Grants.gov Workspace Basics: Accounts, Roles, the AOR and Team Workflows
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How we wrote this: A plain-English summary of Grants.gov's applicant registration and Workspace pages, checked October 29, 2026. General information, not legal or audit advice; your award terms and agency guidance control.
Before Workspace: SAM.gov
Grants.gov uses SAM.gov to establish who can act for your organization, so you can't start applying until your entity is registered there; see SAM.gov registration.
Set up the account
- The EBiz POC creates a Grants.gov account using the same email as in SAM.gov.
- They add an organization applicant profile using the UEI.
- They assign roles to colleagues, or a Workspace owner invites people by username.
One Grants.gov account can hold profiles for several organizations; add them under Manage Profiles on the My Account page. Your roles appear there too, in the My Applicant Profile(s) table.
What Workspace is
Workspace is the standard way to apply for federal grants on Grants.gov. A team can work on different forms at the same time, online or offline. Grants.gov describes three workflow approaches:
| Team size | Approach |
|---|---|
| 1–2 registered users | Forms are downloaded, emailed to collaborators, then uploaded back to the workspace |
| 3–5 users | Typically an AOR (Authorized Organization Representative), who submits, plus a Workspace Owner who oversees form completion |
| With external users, such as consultants | Outside users are added to the workspace |
Organizations can also create custom roles.
Tips
- Confirm early that the person who will submit has the AOR role.
- Sign up for Grants.gov email subscriptions for new and revised opportunities by agency or type.
- Read the NOFO before opening a workspace; see how to read a NOFO.
Related: match and cost share, de minimis indirect rate.