North Dakota APEX Accelerator

FAQs

If you don't see your question in the list below, please contact us for assistance. 

Register with the North Dakota APEX for no-cost, confidential government contracting assistance. Register here. 

There are a variety of sites the government uses to post opportunities including Federal Contract Opportunities, Fed Connect, North Dakota State Procurement Office and more. 

Yes, you must register with each state’s procurement office you plan to conduct business with. To register with the state of North Dakota go here.

Certification programs qualify businesses to receive additional consideration for government contract awards. The programs are directed toward minority, social and economic groups as well as lower-income geographic areas. There are two ways to certify:  Self-certification and official Small Business Administration (SBA) certification. It is recommended you obtain all certifications for which you are eligible including:
  • Veteran-Owned Business or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Certifications
  • HUBZone Program
  • 8(a) Business Development Program
  • Woman-Owned Small Business

SAM is the System for Award Management and it is the primary registration required for doing business with the federal government. Other than micro-purchase transactions with government credit cards, you cannot legally submit a proposal or bid, win an award or get paid for a contract unless you are registered and active in SAM which is available at no cost. APEX advisors will assist you with the SAM registration process.

A DUNS number is a 9 digit identifier assigned to you by Dun and Bradstreet to assist the government with identifying your business. Go here for information regarding free DUNS numbers. APEX Advisors will assist you with questions about DUNS registration. The DUNS number will be phased out on April 4, 2022, and replaced with a new “Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).”

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) are six digit classification codes for classifying industries. They are used by federal statistical agencies as the standard in classifying business establishments.
The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) is an older system for classifying industries by a four-digit code. It is still used by some government agencies to classify industry areas.

The 8(a) Business Development Program is the SBA's certification for socially and economically disadvantaged businesses. It lasts 9 years from the point of acceptance and makes a business eligible for set aside opportunities. For more information go here.

The Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) program is for businesses with a principle office located in a HUBZone and also having 35% of its employees living within a HUBZone. To check and see if your business is located in one of these zones consult the map.

SBA sets the standards for small business and it is based on either annual receipts (total income PLUS costs of goods sold) or number of employees. To see the NAICS based size standards table go here.

Native American business owners seeking government contracts should use the Native American PTACs. This team specializes in certifications and programs specific to Native American businesses. For no-cost assistance go to https://nadc.ecenterdirect.com/ to register. 

UEI, or Unique Entity ID, will replace the DUNS number on April 4, 2022.  A UEI is a 12 digit, alpha, and numeric identifier used to uniquely identify a specific entity. The UEI is used within SAM.gov and IAE as a primary key to identifying a unique entity. See how to get a Unique Entity ID in SAM.gov

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