Fact Sheet

Budget Modifications for CPD Awardees

Under federal regulations, you are required to expend 

federal funds only as approved in your Federal Clearance 

Memo (FCM). The COPS Office realizes that agencies may 

need to reprogram award funds and has provided this fact 

sheet for CPD awardees to assist in the process. Awardees 

may reprogram up to a total of 10 percent of their entire 

budget (over the course of the award) without submitting 

a formal budget modification. However, awardees should 

notify their COPS Office Program Manager (PM) prior to 

any reprogramming of funds regardless of whether a formal 

budget modification is needed. Once the reprogramming 

of funds reaches 10 percent of the award, your agency 

must submit a formal budget modification requesting 

approval from the COPS Office for any additional budget 

modification requests.

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 reprogramming 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.

What to do if you need 

a budget modification

If your budget requires a modification, please follow 

these steps:

1. Contact your PM and discuss the modification 

and reasoning for the change in budget. This 

process may require back and forth discussion 

and further documentation.

2. Once your agency and the PM agree to the change, 

log in to “Account Access,” which is located in the 

upper right corner of the COPS Office website, 

www.cops.usdoj.gov.

3. Once in the system, find the appropriate award, 

and within the Action menu, select “Modify.”

4. You will see the Budget Summary page with the last 

approved budget amounts. The totals will be readonly. Select “Modify” for each category (Civilian/

Nonsworn Officer Positions, Equipment/Technology, 

etc.) that requires a modification.

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

either adding or modifying the amount. For every item 

that is modified, it is required to 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

6. After each section change, please select “Save to Budget 

Summary” to save all work. Each time “Save to Budget 

Summary” is selected, you will be returned to the 

Budget Summary page.

7. After modifying all of the appropriate items and 

providing the required narrative, please select “Validate” 

at the bottom of the Budget Summary page.

8. In the Budget Summary page, compare the current and 

modified data for each item. If there is an error, select 

“Cancel” to return to the Budget Summary page. If the 

modification is correct, select “Submit.”

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

www.cops.usdoj.gov
9. Once your budget modification is submitted, please 

inform your PM via e-mail. In addition, please 

include any relevant documentation as needed for the 

modification. This documentation may include but is 

not limited to the following:

a. For any new personnel and/or consultants that you 

plan to hire noncompetitively, a resume must be 

submitted to your PM for prior approval.

b. For consultant rates over $550 per day, a consultant 

rate justification must be submitted to your PM for 

prior approval (see Consultant Rate Justification 

Fact Sheet).

c. Indirect Cost Rate Agreement.

d. Documentation for personnel and/or consultant costs.

Once you have completed all of the above steps, the budget 

modification is with the COPS Office. It is important to 

note that throughout the COPS Office review, no other 

processes including extensions can be submitted. The budget 

modification typically takes 30 days to process.

Next Steps

Your budget modification will go through two rounds 

of review at a minimum: by your PM and by a Budget 

Analyst (BA).

The PM will review the budget programmatically and 

may reach out to you for clarification, changes, or justification. Any changes required by your PM will result in the 

rejection of the modification. You will receive notification 

from the COPS Office, and you will be able to access the 

modification and make the necessary changes. The awardee 

will have to reenter the system, make the budget adjustments 

where necessary, and resubmit the saved changes. 

Once the budget modification has been programmatically 

approved, a BA is assigned. The BA will review the modification to ensure the budget is allowable and meets all 

regulations and policies. The BA will work with the program manager for any points of clarification, changes, 

or justification. Any changes required by the BA will result 

in the rejection of the modification, and the awardee will 

have to resubmit. 

In the case of any rejection, an automatic notification 

will be sent out via e-mail, and the grant’s status changes 

to the green “No Action Required” icon, from which you 

can initiate another request.

In the case of any approval, an automatic notification 

will be sent out via e-mail. 

Implementation of the modified award budget may 

begin following this written approval from the COPS 

Office. The modification approvals for active awards 

will be accompanied by a modified FCM reflecting the 

approved changes.

Other Resources

Your PM can provide you with “modification budget 

detail worksheets” to help keep track of your costs and 

modifications. This tool can be used to track all of your 

costs, and when you submit a budget modification, it 

can be useful to submit as supplemental documentation 

to your program manager.

In addition, the sole source justification, consultant/

contractor rate justification, and indirect cost rate agreement fact sheets provide additional information. These fact 

sheets are available at http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/Default.

asp?Item=2450.

Finally, your Award Owner’s Manual, Award Document, 

Cooperative Agreement, FCM, and Terms and Conditions 

will provide more information on specific requirements 

and policies that are applicable to your award. Your Award 

Owner’s Manual will include a list of allowable and 

unallowable items.

Please contact your PM for further direction on any 

additional requirements that may be applied to your 

modification request or any other questions.

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Budget Modifications

June 2015