM registration.

Policy Change

Currently, in accordance with federal assistance regulations and the NIH Grants Policy Statement 2.3.7.8, all applicant organizations must have a DUNS number as the Universal Identifier when applying for federal grants or cooperative agreements, and recipient organizations must notify potential subrecipients that no organization may receive a subaward under the grant unless the organization has provided its DUNS number to the recipient organization.

In March 2019, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced that the U.S. Government is moving to a new government-owned Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) which will replace the DUNS as the unique entity identifier in all systems, including Grants.gov and eRA Commons. The assignment of the UEI will be incorporated into the SAM registration process, eliminating the need for applicants to seek external identifiers in order to register. This change will not impact the Institutional Profile File (IPF) generated by eRA Commons for tracking and reporting on awards.

Implementation Update

The transition from DUNS to UEI is ongoing. By April 2022, the Federal government will stop using the DUNS number to uniquely identify entities registered in the System for Award Management (SAM).

Beginning mid-FY2021, all entities registered in SAM will automatically be issued a UEI. Note: Entities registering in SAM prior to April 2022 must still obtain a DUNS from Dun and Bradstreet prior to SAM registration.

Implementation:

  • Beginning October 2021, entities registered in eRA Commons will begin to see their UEI populated in the Institutional Profile File (IPF). No action is required by the entity.
  • Beginning October 2021, recipients UEI will be populated on Page One of the Notice of Award. The recipient UEI will also be transmitted in award data reported to the HHS Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) and USASpending.gov.
  • For applications due on or after January 25, 2022, applicants must have a UEI at the time of application submission. Application forms and packages required for application submission will be updated to reflect UEI instead of DUNS. See NOT-OD-21-169 for more information.

Resources:

Inquiries

Please direct all NIH inquiries to:
NIH Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration (OPERA)
Systems Policy Branch
Email: OPERAsystemspolicy@nih.gov

Please direct all AHRQ inquiries to:
Division for Policy, Coordination and Analysis
Office of Extramural Research, Education, and Priority Populations
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, HHS
Email: Grant_Queries@ahrq.hhs.gov

Please direct all FDA inquiries to:
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Office of Acquisitions and Grants Services (OAGS)
Grants Management Branch
Email: OAGSGrantsPolicy@fda.hhs.gov

Please direct all SAMHSA inquiries to:
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Office of Financial Resources
Division of Grants Management
Email: DGMCorrespondence@samhsa.hhs.gov

Please direct all VA/ORD inquires to:
Department of Veterans Affairs
Office of Research and Development
Email: vhacordera.vhacordera@va.gov


Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices