How to set up SAM.gov email alerts

SAM.gov lists federal contract opportunities, which are procurement notices from federal contracting offices. It can email you when a new notice matches a search you saved. The steps below come from GSA's own help articles, listed at the bottom. Checked November 2, 2026.

Is SAM.gov free?

Yes. The SAM.gov registration checklist says:

"SAM.gov is FREE to use. There is no charge to get a Unique Entity ID, register your entity, and maintain your entity registration at SAM.gov."

You do not need an account to search contract opportunities. GSA says "Anyone may search contract opportunities without an account." You do need an account to save a search, follow a notice or get emails about either.

An account is not the same as a registration. GSA defines the two this way: "Signing up" means getting an account and setting up a profile. "Registering" means registering an entity to do business with the government. You register to bid on federal contracts. GSA lists an account, not a registration, as what you need for saved searches and following notices.

Make a SAM.gov account

Skip this if you already have one.

  1. Go to SAM.gov and select Sign In in the upper right corner.
  2. Select Accept to accept the U.S. government terms and conditions.
  3. Select Create an Account. SAM.gov sends you to Login.gov to make a login. If you already have a Login.gov account, sign in with its email address and password.
  4. Agree to the SAM.gov terms of use.
  5. Enter the one-time passcode sent to your email address.
  6. Enter your name. Your phone number is optional. Select Submit. You land in your Workspace.

One warning from GSA: your SAM.gov account only works with the email address you used to create it. GSA says adding email addresses to your Login.gov account will make your SAM.gov login fail.

Save a search for your trade

  1. Sign in to SAM.gov.
  2. Select Search in the header menu and choose the contract opportunities domain.
  3. Set your filters. These are the ones GSA lists:
    • Keyword. A word or phrase for the work you want.
    • Product or Service Information. Enter a NAICS code. For landscaping that is 561730 (Landscaping Services). For janitorial it is 561720 (Janitorial Services). You can select more than one NAICS code.
    • Place of Performance. Enter a ZIP code or pick a state. You can pick several states, one at a time.
    • Notice Type and Set Aside. Each lets you pick more than one.
    • Status. Choose Active to search active opportunities.
  4. Select the Actions button in the upper right corner, then Save.
  5. Name the search and select Save.

Turn on email notifications for it

Only contract opportunities saved searches have the notify feature.

  1. Select Saved Searches at the top of the search results page. You can also go to your Workspace and select Saved Searches.
  2. If the list is long, use the filter panel to show only contract opportunities saved searches.
  3. Select the actions button next to the title of your saved search, then select Notify.

After that, GSA says: "When a new contract opportunity matches your saved search with notifications enabled, you will receive an email with a link to your saved search."

To stop the emails, go back to your saved searches, open the actions menu for that search and select Stop Notify.

Or follow one notice

If you only care about a single solicitation, follow it instead of saving a search.

  1. Sign in, search for contract opportunities and open the notice.
  2. On the notice page, select Follow in the upper right corner.
  3. To see what you follow, go to your Workspace and select Followed Records in the Profile section.
  4. To change how often SAM.gov emails you about a followed notice, use the Email Frequency dropdown next to it. To stop, select Unfollow.

GSA adds one catch: if you change your regular email settings in your Workspace profile, that overrides the frequency you set on followed records.

What we could not confirm

What SAM.gov alerts do not cover

SAM.gov describes contract opportunities as "procurement notices from federal contracting offices." A saved search can only match what SAM.gov holds. Bids from California state departments, counties, cities, school districts and special districts are usually posted somewhere else: the agency's own website, Cal eProcure for state departments, or a vendor portal. A SAM.gov alert will not show them. Public Bid Alerts reads SAM.gov, Cal eProcure and a small set of local agency pages so far, and puts what it finds in one morning email. Our local list is not complete. See today's California landscaping bids, or see the plans and sign-up page.

Sources

Every page below was opened on November 2, 2026. The date on each is the date the page itself shows.