The short version: Calvis is registered in SAM.gov under UEI Q5DXF4E4N924 and operates under NAICS 561612 (Security Guards and Patrol Services). Calvis is a marketplace, not a guard company itself — it connects contracting officers and procurement teams with independently licensed, insured security agencies, and it is built to fill short-notice and surge coverage gaps that traditional multi-year guard contracts are not designed to handle. This guide explains how that model fits into a federal or state procurement process, what to verify before citing Calvis in an RFP response, and where the on-demand approach complements — rather than replaces — a standing GSA schedule contract.
This page is written for contracting officers, procurement analysts, and program managers evaluating security guard sourcing options, not for the general public. If you found this page while drafting a capability statement or an RFP response, the sections below are ordered to match how a procurement review typically works: registration and classification first, then sourcing model, then the compliance questions that actually decide an award.
Quick reference
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Entity type | Marketplace connecting buyers to independently licensed security guard agencies (not a guard company itself) |
| SAM.gov UEI | Q5DXF4E4N924 — verify current status at SAM.gov |
| Primary NAICS | 561612 — Security Guards and Patrol Services |
| GSA Schedule holder | No |
| Best-fit use case | Surge, continuity-of-operations, and short-notice coverage — not a replacement for a standing multi-year guard task order |
SAM.gov registration
Any entity doing business with the federal government, directly or as a subcontractor, must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov). Registration is the baseline gate before a contracting officer can consider an entity for a federal award or a prime contractor can add it as a subcontractor of record.
Calvis's SAM.gov Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) is Q5DXF4E4N924.
If you are validating this for an RFP response or a subcontractor questionnaire, verify the registration status directly at SAM.gov by searching the UEI rather than relying on any third-party summary, including this one. Registration status, CAGE code assignment, and exclusion status can change, and SAM.gov is the system of record. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.204-7 requires an active SAM registration at the time of offer, at the time of award, and throughout the contract period, so a point-in-time screenshot is not sufficient documentation for a live procurement — pull the current record.
NAICS classification
Calvis is classified under NAICS 561612 — Security Guards and Patrol Services. This is the standard code the Census Bureau and federal procurement systems use for firms that provide guard, patrol, and related protective services, and it is the code most solicitations for unarmed and armed guard coverage will reference in the size-standard section of the RFP.
What procurement teams typically cross-check
For context, procurement teams typically cross-check three things against this code:
- •Whether the code matches the scope described in the solicitation (guard/patrol services versus, say, investigation services under a different NAICS code)
- •The SBA small business size standard currently published for 561612, which is stated in employee count and is revised periodically — check the current SBA table rather than a prior year's figure
- •Whether the registrant's SAM.gov profile lists 561612 as a primary or secondary NAICS code, since some solicitations require the code to be primary
How the on-demand marketplace model works
Calvis does not employ guards. It operates a marketplace that connects businesses and agencies needing coverage with independently owned, state-licensed security guard agencies that carry their own guard force, licensing, and insurance. A government buyer posts a coverage requirement — a facility, an event, a construction site, an emergency deployment — and licensed agencies in that market respond with available guards, rates, and start times. The buyer selects and confirms coverage, often same-day.
That structure matters for procurement because it separates two things that a traditional guard contract usually bundles together: the sourcing mechanism (how you find and confirm a guard) and the service provider (the licensed agency actually employing and supervising that guard).
Why the split matters for a procurement decision
Below is how that split plays out against the standard vehicle most agencies already use.
Marketplace model vs. traditional GSA-schedule guard contractor
| Consideration | Traditional GSA-schedule / IDIQ guard contractor | On-demand marketplace (Calvis) |
|---|---|---|
| Contract structure | Multi-year task order or IDIQ with a fixed set of assigned guards | No long-term commitment required; coverage booked per shift or as a recurring post |
| Lead time to activate coverage | Typically weeks for onboarding, badging, and post orders | Same-day to next-day for many markets, depending on agency availability |
| Best fit | Standing, predictable posts (courthouse, federal building lobby, checkpoint) with a stable headcount | Surge events, continuity-of-operations gaps, storm/emergency response, short-notice details, backfill when an incumbent contractor is short-staffed |
| Guard employer of record | The prime contractor or its subcontractor | The independent licensed agency filling the shift, not Calvis |
| Rate transparency | Negotiated task-order rate, often fixed for the option period | Rates are visible per shift before confirmation and can vary by market and urgency |
| Vetting responsibility | Contractor's HR/compliance function, subject to contract clauses (e.g., HSPD-12, PIV requirements) | Each agency in the network is independently licensed in its state; Calvis verifies licensing status but does not itself hold the guard's license |
| Typical procurement vehicle | GSA MAS (Schedule 84, 561612 SIN), or agency-specific IDIQ | Not a scheduled contract vehicle; typically sourced as an open-market buy, simplified acquisition, or as a subcontracted surge resource under an existing prime |
The practical takeaway for a procurement officer: if you have a standing post that runs the same shift pattern every week for years, a scheduled contract with a fixed guard force is usually the right vehicle. If you have a facility closure backfill, a hurricane-season activation, a temporary checkpoint for a construction or renovation project, or a gap because your incumbent contractor cannot staff a shift, an on-demand marketplace is built for exactly that gap — and it is often faster to activate than amending an existing task order.
