The


Federal
Housing
Administration
(FHA)
this
week
published
a
mortgagee
letter
(ML)
amending
a
2022
requirement
for
mortgage
lenders,
and
anyone
seeking
to
do
business
with
FHA,
to
obtain
a
Unique
Entity
Identifier
(UEI)
in
order
to
be
eligible
for
such
business.

In
ML
2024-09,
the
agency’s
UEI
policy
for
FHA-approved
lenders
has
been
updated
to
streamline
reporting
requirements
from
a
policy

established
in
the
summer
of
2022
and
implemented
by
the
end
of
that
year.

“In
August
2022,
FHA
implemented
a
UEI
policy
that
required
those
doing
or
seeking
to
do
business
with
the
federal
government,
to
register
for,
obtain,
and
maintain
a
UEI
number
in
the


General
Services
Administration’s
(GSA)
System
for
Award
Management
(SAM.gov),”
the
notice
reads.
“FHA
is
implementing
this
government-wide
requirement
at
the
direction
of
the
GSA.”

The
GSA
is
a
wing
of
the

U.S.
government
that
is
designed
to
help
manage
and
support
the
basic
functioning
of
federal
agencies.
In

ML
2022-14,
the
original
guidance
described
the
need
for
a
UEI
as
an
important
compliance
measure.

“An
active
SAM.gov
registration
and
UEI
is
vital
to
HUD’s
compliance
with
the
Federal
Funding
Accountability
and
Transparency
Act
of
2006,
as
amended
by
the
Digital
Accountability
and
Transparency
Act
of
2014
which
require[s]
federal
agencies
to
report
data
about
federal
awards
and
which
are
tracked
using
the
UEI,”
the
2022
Mortgagee
Letter
explained.

ML
2024-09
“amends
FHA’s
eligibility
requirements
to
remove
the
home
office
geographic
address
from
data
that
must
be
the
same
in
both
the
Lender
Electronic
Assessment
Portal
(LEAP)
and
SAM.gov,”
FHA
explained.
“This
change
will
streamline
data
reporting
and
support
lender

compliance
by
reducing
potential
contradictory
information
between
the
LEAP
and
SAM.gov
platforms.”

The
new
provisions
impact
all
FHA-approved
lenders
and
any
other
entity
—
such
as
mortgage
underwriters,
appraisers,
housing
counselors
and
real
estate
brokers
—
seeking
to
do
business
with
the
FHA.
The
rule
is
effective
immediately.

All
lenders
and
entities
covered
by
the
policy
must
review
their
SAM.gov
registration
every
year
and
maintain
an
active
registration
in
the
database
on
the
website.

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