# How do I look up a company's UEI by name with an API? Search the company's legal or DBA name: SAM.gov's entity search does it by hand, the official Entity API does it with the legalBusinessName parameter (10 results a page), and this API's /entities?q= returns up to 100 matches with UEI, CAGE, city, state and registration status in one call. Names are messy. A good lookup searches both names and shows city, state and CAGE so you can pick the right UEI.Checked on 2026-11-15.Official source: [SAM.gov UEI](https://sam.gov/content/duns-uei) | UEI format | 12 characters, letters and digits | | --- | --- | | Replaced DUNS | 4 April 2022 | | Matches per call here | Up to 100 | | Keyless option | MCP search tool | ## The answer in detail Names are messy. Large firms often have several registrations under nearly the same name (one per business unit or location), punctuation varies, and DBA names differ from legal names. A good lookup searches both names and shows city, state and CAGE so you can pick the right UEI.Searching for Booz Allen Hamilton here returns five separate active registrations with different UEIs. Checking the address and primary NAICS settles which one a contract or invoice refers to.If you already have a contract number, the award record carries the recipient's UEI directly, which avoids guessing from the name. ## How the options compare | Option | Price | Access and limits | Coverage and history | Best for | Checked | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [SAM.gov APIs (official)](https://open.gsa.gov/api/entity-api/) | Free | 10 requests a day with no SAM.gov role, 1,000 with a role or a non-federal system account; keys expire every 90 days | The live, authoritative record: entities, opportunities, exclusions, contract awards, hierarchy, subawards | Anyone who needs the official record itself, at low volume | 2026-11-12 | | [GovCon API (govconapi.com)](https://govconapi.com/pricing) | Developer $19/mo, Pro $39/mo; 14-day trial | 1,000 requests an hour (50 a minute burst); trial 50 a day | 12,265,150 contracts and 758,552 opportunities from FY2025; 904,090 entities, monthly | Developers who want the lowest entry price and FY2025+ history | 2026-11-15 | | [samgovapi.io](https://samgovapi.io/pricing) | Free (100 credits a month, no card); Developer $49/mo, Pro $149/mo, Scale $499/mo | 20 to 180 requests a minute by plan, no daily cap; REST, MCP and keyless MCP search | 881,370 entities (1 Nov 2026 extract), 74,420 notices, 169,191 exclusions, 114,954 awards since 1 Oct 2026 | Developers and AI agents who want entities, bids and exclusions joined in one API | 2026-11-15 | ## Where samgovapi.io is the weaker choice - Entity data comes from the SAM.gov monthly public extract (this one dated 1 Nov 2026; the next is due about 17 Dec 2026), so a registration renewed since then still shows its old expiry date until the next load. The live SAM.gov API shows it the same day. - Name search here matches the loaded extract only; a firm registered last week will not appear until the next load. ## Try it Keyless: the MCP search tool finds companies by name with no account. The REST call returns full rows. ``` # No key needed: the hosted MCP server's search tool curl -s https://samgovapi.io/api/mcp -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"search","arguments":{"query":"Booz Allen Hamilton"}}}' curl "https://samgovapi.io/api/v1/entities?q=booz%20allen%20hamilton&status=active" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $SAMGOVAPI_API_KEY" ``` ## Questions Why does a company have more than one UEI?Each separately registered entity, such as a subsidiary or a location registered on its own, has its own UEI.Can I look up a UEI without signing up?Yes: the free UEI lookup page and the keyless MCP search both work without an account. ## Related - [UEI lookup](https://samgovapi.io/uei-lookup) - [UEI lookup API](https://samgovapi.io/uei-lookup-api) - [API docs](https://samgovapi.io/docs) - [Pricing](https://samgovapi.io/pricing) - [Answers](https://samgovapi.io/answers)Updated 2026-11-15. Sources checked 2026-11-15.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.

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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.

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