Where this fits in a solicitation response
If you are a prime contractor drafting a teaming or subcontracting plan and considering Calvis as a surge-capacity resource, the pieces you will typically need to document are:
- •Entity identification — legal name, UEI, CAGE code (verify current CAGE assignment directly in SAM.gov), and primary NAICS code
- •Scope of role — Calvis functions as a sourcing marketplace connecting the government buyer or prime to independently licensed agencies; it is not itself the guard force, so describe it accurately as a surge-sourcing channel rather than as the guard service provider
- •Insurance certification path — see the insurance section below; the certificate of insurance for any specific engagement comes from the agency actually staffing the post, not from Calvis as an intermediary
- •Past performance references — see below
Contracting officers reviewing a response that cites an on-demand marketplace as a subcontracted surge resource should expect the prime to name the specific licensed agency (or agencies) that would staff the actual posts, since that agency — not the marketplace — is the party that holds the state license, carries the insurance, and is accountable for guard conduct on federal property.
Small business and set-aside considerations
Federal and many state solicitations carve out competition for small businesses and specific socioeconomic categories: 8(a), Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), and HUBZone, among others. These statuses are self-certified or SBA-certified and are recorded against an entity's SAM.gov profile, which is updated as certifications are obtained, renewed, or lapse.
Verifying status and matching it to the performing entity
Two things matter here for accuracy:
- •Verify status directly, don't infer it. Any entity's current small business size status and socioeconomic certifications should be pulled from its live SAM.gov record (or, for 8(a)/HUBZone, the SBA's certification systems) at the time you are drafting a solicitation response. Status changes, and a certification that was true last quarter may not be true today.
- •Set-aside eligibility applies to the entity actually performing the work. Because Calvis is a marketplace connecting buyers to independently owned agencies, the relevant socioeconomic status for a set-aside solicitation is typically that of the agency performing the guard services, not the marketplace facilitating the match — unless the marketplace entity itself is the prime or subcontractor of record on the specific task. Confirm which entity will be named on the contract before citing set-aside status in a response.
This guide does not assert any specific set-aside certification for Calvis beyond what is verifiable on its current SAM.gov record, and procurement teams should treat SAM.gov and SBA's certification portals as the sole authoritative source for that determination.
Past performance
Contracting officers evaluating past performance for a security guard requirement typically look for:
- •Reference contacts at comparable facilities — similar site type (government building, courthouse, correctional adjacent, data center, event venue), similar shift complexity, and comparable duration
- •Incident history and response documentation — how promptly incidents were reported, whether reports were complete, and how escalations were handled
- •Staffing reliability — no-show rates and how quickly a gap was backfilled, which is exactly the metric an on-demand marketplace is built to improve for surge or emergency scenarios
- •CPARS or equivalent ratings, where the work was performed under a federal contract subject to Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting
Evaluate past performance at the agency level
Because the marketplace model routes work through independently licensed agencies rather than a single fixed guard force, past performance for a specific engagement should be evaluated at the level of the agency that staffed it. When citing Calvis-facilitated coverage in a past performance narrative, name the performing agency and the specific facility or event, and be prepared to provide that agency's licensing and insurance documentation alongside the reference.
Insurance and bonding basics procurement officers check
Every licensed security agency operating through the Calvis marketplace is required to carry its own insurance; Calvis verifies that documentation is current before an agency can accept shifts, but the policy itself is issued to the agency, not to Calvis.
Coverage to request and verify directly
For any specific government engagement, expect to request and verify, directly from the insurer or broker:
| Coverage | What it protects | Typical minimum a CO should request |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial General Liability | Bodily injury or property damage on the premises | $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate, with the government entity or prime named as additional insured |
| Workers' Compensation | Guards injured while on post | Statutory limits for the state where the post is located |
| Commercial Auto (if applicable) | Guards driving patrol or transport vehicles on government property | $1M combined single limit |
| Fidelity/Surety Bond (if required by the solicitation) | Protection against theft, dishonesty, or performance failure | Bond amount set by the solicitation, not a fixed industry figure |
What to ask for instead of assuming
A few things a procurement officer should specifically ask for rather than assume:
- •A COI issued directly by the agency's broker or carrier, not a summary document, with the government buyer or prime listed as additional insured for the duration of the engagement
- •State licensing verification for the specific agency staffing the post, confirmed against that state's licensing board (see our guide to vetting a security guard company for the state-by-state lookup process)
- •Bonding, if the solicitation requires it — not every guard contract requires a bond, but courthouse, cash-handling-adjacent, and some facility-access contracts do; confirm the requirement is in the solicitation and get bond documentation matched to it specifically
Where an on-demand marketplace fits — and where it doesn't
To be direct about the limits of this model for federal work: Calvis is not a GSA Schedule holder, is not itself a security guard company, and does not represent itself as carrying any certification, set-aside status, or past federal prime contract award beyond what is stated in this guide. It is a sourcing marketplace for licensed guard agencies, registered in SAM.gov under the UEI and NAICS code above.
That makes it a reasonable fit for:
- •Surge staffing during a continuity-of-operations event, natural disaster response, or facility emergency
- •Backfilling a gap when an incumbent contractor cannot staff a shift
- •Short-notice or one-off details that don't justify standing up a new task order
- •A subcontracted surge-capacity resource under an existing prime's teaming arrangement
It is not a substitute for a standing multi-year guard task order where the requirement is a fixed, predictable post with a dedicated, badged guard force — that is what scheduled contract vehicles and IDIQs are built for.
Summary for RFP and capability statement drafting
If you're citing this sourcing model in a response, the facts most reviewers will check are: the SAM.gov UEI (Q5DXF4E4N924, verify live status), the primary NAICS code (561612), the absence of a GSA Schedule award, and the name, license, and insurance of whichever specific agency would actually staff the post. Getting the performing-entity distinction right — marketplace versus performing agency — is the single most common accuracy issue in these responses, and the one most likely to draw a follow-up question from a contracting officer.
If you're evaluating whether a surge-capacity arrangement makes sense for an upcoming requirement, or need documentation to support a subcontracting plan, you can review available agencies and coverage directly at Calvis, or see our broader guide on contract security services for how recurring coverage is structured outside the marketplace model.