Autonomy Runway

Where to start

Selling to government and public buyers, and getting funded

For a drone or robotics company that wants to sell to federal, state and local buyers, utilities and prime contractors, and to get funded. The steps are in the order the registrations build on each other: SAM.gov uses the tax number, the NAICS codes and the size figures, and the SBA profile and certifications use the SAM.gov registration.

Each step says what to prepare and links to its full guide, where every statement names its official source.

We help you with each step

Autonomy Runway helps drone and robotics companies prepare their documents and guides them through these steps in order. The Company Toolkit builds your capability statement from your company file and your financial projections from your numbers, and puts your business plan and pitch deck together with you: you answer each section's questions, and it fills in your company's facts, your team and your projections. With a Pro plan, it drafts sections of your grant application. The readiness guide tracks your registrations and emails you before one lapses, and Document Check, a paid review, reads your documents before you send them.

Get help with your documentsHow Document Check works

  1. The basics a buyer or lender asks for first

    The registrations that follow read the same few facts about the company. SAM.gov's Entity Registration Checklist asks for the legal business name and physical address, the start date and state of incorporation, the Taxpayer Identification Number (usually the EIN) and U.S. bank account details for electronic funds transfer. The TIN is for U.S. companies and for foreign companies that pay U.S. taxes. The bank account is required for U.S. companies and optional for companies outside the U.S., and it must be at a U.S. bank. The IRS says the EIN is free. The Federal Service Desk says the IRS takes 5 weeks to fully process a new TIN, and not to register in SAM.gov with a new one until at least 5 weeks after the IRS letter.

    What to prepare

    • The legal business name and physical street address, exactly as on the company's official documents (SAM.gov does not accept a P.O. box as a physical address)
    • The date the company started and its state of incorporation (outside the U.S.: the country and the national identifier)
    • An EIN from the IRS, and the taxpayer name and address tied to it (U.S. companies, or foreign companies that pay U.S. taxes)
    • A U.S. bank account for electronic funds transfer (EFT): account type, routing number and account number (required for U.S. companies, optional for companies outside the U.S.)

    We help: your company's address and where and when it was formed go into your company file one time: your price quotes print the address, and your business plan and ownership chart print where and when it was formed. The Company Toolkit

    Read more:SAM.gov registrationDocuments for selling to government buyers

  2. NAICS codes, size and PSCs

    SAM.gov asks for NAICS codes and size figures in the Assertions section of its registration, so they come before it. NAICS codes are 6-digit codes that describe a company's industry. The Census Bureau's NAICS search has the full list, and the Census Bureau says no central agency assigns or approves NAICS codes for businesses. The SBA ties a small-business size standard to each NAICS code, usually a maximum number of employees or maximum average annual receipts, affiliates included, and SBA's Size Standards Tool gives a YES or NO for each code. Product and Service Codes (PSCs) record what the government buys; the SAM.gov Entity Registration Checklist lists them as optional.

    What to prepare

    • The 6-digit NAICS codes for what the company sells, one of them the primary code (the Census Bureau's NAICS search)
    • Annual receipts and number of employees, affiliates included, checked against each code in SBA's Size Standards Tool
    • Product and Service Codes for the products (optional in SAM.gov)

    We help: your NAICS codes go into your company file and onto your capability statement. The Company Toolkit

    Read more:NAICS codesSBA size standardsProduct and Service Codes

  3. Register in SAM.gov, then claim the SBA profile

    SAM.gov is the federal government's free registration system for companies that want federal contracts or federal assistance. A full registration, with the "All Awards" purpose for bidding on contracts, assigns the 12-character Unique Entity ID, and after submission the Defense Logistics Agency checks or assigns the CAGE code. SAM.gov says a registration can take up to 10 business days to become active, and it is renewed every 365 days. Companies outside the U.S. get an NCAGE code first. The Federal Service Desk says a site that asks for money to register is not a government site. SBA's Small Business Search says a small business can claim its profile there 3 to 4 business days after SAM.gov activates the registration, and SBA tells federal contracting officers they are required to use Small Business Search in market research.

