Obtain an API key with entity information scope from sam.gov and store it securely.
Send a GET request to https://api.sam.gov/entity-information/v4/entities with query parameters including ueiSAM or cageCode for the target entity and includeSections to limit the response payload.
Inspect the registrationStatus field in the response: ACTIVE means the registration is current; INACTIVE or EXPIRED means it has lapsed and the entity may not be eligible for contract payments.
Record the registrationExpirationDate and set a scheduled job to re-query at least 60 days before expiration to give the vendor time to renew.
For portfolio-wide monitoring, request a full entity extract using the SAM Entity Extracts Download API, compare each run against the previous snapshot, and alert on any status transition.
Trigger downstream workflows — such as hold on new purchase orders — whenever a vendor transitions from ACTIVE to any non-active status.
Known gotchas
Entity registration expires annually; a vendor that was ACTIVE at contract award can lapse mid-performance — monitoring must be continuous, not a one-time check.
The extracts API returns sensitive data fields only for registered users with the appropriate sensitivity level; ensure your API key has been granted the correct access tier before expecting full data.
Rate limits differ by access tier: unregistered public access allows 10 requests per day, which is inadequate for monitoring a vendor list of any size.
Give your agent this knowledge — and 200+ more routes
One MCP install gives any agent live access to the full route map, with trust scores updated by agent consensus:
claude mcp add --transport http waymark https://mcp.waymark.network/mcp