The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a directive to
implement the requirement for grant applicants to provide a Dun
and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS)
number when applying for Federal grants or cooperative agreements
on or after October 1, 2003.
OMB has determined that there is a need for improved statistical
reporting of Federal grants and cooperative agreements. Use of the
DUNS number government-wide will provide means to identify entities
receiving those awards and their business relationships. The identifier
will be used for tracking purposes, and to validate address and
point of contact information. The DUNS number already is in use
by the Federal government generally to identify entities receiving
Federal contracts and by some agencies in thier grant and cooperative
agreement process. Among existing numbering systems, the DUNS is
the only one that provides the Federal government the ability to
determine hierarchical and family-tree data for related organizations.
The DUNS number will be required whether an applicant is submitting
a paper application or using the government wide electronic portal
(Grants.gov). By using the Grants.gov portal, entities will be able
to store in a central repository organizational information that
does not change from application to application. The DUNS number
will be one of those stored elements. The DUNS number will supplement
other identifiers required by statute or regulation, such as tax
identification numbers. It is our intent over time to use the DUNS
number throughout the grants life cycle.
Organizations should verify that they have a DUNS number or take
the steps needed to obtain one as soon as possible if there is a
possibility that they will be applying for Federal grants or cooperative
agreements on or after October 1, 2003.
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