If you’re a small business owner asking what is Grants.gov: it’s an official US government website where federal grant opportunities are listed and applied for. Registration comes first.
This explainer is part of our wider coverage of business grants and focuses on the Grants.gov website itself.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Cost to register with SAM.gov | Free |
| SAM.gov registration renewal | Every year |
| SAM registration activation (even with a federal tax ID) | Up to 10 business days |
| Grants.gov account registration | Same day |
| Workspace approaches | 3 (Basic, Intermediate, Advanced) |
| Workspaces needed | 1 per grant application |
These figures come from the Grants.gov applicant registration page and the Grants.gov Quick Start Guide for Applicants. They can change, so check the source before you rely on them.
What Grants.gov is and what it does
Grants.gov labels itself an official website of the United States government. Its pages cover searching for grant opportunities, registering, and submitting applications. This guide is neutral background only and does not provide, arrange or broker any funding.
The Quick Start Guide for Applicants points readers to several parts of the site:
- Search Grants, for finding grant opportunities.
- Learn Grants, an introduction to federal grants, including how to determine your organization’s eligibility.
- Register as an Individual Applicant, with special instructions for opportunities open to individuals, such as fellowships.
The same guide says you can click Search Grants and enter your search criteria, or enter an opportunity number from a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). From a listing’s View Grant Opportunity page, an Apply button starts the application workspace.
If you want the wider picture of public funding for small firms, our overview of government grants for small business gives general background beyond this one website.
Who can apply through Grants.gov?
The applicant registration page states that most grants are for organizations, but some are open to individuals. Which group an opportunity is open to is something each listing has to answer.
The organization registration page names nonprofits, state governments and private businesses as organizations that must complete several steps outside Grants.gov before submitting an application. Those steps are covered in the next section.
Whether a particular business qualifies depends on the opportunity, and the same page advises contacting the federal agency point of contact listed in the grant opportunity to discuss that agency’s policy. Our explainer on business grant eligibility criteria covers the general ideas, but the agency contact named in a listing is the place to confirm the details.
How registration works before you can apply
Grants.gov uses SAM.gov to establish organizational authority for its users, according to the applicant registration page. An organization therefore has to register there first and cannot start applying in Grants.gov until that is done.
Putting the Grants.gov pages together, the sequence for an organization looks like this:
- Form a legal entity with an Employer Identification Number (EIN), as the organization registration page describes.
- Register the organization with SAM.gov and choose a main contact, called the Electronic Business Point of Contact (EBiz POC).
- Receive a Unique Entity ID (UEI), which the Quick Start Guide says is required to apply for grants using Grants.gov.
- Make sure each person who will work on forms has a Login.gov account, which the same guide says is required.
- Create a Grants.gov account with the same email address used for the EBiz POC in SAM.gov.
- Add an organization applicant profile using the UEI, then give other people access to help with applications.
The timing differs by page, so read it carefully. The applicant registration page says to allow up to 10 business days for SAM registration to become active, even with a federal tax ID, and that it could take weeks or months if information isn’t available or verified. The organization registration page gives an average of 7-10 business days after all information is entered, and one day to receive a UEI after the EBiz POC details are entered. See the applicant registration page and the organization registration page for each wording.
The organization registration page also carries a notice that its information has been updated and refers readers to Applicant Registration. For that reason, treat the applicant registration page as the main reference when the two differ.
According to the applicant registration page, it is free to register with SAM.gov, and the registration must be renewed every year. Once the SAM step is finished, the Grants.gov account itself is listed as a same-day step on the organization registration page.
Roles and workspaces: how a team works on one application
Grants.gov lets an organization assign roles and privileges to its users. Those roles control who can perform certain tasks and see sensitive content, such as a budget, in an application, according to the Quick Start Guide.
The roles named on the applicant registration page include Authorized Organization Representative (AOR), Workspace Manager and custom roles. If your Grants.gov account uses the same email address as the electronic business point of contact in SAM.gov, the guide says you are automatically given the expanded AOR role, which lets you assign roles to the organization’s other registered users. Users with the expanded AOR or standard AOR role can submit applications.
A workspace is where the application forms live. The same guide says there are three approaches to using one, and that you must create a different workspace for each grant application:
- Basic: fill out forms online, or download them as PDFs, work offline and upload the completed forms.
- Intermediate: a workspace owner controls access to the workspace and to individual online or offline forms, which suits more complex organizations.
- Advanced: the workspace owner gives access to team members who may not have your UEI, with options such as limiting access to budget forms.
Forms can be completed online in your browser, downloaded and completed offline, or reused from a previous application, as the Quick Start Guide describes. Every person who applies through Grants.gov must also have a profile.
Finding and tracking opportunities
Searching is the part of Grants.gov most people see first. The Search Grants page takes your criteria, and a result opens a listing with its opportunity number and an Apply button.
If you do not want to check the site repeatedly, the applicant registration page says you can sign up for daily emails with new and revised grant opportunities under Manage Subscriptions. You can choose which agencies and types of grants you want to hear about, and all you need is an account.
The site’s menu also lists a Track My Application page for applicants. Registered users with a role can also see their assigned roles on the Manage Profiles tab of the My Account page.
One Grants.gov account can cover several organizations. After creating the account, you add a profile for each organization using its UEI from SAM.gov.
Limits to keep in mind
Grants.gov is a place to find and submit applications, not a guide to whether your business is a good fit for a given grant. Terms vary by agency, by opportunity and by country, and Grants.gov covers federal grants from the United States only.
- Registration takes time. Start early, because processing can run from days to weeks or months if details cannot be verified.
- Pages get updated. At least one Grants.gov registration page says its information has been replaced by another page.
- Each opportunity has its own contact. Use the agency point of contact in the listing for policy questions.
- Help exists. The pages point to an Online User Guide and a Support Center for registration, search and application questions.
Treat any figure in this guide as a snapshot, and confirm it on the Grants.gov page before planning around it.
Frequently asked questions
Does it cost anything to register with SAM.gov?
Show answer
The applicant registration page says it is free to register. It also says the registration must be renewed every year.
Can an individual use Grants.gov?
Show answer
Most grants are for organizations, but the same page says some are open to individuals. Individuals can read the Grants.gov help page for individual applicants for the special instructions.
How long does registration take?
Show answer
The applicant registration page says to allow up to 10 business days for SAM registration, and longer if information cannot be verified. The Grants.gov account itself is listed as a same-day step on the organization registration page.
Do I need a separate account for each organization?
Show answer
No. The applicant registration page says you can add a profile for each organization using its UEI from SAM.gov, through the Manage Profiles tab on the My Account page.
This article is for general information and education only and is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice.
