When FEMA responds to a disaster, our goal is to contract with local businesses in the affected area, whenever practical and feasible.
Learn about the four-step process your company or organization can follow to do business with FEMA, in accordance with the Robert T. Stafford Act.
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If you are interested in contracting with FEMA or the government to support recovery in Hawaii, read the information on this page carefully and contact FEMA's Industry Liaison Program for more information.
Government contracting can be complex, especially for small businesses getting involved for the first time. Fortunately, there are offices ready to help you: the Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs). There are PTAC counselors in over 300 locations who will work with you to understand the steps to getting a contract with the government.
The Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Center (APTAC) also provides business guidance and tips for registering with SAM.gov.
Once you have an understanding of the process from the PTAC counselor, you must register to do business with the federal government through the System for Award Management (SAM). Registration is free.
You will need a Unique Entity ID (UEI) and your Tax Identification Number (request by visiting www.irs.gov) if your principal business is located in the United States or U.S. territories. The Unique Entity ID is a 12-character alphanumeric ID assigned to an entity by SAM.gov. Please note that this replaces the Dun and Bradstreet "DUNS" Number that was previously used for SAM.gov new registrations.
During the registration process, you must indicate you want to participate in the Disaster Response Registry. This allows contracting officers to locate your company through the Disaster Response Registry Search.
FEMA’s mission is to help people before, during and after disasters. This is the top focus of everybody working for or with FEMA in the field. Once there is a presidential declaration of a major disaster or emergency, FEMA coordinates and collaborates with federal, state, local and tribal agencies to get assistance to survivors.
If your company has goods or services that are useful in the situations described below, then proceed to step two.
Before starting the process to become a contractor with FEMA after a local disaster, review our list of most needed items to find areas where you can make the biggest impact. For more information, send an email with “CUSI Information Request” in the subject line to the FEMA Industry Liaison Program. A program representative will respond if there is a potential basis to do business.
