SAM.gov API Documentation - Developer Guide & Tutorial (2026)

Everything you need to know to integrate with SAM.gov's API for federal contract opportunities: registration, authentication, rate limits, and working code examples.

Quick Reference: SAM.gov provides free API access to federal contract opportunities. Public access allows 10 requests/day; registered entities get 1,000/day. Plan for 1-4 weeks total for registration and API access approval.

Need Decision Maker Contacts?

Found opportunities on SAM.gov? Get verified contact info for agency contracting officers and program managers. Try GovCon Contacts →

What is SAM.gov?

The System for Award Management (SAM.gov) is the official U.S. government registry for entities doing business with the federal government. It consolidates multiple systems and provides APIs for accessing federal contracting opportunities.

SAM.gov provides access to:

Contract Opportunities - Active solicitations and awards
Entity Registration - Vendor registration and validation
Federal Hierarchy - Agency and sub-agency data
Exclusions Database - Debarred entities

SAM.gov API Registration Process

API Key Required (Basic Account - Instant)

Create free SAM.gov account → Generate key → 10 requests/day:

curl "https://api.sam.gov/prod/opportunities/v2/search?api_key=your_sam_key&limit=1&postedFrom=01/01/2026&postedTo=01/28/2026"

Entity Registration for 1,000/day (~2-3 weeks)

Time Required: Up to 10 business days + role approval

Register your business entity in SAM.gov
Obtain Unique Entity ID (UEI) - DUNS is no longer used
Complete entity validation process
Wait for approval

Step 2: API Access Request

Time Required: Additional 1-2 weeks

Submit role request for "Data Entry" role
Provide justification for API access
Wait for role approval
Generate API key through SAM.gov interface

Tip: Be specific in your justification. Explain your use case clearly (e.g., "Building internal tool to monitor contract opportunities in NAICS 541511").

SAM.gov API Rate Limits

Rate Limits by Access Level

Access Level	Requests Per Day	How to Get It
Public (no auth)	10	No registration required
Entity User	1,000	Complete entity registration
Federal System User	10,000	Government .gov/.mil email + system account

Note: The 1,000/day limit works for most small-scale applications. For high-volume needs, consider caching responses or using bulk data downloads.

API Data Coverage

What the API Returns

Opportunity metadata - Title, agency, posted date, deadline
Solicitation numbers - Contract identifiers
Set-aside information - Small business designations
Contact information - Point of contact (when available)
Place of performance - Location data
NAICS/PSC codes - Industry classifications

What Requires Additional Steps

Full descriptions - Available via separate document download
Attachments - Require individual file requests
Award data - Often requires separate Award Notice lookup

Code Example: SAM.gov API

import requests import json # SAM.gov API endpoint SAM_API_URL = "https://api.sam.gov/prod/opportunities/v2/search" API_KEY = "your_sam_gov_api_key" # Get from sam.gov after registration def get_sam_opportunities(): headers = { 'Accept': 'application/json' } params = { 'api_key': API_KEY, # API key goes in query params 'limit': 25, 'postedFrom': '01/01/2026', 'postedTo': '01/31/2026', 'ptype': 'o' # Solicitations only } response = requests.get(SAM_API_URL, headers=headers, params=params) response.raise_for_status() data = response.json() opportunities = data.get('opportunitiesData', []) for opp in opportunities: print(f"Title: {opp.get('title')}") print(f"Agency: {opp.get('fullParentPathName')}") print(f"Posted: {opp.get('postedDate')}") print(f"Deadline: {opp.get('responseDeadLine')}") print(f"Type: {opp.get('type')}") # Contact info is in an array contacts = opp.get('pointOfContact', []) if contacts: print(f"Contact: {contacts[0].get('email', 'N/A')}") print("---") get_sam_opportunities()

Important: Pagination

The API returns paginated results. Use offset to retrieve subsequent pages:

First page: offset=0 (default)
Second page: offset=25 (if limit=25)
Continue until offset >= totalRecords

Check totalRecords in the response to know when you've retrieved everything.

Key Parameters

limit - Results per page (max 1000)
postedFrom/postedTo - Date range (MM/DD/YYYY format)
ptype - Notice type: o (opportunities), s (solicitation), a (award)
solnum - Solicitation number search
ncode - NAICS code filter

Common Issues and Solutions

1. Registration Takes Too Long

Issue: Entity registration can take up to 10 business days.

Solution: Start with the public 10 requests/day while waiting. Use caching to make the most of limited calls.

2. Rate Limit Exceeded

Issue: Hit the daily limit during development.

Solution: Cache responses locally. The opportunities data doesn't change frequently, so a 1-hour cache is usually fine.

3. Need Full Descriptions

Issue: API returns metadata but not the full contract description.

Solution: Use the resourceLinks field to download attached documents, or use SAM.gov's bulk data downloads.

4. Need Award Data

Issue: Want to see who won similar contracts.

Solution: Search for "Award Notice" types in SAM.gov matching the solicitation number.

When SAM.gov API Works Well

Good fit for:

Internal tools checking specific opportunities
Low-volume monitoring (under 100 checks/day)
Government agencies (10,000 requests/day with federal account)
Projects that can wait for registration
When you only need metadata, not full descriptions

When to Consider Alternatives

Consider other options if you need:

More than 1,000 requests per day
Full contract descriptions included in API response
Award data (who won, for how much) integrated
Faster setup (same-day API access)
Simpler JSON structure

Alternative: GovCon API

GovCon API provides SAM.gov data with some differences:

Instant access - No registration wait
Higher limits - 1,000 requests/hour
Descriptions included - Full text in API response
Award data - Integrated award fields included
Flat JSON - Simpler structure, easier parsing

Free tier: 25 requests/day. Developer plan: $19/month.

import requests # GovCon API example GOVCON_API_URL = "https://govconapi.com/api/v1/opportunities/search" API_KEY = "your_govcon_api_key" def get_opportunities(): headers = {'Authorization': f'Bearer {API_KEY}'} params = {'naics': '541330', 'limit': 50} response = requests.get(GOVCON_API_URL, headers=headers, params=params) data = response.json() for opp in data.get('data', []): print(f"Title: {opp.get('title')}") print(f"Agency: {opp.get('agency')}") print(f"Description: {opp.get('description_text', '')[:200]}...") print("---") get_opportunities()

Summary

SAM.gov's API is the official source for federal contract data. It's free, authoritative, and works well for low-volume use cases. The main tradeoffs are the registration wait time and rate limits.

For higher-volume needs or faster setup, third-party APIs like GovCon API provide alternatives with different tradeoffs (cost vs. convenience).

Next Steps

Start SAM.gov registration (if you have time to wait)
Get instant API access (if you need to start now)
Find decision maker contacts - 15,000+ contracting officers with direct phone & email
View API documentation

SAM.gov API Guide: Complete Developer Tutorial