Standard Form 424B No Longer Required

Notification Date:  Febrary 3, 2020

Purpose:  This Recipient/Applicant Information Notice (RAIN) informs recipients and applicants of federal financial assistance that EPA will no longer collect Standard Form 424B, Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424B) as part of grant application packages.

Summary: EPA will no longer utilize or collect the SF-424B beginning February 3, 2020.

Background: The General Services Administration, Office of the Integrated Award Environment began incorporating representations and certifications for Federal financial assistance into the registration/re-registration process in the System for Award Management (SAM) on February 2, 2019.

The Office of Management and Budget in Memo 18-24, Strategies to Reduce Grant Recipient Reporting Burden, directed federal agencies to implement necessary business process and or workforce changes with the implementation of centralized representations and certifications.

As of February 2, 2020, all applicants of both Federal Financial Assistance and Contracts have completed the Financial Assistance Response (FAR) within the Representation and Certifications section in the SAM.gov registration/re-registration process. These certifications and representations satisfy the requirements in the SF-424B.

Action: Applicants of EPA financial assistance programs will no longer be required to submit the SF-424B for any reason. EPA has removed the SF-424 from initial application packages, a change that has been described in RAIN-2018-G07-R2, Full Application Submission with Initial Proposal Submission Requirement.

Please note: Recipients and applicants to do not need to take any special action as a result of this RAIN. This is for informational purposes only.

Related Resources:  RAIN-2018-G07-R2; Rescinded RAIN-2019-G01 ; SAM.gov updated FAQs, user guides and blog post

• RAIN-2020-G01 (PDF)(1 pg, 86 K, February 2020)