    What to prepare

    • A Login.gov account
    • The facts from step 1, and the NAICS codes and size figures from step 2
    • Three points of contact: accounts receivable, electronic business and government business
    • Outside the U.S.: an NCAGE code from NSPA before starting (NSPA says NCAGE requests are free)
    • For the Small Business Search profile, after activation: a capabilities narrative (under 1,000 characters) and keywords

    We help: the readiness guide tracks your SAM.gov registration and emails you before it lapses. The Company Toolkit

    Read more:SAM.gov registrationCAGE and NCAGE codesThe Small Business Search profile

  4. Certifications: the SBA's and your state's

    The SBA certifies small businesses for federal set-aside and sole-source contracts in four programs: 8(a), HUBZone, women-owned (WOSB and EDWOSB) and veteran-owned (VetCert). SBA calls its online certification process free. Each program sets its own ownership, control and location rules in the regulations the guide cites. States certify too, for example small businesses, disadvantaged business enterprises and veteran-owned businesses, and each state's page lists its programs.

    What to prepare

    • The UEI from SAM.gov, to claim the business at certifications.sba.gov
    • The ownership and control records the program asks for (each program's list is in the guide)
    • For a state certification, the state's own application (your state's page links to it)

    We help: the readiness guide takes you through SBA and state certification and tracks each one, and the certifications you hold go onto your capability statement. The Company Toolkit

    Read more:SBA certificationsSelling to your state

  5. The rules drone products meet

    Federal law limits which drones the government can buy, fly or pay for. The American Security Drone Act bars federal agencies from buying drones made or assembled by covered foreign entities, and defense laws (Section 848 of the FY2020 NDAA and Section 817 of the FY2023 NDAA) bar the Department of War from buying drones and key parts from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. Blue UAS is the Department of War's list of vetted drones, parts and software, now run by DCMA. FCC equipment authorization, FAA Part 107, the export rules (ITAR and EAR) and the cybersecurity rules for defense contracts (NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC) each apply in their own cases.

    What to prepare

    • A bill of materials that names each drone component, its maker and its country of origin
    • Records of where flight controllers, radios, cameras and ground control software are made or developed
    • For flights for work: the FAA Remote Pilot Certificate and each drone's registration
    • For defense contracts that involve FCI or CUI: the cybersecurity self-assessment and affirmation entered in SPRS

    We help: the readiness guide takes you through NDAA, Blue UAS and your FAA certificates step by step. The Company Toolkit

    Read more:Drone compliance

  6. The documents to prepare

    Government buyers ask for a standard set of papers: an active SAM.gov registration, the EIN, a capability statement, a past performance list, IRS Form W-9, a certificate of insurance, licenses and, for drone flights, FAA certificates. Each solicitation lists exactly what it wants. SBA lenders, SBIR and STTR programs and investors each ask for their own set. The Company Toolkit on Autonomy Runway builds the capability statement, position briefs, spec sheets and the past performance and key personnel sheets for the company, with a company account.

    What to prepare

    • A capability statement (a document the company writes; the guide says what it usually covers)
    • A past performance list with customer contacts
    • IRS Form W-9 (U.S. companies) or Form W-8BEN-E (foreign entities), for the buyer that asks
    • A certificate of insurance from the company's agent or carrier

    We help: the Company Toolkit drafts your capability statement, past performance sheet and key personnel sheet from your company file, and spec sheets for your products; Document Check, a paid review, reads them before you send them. The Company Toolkit

    Read more:Documents to prepare

  7. Where to sell and where to send

    Federal contracting offices post their notices on SAM.gov Contract Opportunities, and prime contractors post subcontracting openings on SBA's SUBNet. GSA's Multiple Award Schedule is a contract that federal, state, local and tribal buyers can order from. SBIR and STTR, the Defense Innovation Unit, AFWERX, Army xTech, the Navy, SOFWERX and DHS run the research, prototype and prize programs the guide covers. Beyond federal buyers: each state's purchasing portal, utilities' supplier portals, state transportation departments, cities and counties, and cooperative contracts such as Sourcewell and NASPO ValuePoint.

