The six steps
- Get the identifiers. Ask the company for its UEI and CAGE code, and its legal name, any DBA and any former names. A UEI or CAGE code points at one record; a name doesn't.
- Search the exclusions at SAM.gov. Start with the UEI, then the CAGE code.
- Search the names too. Try the legal name, the DBA and former names, because a record may lack an identifier. Use the distinctive part of the name, not "Inc" or "LLC".
- Read any result in full: the exclusion type, the excluding agency, the active date, the termination date and the additional comments.
- Decide each name match. Compare the address, identifiers and dates. A similar name is a question, not an answer.
- Save the record. Keep what you searched, when, what came back and what you decided.
How to read an exclusion record
SAM.gov doesn't label records "debarred" or "suspended". It uses four exclusion types:
| Type | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Ineligible (Proceedings Pending) | Preliminarily ineligible while an investigation or legal proceeding runs. Usually shows an indefinite end date. | Treat as excluded. Pending doesn't mean harmless. |
| Ineligible (Proceedings Completed) | Found ineligible after proceedings, or under another law or order. The end date sets the period. | Treat as excluded until the end date. |
| Prohibition/Restriction | Sanctions from OFAC, or a sanction, restriction or partial denial from State or another agency. | For OFAC, follow OFAC's guidance. Otherwise read the agency's comments, or ask the agency. |
| Voluntary Exclusion | The party agreed to be excluded in a settlement. | Read the comments for its scope, or ask the agency. |
Debarments generally appear under the "Completed" type and suspensions and proposed debarments under "Pending". The difference between them matters less than you'd expect for a prime: under FAR 9.405-2(b), all of them, voluntary exclusions included, limit subcontracts over the threshold.
A note on that threshold. SAM.gov's exclusion types page still said $30,000 when we read it on October 31, 2026. The FAR says $45,000 (it was $35,000 until October 1, 2025). The FAR is the rule.
What a clean result doesn't prove
- It covers one moment. Exclusions take effect on any day. Today's result says nothing about next month.
- It covers the names you tried. A company that changed its name, or formed a new entity, may not show under the name you have. Search the principals and affiliates when something feels off.
- It isn't a sanctions check. Run the Consolidated Screening List or OFAC's own search too. Our 2026 count shows why SAM.gov alone isn't enough for that.
- It doesn't replace the disclosure. 52.209-6(c) still asks the sub to say in writing whether it or its principals are excluded.
If you find an active exclusion
First make sure it's the same company. If it is, and the subcontract is over the threshold and isn't for COTS items, you may not enter into it unless there is a compelling reason. Before you do, a corporate officer or designee must notify the contracting officer in writing, with the sub's name, what you know of why it is listed, the compelling reason, and how you are protecting the government's interests. That is a decision for your contracts lead and counsel, not a form to file quietly.
Doing it for a whole supplier list
Five minutes a company is fine for one sub and doesn't work for two hundred, four times a year. That's the case for monitoring rather than searching, and the spreadsheet comparison shows what it takes by hand. To try it on one company, enter a UEI or CAGE code in the free supplier check; it needs no account. Watch reads business entities only, so check a named person at SAM.gov directly.