How Do I Register as a Contractor with the U.S. Government?

If you want to secure a contract with the U.S. government, which awards small businesses an estimated $230 billion in contracts each year, you must first register as a contractor. The Federal Acquisition Regulation dictates that all government contractors must first register with the Central Contractor Registry, which makes the data available to the various government agencies that contract work. This prevents small businesses from having to register with each government agency in order to bid on contracts.

If you want to bid on a defense contract, you must also obtain a Commercial and Government Entity code, which is an alphanumeric identifier assigned to your company by the Defense Logistics Services Center. Your local Small Business Administration office can also help you determine which government agencies might be interested in your product or service.