U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

 Fact Sheet cops.usdoj.gov

Grant Award Modifications: Budget Modifications

Under federal regulations, you are required to expend federal funds only as approved in your award package. The COPS Office 

realizes that agencies and organizations may need to reallocate award funds and has provided this fact sheet to assist with the 

process. If you require any reprogramming of award funds, please see table 1 for next steps.

September 2023

Table 1. What to do if you require reallocation of award funds

Award amount Type of reallocation Next step

Less than $250,000

Transferring funds between or among any direct 

cost budget categories

Notify your COPS Office program manager or grant 

manager prior to reallocating funds. No Grant 

Award Modification (GAM) required.

More than $250,000

Less than 10 percent of total approved budget 

(over the course of the award)

Notify your COPS Office program manager or grant 

manager prior to reallocating funds. No Grant 

Award Modification (GAM) required.

The proposed cumulative change is greater 

than 10 percent of the total award amount or to 

a budget category that did not previously have 

approved funds, or it involves a change in the 

indirect cost category.

Submit a formal budget modification in JustGrants 

requiring approval from the COPS Office 

after discussing with your program manager or 

grant manager.

Reprogrammed funds must be allocated for items covered 

within the scope of the original award. Any funds that are being 

requested to account for a change in scope from the original 

funded project must first receive approval from the COPS 

Office to expand or change the scope. Be advised that reallocation requests for unallowable costs will not be approved. 

The COPS Office will not approve any modification request 

that results in an increase of federal funds. An organization 

may not expend award funds or drawdown reimbursements 

for budget modifications until after the modification has been 

approved by the COPS Office in writing.

Contact the COPS Office

For more information about COPS Office programs 

and resources, please contact the COPS Office 

Response Center at AskCOPSRC@usdoj.gov or 

800-421-6770 or visit the COPS Office website at 

https://cops.usdoj.gov.
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What to do if you need a budget modification

If your budget requires a modification, please follow 

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these steps:

1. Contact either your your COPS Office program manager, 

your grant program specialist, or your grant management 

specialist (collectively referred to as grant managers) to 

discuss the modification and reasoning for the change in 

budget. This process may require back-and-forth discus

sion and further documentation.

2. Once your agency and the COPS Office grant manager 

agree to the change, log in to your account via JustGrants 

and submit a programmatic Grant Award Modifica

tion (GAM). For instructions on submitting, please 

visit https://justicegrants.usdoj.gov/training-resources/

justgrants-training/grant-award-modifications.

3. Each change will need to be entered in the system by 

either adding or modifying the amount. Every item 

that is modified must have an accompanying narrative 

explaining the modification. The narrative must include 

the following:

a. A brief description of each item and change that 

includes its purpose and how the item relates to the 

overall project

b. A calculation breakdown for each new item

4. You will be asked to explain the overall need to reallocate 

funds in the Justification field.

5. Once your budget modification is submitted, inform 

your COPS Office grant manager via email. In addition, 

include any relevant documentation as needed for the modi

fication. This documentation may include the following:

a. For any new personnel or consultants you plan to 

hire noncompetitively, a resume must be submitted 

for pre-approval by the COPS Office.

b. For consultant rates over $650 per day, a consultant 

rate justification must be submitted to the COPS 

Office for pre-approval (see the Consultant/Contractor 

Rate Information fact sheet).

c. If claiming indirect costs, beyond the de minimis rate, 

include a current Indirect Cost Rate Agreement.

Documentation for personnel 

and consultant costs

Once you have completed all of these steps, the COPS 

Office will review the budget modification. The budget 

modification typically takes 30–45 days to process.

Next steps

Your budget modification will be reviewed to ensure it meets 

programmatic and financial requirements. At any point, 

COPS Office staff may reach out to you for clarification, 

changes, or justification. Based on the changes, the modifi-

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cation may be returned to you for revisions. After receiving 

notice from the COPS Office/JustGrants, you will be able to 

access the modification, make the necessary budget adjust

ments, and resubmit the saved changes.

After the GAM is fully reviewed, you will receive an auto

mated email from JustGrants when the modification has 

been processed and either approved or rejected.

Implementation of the modified award budget may begin 

following the JustGrants notification, which constitutes 

written approval from the COPS Office. The modification 

approvals for active awards will be accompanied by a modi

fied approved budget in JustGrants reflecting the approved 

changes.

Other resources

For additional information, please review the Sole Source 

Justification, Consultant/Contractor Rate Information, and 

Indirect Cost Rate fact sheets. These fact sheets are available 

at https://cops.usdoj.gov/programdocuments.

Finally, your Award Owner’s Manual, Award Package, Coop

erative Agreement (if applicable), and Award Conditions will 

provide more information on specific requirements that are 

applicable to your award. 

Please contact your COPS Office grant manager for fur

ther direction on any additional requirements that may be 

applied to your modification request or any other questions.

September 2023

Grant Award Modifications: Budget Modifications