CAGE Code Optimization
Your CAGE code is the primary key of your federal identity. A mis-configured record costs award decisions, prime introductions, and even organic search visibility. Here's how to clean it up.
What CAGE actually controls
The Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code is issued by DLA and referenced by every federal award, EDI transaction, and contract data feed. Contracting officers look you up by CAGE first, UEI second, and company name last.
SAM.gov + DLA alignment
- Legal business name in SAM.gov must match your DLA CAGE record character-for-character.
- Physical address on both records must match — a P.O. box on one and street on the other triggers a review.
- Entity structure (LLC, Inc., Corp) must be consistent everywhere including your website footer.
NAICS & PSC selection
Your primary NAICS in SAM.gov drives set-aside eligibility and search filters on SAM opportunities. Pick the code where you actually win — not the one that sounds most impressive — and add 5–15 secondary NAICS that map to real capabilities.
Address, POCs, and banking
- Government Business POC and Electronic Business POC should be different people — auditors flag single-POC records.
- Banking (EFT) info must match the invoicing entity, or payments hold in Treasury.
- Use an @yourdomain.com email, never Gmail — primes filter Gmail POCs out of teaming lists.
Website + CAGE linkage
- Display CAGE, UEI, DUNS-legacy, and primary NAICS in the website footer.
- Publish a Capabilities Statement PDF at /capabilities-statement.pdf with the same identifiers.
- Add Organization schema.org markup with identifier fields for CAGE and UEI so AI answer engines cite you correctly.
Ongoing maintenance
SAM.gov requires annual renewal, but you should audit CAGE, NAICS, and POC accuracy quarterly. A 15-minute review each quarter prevents a lost award from a stale record.