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The DATA Act

The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act) was signed into law May 9, 2014, requiring publication of federal award data to USAspending.gov for public view. This page provides access to federal and departmental DATA Act policies, data requirements, and reporting instructions. Note: Requests for further information can be directed to the USDA OCFO Transparency and Accountability Reporting Division (TARD) at sm.ocfo.tard@cfo.usda.gov.

Sections

The DATA Act Legislation

Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014. P.L. 113-101 (May 9, 2014)

USDA Resources

USDA DATA Act Policies

  1. USDA DATA Act Guidance (June 2024)
  2. USDA DATA Act Data Quality Plan (Updated April 2025)
  3. Agency DATA Act Data Quality Framework (March 2022)
  4. USDA DATA Act Governance and POC Charter (April 2025)
  5. CFO Memo to CFOs - DATA Act Implementation (November 20, 2014)
  6. CFO Memo Implementing M-15-12 (June 9, 2015)
  7. CFO Memo Agency Responsibility for Reporting Data Stored Outside of FMMI (June 24, 2016)
  8. CFO Bulletin 23-01 Completing DATA Act Award ID on FMMI (October 24, 2023)
  9. CFO Memo - DATA Act Quarterly Assurance Process (July 17, 2017)
  10. USDA Secretary Memo Implementing M-20-21 (May 2020)
    Note: Please also refer to Appendix B in M-20-21 here
  11. Procurement Advisory 105C Use of Automated Procurement Systems (June 2017)
  12. USDA Acquisition Data Reporting Policy References (June 2022)
  13. CFO Memo Controller Alert Subaward Reporting (January 2021)
  14. USDA Subaward Reporting Requirements (April 2023)

USDA DATA Act Reporting Schedules

  1. USDA DATA Act File D2 Reporting Schedule (November 2023)
  2. FY25 USDA DATA Act Monthly Reporting Schedule (updated January 2025)

USDA DATA Act Points of Contact (POCs)

  1. OCFO DATA Act TARD Contacts (August 2024)
  2. USDA Component Agency POCs and Senior Accountable Officials (April 2025)

USDA DATA Act Reporting Instructions

  1. USDA DATA Act OCFO Reporting Process Guide for Web (June 2024)
  2. A-C Inbound File Layout (May 2020)
  3. File D2 Reporting and Quality Procedures (Updated April 2025)
  4. File D2 Error and Value Workbook (Updated January 2025)
  5. File D2 USDA Office Codes (November 2024 - downloads as Excel file)
  6. File D2 - How to Handle Errors (November 2023)
  7. File D2 - Reporting Primary Place of Performance Data (November 2023)
  8. Files A B C Validation Codes v7 (November 2020)
  9. FileZilla FTP DropBox Submission Instruction
  10. WinSCP FTP DropBox Submission Instruction  
  11. Agency Shared Mailbox Setup & Tips (July 2021)
  12. File D2 -Reporting to Protect PII
  13. File D2 - Reporting a Change in Award Funding (November 2023)
  14. File D2 - Deleting Records from USAspending (November 2023)
  15. Accessing Certification and Error Reports in FMMI Fiori (February 2025)
  16. Safely Open .CSV to Excel (January 2021)
  17. File D2 Tracking Checklist (November 2023)
  18. Importance of Timely D2 Reporting (November 2023)
  19. How to Find Special Characters in D2 files (January 2022)
  20. How to Look up multiple FAINs on USAspending.gov (September 2023)
  21. How to Request a New Office Code (November 2023)
  22. DUNS to UEI Crosswalk (April 2022)
  23. Go to Authoritative Sources (Including direct links to city/county datasets)

USDA DATA Act Job Aids and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  1. USDA DATA Act FAQs and Acronyms (December 2023)
  2. USDA DATA Act Dashboard User Guide
  3. Job Aid - Entering Award ID on Manually-entered FMMI Documents per CFO Bulletin 23-01
  4. ServiceNow User Guide
  5. USDA DATA Act Financial Assistance Reporting Module 1 - An Overview
  6. USDA DATA Act Financial Assistance Reporting Module 2 - File D2 Overview
  7. USDA DATA Act Financial Assistance Reporting Module 3 - File D2 Details and Preparation
  8. USDA DATA Act Financial Assistance Reporting Module 4 - File D2 Ensuring Data Quality
  9. USDA DATA Act Financial Assistance Reporting Module 5 - DATA Act Resources

