# Verify small business certifications

To verify a firm's small business certifications with an AI agent, ask it to call get_entity with the UEI. The answer lists sba_certs with each certification type and exit date, the SAM.gov business type codes, and naics_small, the NAICS codes where the firm represents itself as small, all from the dated public extract.

Primes filling small business subcontracting plans and buyers checking that a set-aside partner really holds the certification it claims. A wrong claim can cost goaling credit or, worse, count as misrepresentation; checking the registration takes one call.

## The prompt

```
Check UEI ABCDEFGH1234: which SBA certifications does it hold and until when, which small business types does its SAM.gov registration list, and for which NAICS codes is it small?
```

## What the agent calls

1. get_entity: sba_certs, business_types and naics_small come back together with the registration status.

```json
{"name":"get_entity","arguments":{"uei":"ABCDEFGH1234","user_request":"verify small business certifications"}}
```

## Sample output

Trimmed; field names and structure match the live response, values are shortened or illustrative.

```json
{
  "data": {
    "uei": "ABCDEFGH1234",
    "legal_name": "EXAMPLE FEDERAL SERVICES LLC",
    "registration_status": "active",
    "business_types": [
      "2X",
      "A2",
      "23",
      "QF"
    ],
    "sba_certs": [
      {
        "type": "A6",
        "exit": "2028-01-25"
      }
    ],
    "naics_small": [
      "541511",
      "541512"
    ]
  },
  "meta": {
    "as_of": "2026-11-01"
  }
}
```

## How to read the answer

- sba_certs is what SBA has certified, with the exit date; business_types are self-representations in SAM.gov. They are not the same thing: a firm can mark itself woman-owned without holding WOSB certification.
- naics_small is per code. A firm small under 541512 can be other than small under a code with a lower standard.

## Make it yours

- Check a whole subcontractor list for one certification type and flag the ones missing it.
- Ask the agent to cross-check against SBA's own certification search for the firms that matter most.

## Pitfalls

- Certification status changes between extracts. For a contract action, confirm on SBA's certification search on the day.
- Business type codes are short; the agent should translate them (A2 woman-owned business, 23 minority-owned business, QF service-disabled veteran-owned business) and say they are self-reported.

## The same job over REST

```bash
curl "https://samgovapi.io/api/v1/entities/ABCDEFGH1234" -H "Authorization: Bearer $SAMGOVAPI_API_KEY"
```

Plan: every plan. Credits: 1 credit per lookup.

## Questions

### Where is the official certification record?

SBA's certification search at search.certifications.sba.gov is the source of record. The SAM.gov registration mirrors it with a delay.

### Does the API include VA's veteran verification?

Service-disabled veteran-owned status appears as a business type and, since SBA took over certification, as an SBA certification when present in the extract.

All recipes: https://samgovapi.io/agents/recipes.md

Independent. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by GSA, SAM.gov or any U.S. government agency. Registering in SAM.gov is free at sam.gov.