What SAM.gov changes took effect in October 2025 and March 2026?

According to SAM.gov, assistance listings began updating in October 2025 under the Grant Reporting Efficiency and Agreements Transparency Act of 2019 and OMB Memorandum M-24-11. The first visible change is the label shift from “Federal Assistance Number” to “Federal Assistance ID,” and the identifier now supports alphanumerical characters, such as 31.123 versus 31.A1A. SAM.gov also says users will see greater depth of data specificity in assistance listing records, and those new and updated fields will appear as agencies update listings through the end of the calendar year. Grants.gov says the finalized grants data standards are now the home for these standards and associated guidance, with assistance-listing standards implemented through new standard data elements, an Assistance Listings information-collection tab, and domain-value tabs covering assistance type, mission categories, entity type, and use of assistance. Grants.gov also describes phased implementation through an “Implementation Timing” column that distinguishes “2025 Cycle” from “Post-2025.” Separately, SAM.gov announced modernized FAR and DFARS Representations and Certifications for March 24, 2026, with the stated goal of streamlining data collection and improving user experience.