SAM.gov

search_entities

Read-only

Answer SAM registration and socioeconomic questions: women-owned/WOSB/EDWOSB, veteran-owned/SDVOSB, HUBZone, 8(a), and small business. Search the monthly public extract by UEI, CAGE, name, NAICS and state; filters combine. any_naics includes secondary codes. Search defaults Active; UEI/CAGE includes inactive. Use the labeled business or SBA code filters below. For NAICS-specific small-business status, request assertions or All and check sbaSmallBusiness; 2X means for-profit, not small. Codes and active registration do not prove current SBA certification; check certificationExitDate and confirm SBA/SAM.gov status. Public-display opt-outs are excluded. Up to 10 records/page.

Tool call template

This tool declares no required parameters. Add optional parameters from the input schema as needed.

{
  "id": 1,
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "arguments": {},
    "name": "search_entities"
  }
}

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description
`uei`	No	Exact 12-character UEI.
`page`	No
`size`	No
`any_naics`	No	Any listed NAICS, 2-6 digits.
`cage_code`	No	Exact 5-character CAGE code.
`state_code`	No	Physical address state, 2-letter USPS code.
`primary_naics`	No	Designated primary NAICS, 2-6 digits.
`include_sections`	No	Public sections only. Defaults to entityRegistration + coreData; entityRegistration is always included.
`business_type_code`	No	SAM business-type codes; ownership is generally self-selected, not SBA certification. Common codes: A2=Woman-Owned Business; 8W=Women-Owned Small Business; A5=Veteran-Owned Business; QF=Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business; 23=Minority-Owned Business; 27=Self Certified Small Disadvantaged Business; 8C=Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Joint Venture eligible under the WOSB Program; 8D=Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) Joint Venture; JV=Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Joint Venture; JX=Self-Certified HUBZone Joint Venture; JS=Small Business Joint Venture; FR=Asian-Pacific American Owned; QZ=Subcontinent Asian (Asian-Indian) American Owned; OY=Black American Owned; PI=Hispanic American Owned; NB=Native American Owned; OW=American Indian Owned; 05=Alaskan Native Corporation Owned Firm; 8U=Native Hawaiian Organization Owned Firm; 1B=Tribally Owned Firm; 1E=Indian Economic Enterprise; 1S=Indian Small Business Economic Enterprise; XY=Indian Tribe (Federally Recognized); HK=Community Development Corporation Owned Firm; HQ=DOT Certified DBE; A7=AbilityOne Non-Profit Agency; 1D=Small Agricultural Cooperative; A8=Non-Profit Organization; H2=Community Development Corporation; HB=Historically Black College or University; 1A=Minority Institution; HS=Tribal College; GW=Hispanic Servicing Institution. Other official 2-character business codes are accepted.
`legal_business_name`	No	Partial legal or DBA name; punctuation, spacing, ampersands and common company suffixes are normalized. Zero results include separately labeled possible name matches; names alone do not confirm identity.
`registration_status`	No	A=Active (search default), E=expired (displayed as Inactive).
`sba_business_type_code`	No	SBA source codes: A6=SBA Certified 8(a) Program Participant; JT=SBA Certified 8(a) Joint Venture; XX=SBA Certified HUBZone Firm; A4=SBA Certified Small Disadvantaged Business (No longer Active); A9=SBA-Certified Women-Owned Small Business; A0=SBA-Certified Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business. A4 is retired. These are monthly source codes, not proof of current certification; check certificationExitDate and confirm with SBA.
`purpose_of_registration`	No

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

First observedOct 21, 2026

TDQS

A4.2/5.0

Behavior5/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Beyond the read-only annotations, the description discloses important behavior: filters combine, any_naics includes secondary codes, search defaults to Active while UEI/CAGE includes inactive records, public-display opt-outs are excluded, and results are limited to 10 records per page. It also warns that active registration and codes do not prove current SBA certification and points to certificationExitDate for verification. These are substantive operational caveats that the annotations do not provide.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

The description is dense but front-loaded with the purpose and key search behavior. Every sentence adds operational value, including caveats about filters, defaults, certification, and pagination. The single-paragraph structure is somewhat hard to scan for a 13-parameter tool, but it is not padded.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

Given 13 parameters and no output schema, the description is fairly complete for correct invocation: it covers scope, filters, defaults, key caveats, and pagination limits. It references important return fields such as sbaSmallBusiness and certificationExitDate and the include_sections options. It does not fully describe the response shape or every returned section, so a small completeness gap remains.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters4/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema coverage is high at 77%, so the schema already carries much of the parameter meaning. The description adds useful cross-parameter semantics: filters combine, any_naics includes secondary NAICS codes, default status behavior differs for UEI/CAGE versus broader searches, and assertions/All are needed for NAICS-level small-business fields. It does not explain every parameter, such as purpose_of_registration, but it meaningfully supplements the schema.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose4/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description states a specific verb and resource: searching the SAM monthly public extract for entity registration and socioeconomic status questions. It names concrete search dimensions (UEI, CAGE, name, NAICS, state) and the program categories covered. It does not explicitly distinguish itself from siblings such as search_exclusions or search_opportunities, so it is clear but falls short of full sibling differentiation.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines4/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

It gives clear usage context: use labeled business or SBA code filters, request assertions or All for NAICS-specific small-business checks, and verify certification status rather than relying on codes alone. It does not explicitly name when to use this tool instead of siblings like search_exclusions, and it gives no explicit when-not guidance. The context is nevertheless clear enough to guide selection.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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