    What to prepare

    • The active SAM.gov registration and UEI, which the federal paths start from
    • The capability statement, for primes and utilities (SDG&E asks for one as a PDF with its Supplier Interest Form)
    • The state's supplier registration (your state's page has the steps)

    We help: your capability statement downloads as a PDF for primes and utilities, and your company page puts you in front of buyers on the platform. The Company Toolkit

    Read more:Selling to federal buyersUtilities and public buyersSelling to your state

  8. Free and low-cost help near you, and funding

    The APEX Accelerators site says they "offer no-cost guidance and support services" to businesses that want to sell to government. America's SBDC calls its consulting no-cost and its training low-cost. SCORE says its mentoring is always free. SBA says it and its partners, among them Veterans Business Outreach Centers and Women's Business Centers, "offer free or low-cost counseling and training." NIST calls its Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), which helps manufacturers, a cost-share program paid in part by client fees. For funding, the documents guide covers what SBA lenders, SBIR and STTR programs and investors ask for, and Financing on Autonomy Runway lists grant, loan and investor programs by path, each with its official page, and the lenders, funds and investors who finance drone companies.

    What to prepare

    • The company's state and county (APEX Accelerators and SBDCs serve by area)
    • The facts and documents from the steps above, to bring to the first meeting

    We help: the Finder shows the financing paths that match your answers and the programs under each, the Company Toolkit builds your financial projections and helps you write your business plan, both of which an SBA lender may ask for, and with a Pro plan the Grant application kit drafts sections of your SBIR or STTR Phase I application for you to finish and submit. The Finder

    Read more:Free and low-cost helpDocuments for an SBA-backed loanFinancing

Your state

Each state's purchasing portal and registration steps, its certification programs, its drone programs when there are any, and where to get help there. All states

All guides

  • SAM.gov registrationThe federal government's free registration for companies that want federal contracts: the Unique Entity ID, the CAGE code and the yearly renewal.
  • Codes and profilesNAICS and PSC codes, SBA size standards, CAGE and NCAGE codes, and the SBA Small Business Search profile buyers search.
  • SBA certificationsThe SBA's 8(a), HUBZone, women-owned (WOSB and EDWOSB) and veteran-owned (VetCert) programs: who each is for and how to apply.
  • Drone complianceThe rules for selling drones to government and flying them: NDAA and the American Security Drone Act, Blue UAS, the FCC, FAA Part 107, ITAR, EAR and CMMC.
  • Documents to prepareWhat government buyers, SBA lenders, SBIR and STTR programs and investors ask to see.
  • Selling to federal buyersWhere federal contracts, subcontracts and research funding are posted: SAM.gov, primes, the GSA schedule, SBIR and STTR, DIU, AFWERX, the Army, the Navy, SOFWERX and DHS.
  • Utilities and public buyersUtilities, HUD-funded agencies, state transportation departments, cities and counties, and cooperative contracts such as Sourcewell and NASPO ValuePoint.
  • Free and low-cost helpAPEX Accelerators, SBDCs, SBA district offices, SCORE, veterans' and women's business centers, MEP centers and agency small business offices.

Official sources

Last checked September 25, 2026. Rules, fees and programs change; the official sources are where to confirm them before applying or spending money.

We help you prepare your documents

With a company account, the Company Toolkit drafts your documents from your company file and your numbers; for drone companies and manufacturers, the readiness guide walks you through each registration. Document Check, a paid review, reads your documents before you send them. Your page puts you in front of buyers, lenders, investors and production partners.

Get help with your documentsFinancing programsHow it works

Autonomy Runway is not a law firm, an accounting firm or a financial adviser, and nothing we publish is legal, tax or financial advice. The guides are general information with links to the official sources, and the tools organize your own facts and decisions. For advice about your situation, talk to a lawyer, an accountant or a financial adviser. See all our disclaimers.