CAGE Code: What It Is and How a Ride Company Gets One

What a CAGE code is

A CAGE code is the identifier that federal contracting systems use to pick out one company at one location. Under FAR 52.204-16, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) CAGE Branch assigns it to entities in the United States “by unique location.” That location detail is why the code has to match the name and address in your registration.

It is a separate number from the Unique Entity ID. FAR 4.1800 calls the UEI “a different identifier,” and a federal ride buyer may ask for both. It is also separate from your NPI and Medicaid provider number, which identify you to health payers.

How does a ride company get a CAGE code?

Register your company in SAM.gov, and the code comes with the registration. The SAM.gov checklist says to answer No if you have no CAGE code, and one is assigned to your entity after you submit. The registration is free. SAM.gov tells new registrants to allow ten business days for the registration to become active, and our government contracts guide walks through the whole registration.

Two checks can hold it up. SAM.gov validates your taxpayer information against IRS records, and it validates the CAGE code too. If either fails you get an email, and you may have to correct your information with the IRS or the CAGE Branch before you resubmit. Spell the legal name and address the way your IRS EIN notice does, which is the paper the CP 575 glossary entry covers.

A company that is not registering in SAM can still request a code directly. Under FAR 52.204-16(c)(2), that applies only when the buy does not require SAM registration, and the request goes through cage.dla.mil.

Where buyers ask for it

Federal buyers ask for it in the offer, and they confirm it through SAM. The codified FAR, which is still posted on acquisition.gov, has the offeror give the code for its location before an award above the micro-purchase threshold (section 4.1802). Provision 52.204-16 adds that the offeror writes the word CAGE before the number and uses the code that belongs to the name and address on the offer. The overhauled FAR text that VA and many other agencies now apply by deviation (the compiled version is marked effective July 1, 2026) asks for more. Its provision 52.204-7(b)(3) has the offeror provide a CAGE code and legal business name for itself, for any immediate owner, for any highest-level owner and for any predecessor that held a federal contract or grant in the last three years, as part of the SAM registration. An offeror that will not be registered gives the same details with its offer under provision 52.204-90.

Market research asks earlier. VA’s Eastern Kansas (March 2026) and Orlando (July 2026) sources sought notices list the CAGE code next to the UEI among the first items a respondent supplies.

The contracting officer does the checking. Under overhauled section 4.203-2, the officer uses your UEI to confirm an active SAM registration, and codified FAR 4.1803 says active registrations have already had their CAGE codes verified. For a buy that does not require SAM, the officer validates the code with the search at cage.dla.mil. For ride work, this is the federal side: the VA medical center contracts and other agency buys.

How do I look up a CAGE code?

Search cage.dla.mil, or check a registration in SAM.gov. The SAM.gov checklist says a signed-in user with a role on an entity can open Check Registration Status and search by Unique Entity ID or by CAGE code. Check your own entry before you bid, so a validation problem does not surface after the offer is in.

Keeping it current

Your CAGE data follows your SAM registration, so a lapsed registration is the usual problem. SAM.gov requires a renewal every 365 days for the registration to stay active. When your name, address or ownership changes, update SAM first. FAR 52.204-18 says that for a SAM-registered contractor, the CAGE Branch changes its master file only when you start the change through SAM.

Once you hold a federal contract, you have to keep the code maintained. The overhauled FAR’s section 4.305 requires contractors to keep their UEI and CAGE code throughout the life of the contract and to tell the contracting officer of any change within 30 days, so a modification can update the contract. The codified clause 52.204-18 sets the same 30 days, and it covers each location where the work is performed. A novation or change-of-name agreement is reported to the contracting officer under subpart 42.12.

Frequently asked questions

Do I pay for a CAGE code?

No. SAM.gov says it is free to get a Unique Entity ID, register and maintain the registration. A U.S. company that has no CAGE code answers No on the registration form, and the DLA CAGE Branch assigns one after the registration is submitted. Any site that charges for a code is a private service.

Can I get a CAGE code without registering in SAM?

Only when the buy does not require a SAM registration. FAR provision 52.204-16 lets a U.S. offeror in that position request a code from the DLA CAGE Branch at cage.dla.mil. For a federal ride contract, the solicitation normally requires the registration, so the SAM route is the one to plan on.

Is a CAGE code the same as a UEI?

No. FAR 4.1800 calls the unique entity identifier a different identifier. The UEI is the ID SAM.gov generates for the entity. The CAGE code identifies the entity at a unique location, and a contracting officer looks it up through your SAM record.

What do I do with my CAGE code when the company moves or changes its name?

Update your SAM registration. For a SAM-registered company, the DLA CAGE Branch changes its master file data only when you start the change through SAM. If the contract is already awarded, a change-of-name agreement goes to the contracting officer under FAR subpart 42.12, and any change to the CAGE code goes to the contracting officer within 30 days.

CAGE code: the ID a federal ride contract needs, and how you get one