USDA OCFO Procedures

  1. USDA DATA Act File A Standard Operating Procedure (June 2024)
  2. USDA DATA Act File B Standard Operating Procedure (June 2024)
  3. USDA DATA Act File C Standard Operating Procedure (June 2024)
  4. USDA DATA Act File D1 Standard Operating Procedure
  5. USDA DATA Act File D2 Standard Operating Procedure (January 2021)
  6. USDA DATA Act File Dashboard Standard Operating Procedure

Federal Resources

OMB DATA Act Guidance and Policies

  1. OMB Memo 15-12 Increasing Transparency of Federal Spending by Making Federal Spending Data Accessible, Searchable, and Reliable. (May 8, 2015)
  2. Controller Alert: DATA Act Implementation and Offices for Financial Assistance Awards (December 4, 2015)
  3. OMB Memo 17-04 Additional Guidance for DATA Act Implementation: Further Requirements for Reporting and Assuring Data Reliability (November 4, 2016)
  4. MPM 2016-03 OMB Management Procedures Memorandum Additional Guidance for DATA Act Implementation: Implementing Data-Centric Approach for Reporting Federal Spending Information (May 3, 2016)
  5. Federal Spending Transparency General Resources on MAX.gov This page contains information on Federal Spending Transparency Activities, including progress reporting and links to policy, legislative, committee, and implementation documents. (URL - Log in via MAX)
  6. OMB Federal Spending Transparency Data Standards DATA Act Standard Data Elements
  7. Controller Alert: Acknowledging Inconsistent Records for a Subset of Public Financial Assistance Data for Entity Address ZIP+4 (April 3, 2017)
  8. Federal DATA Act Digest (Dated pre-FY19) (URL - Log in via MAX)
  9. OMB Memo 20-21 Implementation Guidance for Supplemental Funding Provided in Response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (April 10, 2020)
  10. OMB Controller Alert: Financial Assistance Award Description Data Quality (August 2020)
  11. OMB Memo 22-02 New Financial Assistance Transparency Reporting Requirements (October 2021)
  12. OMB Controller Alert: FSRS with example (December 2020)

DATA Act Federal Reporting Requirements

  1. Federal GTAS and DATA Act Reporting Schedules (FY24 version. Downloads as Excel file)
  2. USAspending Online Data Dictionary
  3. Current Government-wide Spending Data Model (GSDM)
    The following documents are available:
    • GSDM Practices and Procedures
    • GSDM Reporting Submission Specification (RSS)
    • GSDM Validation Rules
    • GSDM Interface Definition Document (IDD)

Authoritative Sources and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  1. USAspending Federal Spending Guide FAQs
  2. Authoritative Sources per MPM-2016-03 Section B (URL – page 6)
  3. City Codes See “Census Codes” field
  4. County Codes See “County Numeric” field
  5. Country Codes Report data as “USA” for U.S. territories and freely associated states.
  6. Agency SubTier Codes See “SubTier Codes” field
  7. CFDA/Assistance Listing

External Sites

Reporting Sites

  1. Treasury Broker
  2. DATA Act Broker Service Desk
  3. FPDS at SAM.gov (Select “Contracting Opportunities” from Search Dropdown)
  4. FSRS.gov

USAspending.gov

  1. USAspending.gov
  2. USAspending “How to” videos
  3. USAspending.gov Award Search Engine
  4. Department of Agriculture on USAspending.gov
  5. USAspending.gov Service Desk (E-Mail Address)
  6. USAspending.gov Community Comment/Forum

SAM.gov

  1. SAM.gov
  2. SAM.gov Assistance Listings (CFDA)

Grants.gov

  1. Grants.gov
  2. Grants.gov Search Grants
  3. Grants.gov Forms

Last Updated / Reviewed: April 14, 2025