How to Get a CAGE Code: A Step-by-Step Guide

For a U.S. business, you do not apply for a CAGE code separately — the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) assigns it for free as part of your SAM.gov registration. It is a five-character identifier tied to one physical location, the standard processing window is about 10 business days, and you should never pay a third party for it.

Check first: not sure whether federal registration is the right move yet? Our free 60-second eligibility checker shows which federal, state, and city programs your business actually qualifies for before you start filling out forms.

If you are trying to bid on a federal contract and a solicitation asks for your "CAGE code," here is the short answer: for a U.S. business, you do not apply for a CAGE code separately. It is assigned to you for free by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) as part of your registration in SAM.gov. You cannot skip it, you should never pay a third party for it, and the code you get is tied to one specific physical location. This guide walks through exactly how the assignment works, how long it takes, and the mistakes that quietly stall a lot of first-time registrants.

What a CAGE code actually is

CAGE stands for Commercial and Government Entity. Under the Federal Acquisition Regulation, a CAGE code is defined as "an identifier assigned to entities located in the United States or its outlying areas by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Branch to identify a commercial or government entity by unique location" (FAR 52.204-16).

Two words in that definition matter more than the rest: unique location. A CAGE code is not a company-wide ID the way your EIN is. It attaches to a specific name and address. If your business operates from two physical locations, each location generally gets its own CAGE code. This trips people up later when a contracting officer's records show a CAGE code for an address you no longer use.

The CAGE code works alongside two other identifiers you will hear about constantly in federal contracting: your Unique Entity ID (UEI), which is your primary SAM.gov identifier, and your SAM.gov registration itself. If you have not sorted out your UEI yet, start there first — our walkthrough on how to get a UEI number in SAM.gov covers that piece, and the CAGE code assignment builds directly on it.

Do you even need one?

If you intend to hold a federal prime contract, the answer is almost always yes. FAR 52.204-16 states plainly that "the CAGE code is required prior to award." You can submit an offer before your code comes through — the same rule tells offerors, "do not delay submission of the offer pending receipt of a CAGE code" — but you cannot actually be awarded the work without one.

You need a CAGE code if you are registering in SAM.gov to pursue federal contracts, grants, or other awards. You may also be asked for one as a subcontractor that requires access to classified information. If none of that applies to your business, you likely do not need to think about CAGE codes at all — this is a federal contracting identifier, not a general business license.

Not sure whether federal registration is even the right move for your business right now? Our free eligibility checker can help you figure out where your time is best spent before you start filling out forms.

Step by step: how a U.S. business gets a CAGE code

For the overwhelming majority of small businesses, the process looks like this.

Step 1: Get your Unique Entity ID and start SAM.gov registration

Go to SAM.gov and begin an entity registration. Early in that process you will validate your entity and receive your UEI. You do not request a CAGE code here — you simply complete the registration. The system handles the CAGE step behind the scenes.

Step 2: Complete your full "All Awards" registration

Fill out every required section: your business's legal name and physical address, your NAICS codes, financial and points-of-contact information, and the representations and certifications. Accuracy on your legal name and physical address is the single biggest factor in whether your CAGE assignment goes smoothly, because DLA matches those fields against authoritative records.

Step 3: SAM.gov sends your record to DLA

Once you submit, SAM.gov routes qualifying registrations to the DLA CAGE Branch. FAR 52.204-16 confirms the mechanism: "If the Offeror is located in the United States or its outlying areas and does not already have a CAGE code assigned, the DLA Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Branch will assign a CAGE code as a part of the SAM registration process." You do not file a separate application and you do not pay anything for this.

Step 4: DLA validates and assigns the code

DLA reviews the record and, if everything matches, assigns your CAGE code. According to the DLA CAGE program, the standard processing window is roughly 10 business days, though DLA has publicly noted that times can run longer during high-volume periods. If DLA needs additional information, it will reach out — responding promptly and completely is the fastest way to avoid weeks of back-and-forth.

Step 5: Your registration goes active with the CAGE code attached

When the code is assigned, it is written back to your SAM.gov record. At that point your registration is complete, your CAGE code is visible in your entity profile, and you are eligible for award. You can check your registration's status at any time using the "Check Entity Status" function on your SAM.gov account login screen.

The rare exception: a CAGE code without SAM registration

There is one narrow case where you request a CAGE code directly instead of through SAM. FAR 52.204-16(c)(2) allows it: "If registration in SAM is not required for the subject procurement, and the Offeror does not otherwise register in SAM, an Offeror located in the United States or its outlying areas may request that a CAGE code be assigned by submitting a request at https://cage.dla.mil."

In practice, this applies to a small slice of situations — certain subcontracting or classified-access scenarios where a full SAM registration is not triggered. If you are a small business chasing prime federal awards, you will almost always be in SAM anyway, so the SAM path is the one that applies to you. When in doubt, register in SAM; that is the route the government expects.

Foreign businesses: the NCAGE comes first

If your business is located outside the United States and its outlying areas, the order of operations flips. You cannot get a U.S. CAGE code through SAM; instead you need an NCAGE (NATO CAGE) code, a five-character alphanumeric identifier assigned by a NATO member or the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA).

Crucially, you must obtain the NCAGE before you register in SAM.gov — FAR 52.204-16 directs that "SAM registrants located outside the United States and its outlying areas shall obtain a NCAGE code prior to registration in SAM." Foreign entities obtain an NCAGE through their country's codification bureau if that country is a NATO member or sponsored nation, or directly from the NSPA's public NCAGE portal if it is not. Trying to register in SAM first and sort the NCAGE out later is one of the most common reasons a foreign registration stalls.

Common mistakes that stall your CAGE code

A few patterns show up again and again, and every one of them is avoidable.

Paying a third party for a "CAGE code service." The CAGE code is free and is issued directly by DLA through SAM.gov. Any site charging a fee just to obtain a CAGE code is charging you for something the government provides at no cost. (Legitimate registration-help services exist, but the code itself is never a paid item.)

Legal name and address mismatches. Because DLA and SAM validate your entity against authoritative records, a legal name that does not exactly match your IRS or state filings — or a physical address that reads differently across documents — is the fastest way to get flagged for manual review. Use your exact legal name and a real physical street address, not a P.O. box.

Treating the CAGE code as company-wide. Remember the "unique location" definition. If you move, or add a second office that will perform contract work, expect that address to need its own CAGE code, and keep your SAM record current so contracting officers are not looking at a dead address.

Letting the registration lapse. Your SAM registration must be renewed annually, and your CAGE code stays valid only as long as your registration is active and accurate. A lapsed registration can effectively sideline your CAGE code right when you need it for an award.

After you have your CAGE code

Once your code is assigned and your SAM registration is active, you are cleared to be awarded federal work — but that is the starting line, not the finish. The next questions are whether your registration is set up to actually surface the right opportunities and whether your NAICS codes, size representations, and certifications are working for you rather than against you.

That is where a lot of small businesses leave contracts on the table: technically registered, but not positioned to win. If you want a second set of eyes on your SAM.gov setup before you start bidding, our SAM.gov registration service and free registration audit are built for exactly that. You can also see straightforward, flat-rate options on our pricing page.

Getting your CAGE code is genuinely one of the more mechanical steps in federal contracting — do the SAM registration carefully, keep your name and address clean, and the code follows. The harder, more valuable work is everything that comes after.

This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal, financial, or procurement advice. Program rules and processing times change; always confirm current requirements with the official sources linked above, including SAM.gov and the DLA CAGE program, before acting. See our disclosures for full disclaimers.