With the “beta” in beta.SAM.gov just a few short months from retirement, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced it will validate the identity of agency administrators starting May 24.
The identity validation – which GSA will call identity proofing – will be voluntary for the first year, then compulsory starting in Fiscal Year 2022. The identity proofing will not apply to everyone who uses the site, just those users that manage SAM.gov registrations.
“We will begin validating the identity of each entity administrator in SAM.gov as an optional benefit at first,” GSA said in an Interact blog post. “However, we recommend that all existing entity administrators become familiar with and take advantage of this added level of security as soon as possible. Early adopters will have the opportunity to provide feedback that will help us improve the process moving forward.”
GSA will require administrators to upload a picture of their state-issued photo ID, their social security number, and a valid phone number.
The identity proofing will happen right from the SAM.gov website and will start on the same day that the current SAM.gov merges with what is now beta.SAM.gov. That will end the beta testing period that has been taking place since 2017.
