NCAGE Codes

What is a NCAGE Code?

NATO Commercial and Government Entity Code; a 5-character unique identifier assigned to suppliers and consumers of a NATO Country of products or services.

NATO maintains a central database of NCAGEs with each participating company contributing to the database as they do for NSNs. We use CAGE and NCAGE interchangeably in conversation on Government Procurement and this article will as well (for the edification of Google).

The definition of an Entity by NATO is two-fold; at organizational level for Government Agencies but for Commercial Organizations, an NCAGE Code is assigned to each "Place of Performance". A place of performance is a physical location from which supplies or services are supplied to a NATO Agency. Companies with multiple NCAGE Codes indicate in the database the hierarchy of the NCAGE Codes leading to one parent Entity.

NCAGE Codes are the primary key to an entity's business profile which includes location, Dun and Bradstreet (DUNS) file, business size, business capabilities, business financial data, contract payment methods, past performance and ownership among other facets.

As of 2022, the USA as well as some other NATO Nations have begun to phase out the reliance on Dun and Bradstreet's Business Database and are phasing in the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). On April 4th, 2022, the USA's System for Award Management (SAM.gov) changed from the DUNS Number to the Unique Entity ID as the primary identifier for contract tender parties and contract award recipients. This change was reflected in the NATO NCAGE Database structure and most member nations are in the process of updating their business practices to use the UEI.

What are NATO and Stock Numbers (NSN)?

NATO is a transatlantic security alliance composed of thirty member countries, including the United States. An expanding bloc of NATO allies has taken on a broad range of missions since the close of the Cold War, many well beyond the Euro-Atlantic region, in countries such as Afghanistan and Libya. NATO members organize their physical supplies with NATO Stock Numbers. NATO Stock Numbers identify the physical characteristics of an item of supply to minimize duplicate stock items. A NATO Stock Number may be supplied by multiple sources with guaranteed compatiblity and quality between the sources. Each source of a NATO Stock Number (National Stock Number in the USA) is first registered with a NATO CAGE Code to uniquely identify it.

What is the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)?

The Unique Entity ID is a 12-character alphanumeric ID assigned to all entities (public and private companies, individuals, institutions, or organizations) by a National Codification Bureau (NCB); in the USA it is obtained through the System for Award Management at SAM.gov.

The letters “O” and “I” are not used in UEIs to avoid confusion with zero and one.

Organizations Registered in the USA

Organizations Registered Outside of the USA