Three ways to meet the same duty · facts, not a ranking
FAR 52.209-6, 2 CFR 180.300 and 42 CFR 1001.1901 all ask the same two things: look the name up in the official file, and keep a record that you did. Here is what each approach reads, what it records, and who decides. Column three describes our own receipt; the vendor column describes a category, not any named product.
| Manual SAM.gov check | Generic screening tool | Dated receipt (this platform) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is read | SAM.gov Exclusions, one name at a time, in the browser | Vendor's own database built from feeds; sources and refresh vary by vendor | 23 official files read live or from the agency's own published file, by exact printed name or key; each line names its file and file date |
| Record of the check | Screenshot or a note in the procurement file; retyped by hand | Vendor report or dashboard export | Dated receipt: canonical JSON, SHA-256, Ed25519 signature, optional RFC 3161 time-stamp; anyone can recompute the hash |
| When a source is down | Nothing recorded, or 'no result' | Varies; often not shown | Printed as 'did not answer' on that line — never as zero, never as clear |
| Similar names | Reader scrolls and judges | Fuzzy match with a score or confidence | Shown as context, never counted, never scored; exact rows are the count |
| Decision | The officer's | Often a risk score, flag, 'clean' or 'pass' | None. The receipt carries no decision field; the officer's finding stays the officer's |
| Time per name (observed) | Five sites, ~27 steps; your own minutes | Varies | Median 3.5 s per receipt in platform batches; 100 names in 8 min (measured, /cost-of-the-record) |
| Volume | One at a time | Batch, usually quote-gated | CSV roster, receipt per row, monthly re-read with line-by-line diff; prices published at /pricing |
| Cost | Staff time | Quote | Single receipt free, identical to paid; rosters and API tiers published |
| Independent re-check | Not possible after the fact | Trust the vendor | Hash replay at /api/ap/verify or /r/{id}; W3C VC signature check; receipt format is an open spec (CC BY 4.0) |
The manual column describes the public SAM.gov search as any visitor experiences it; the tool column describes common features of the category and makes no claim about any specific vendor. Nothing here is a compliance determination; the receipt's own text says the same.