U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

 Fact Sheet www.cops.usdoj.gov

Budget Modifications

Under federal regulations, you are required to expend federal funds only as approved in your Financial Clearance 

Memorandum (FCM). The COPS Office realizes that agencies and organizations may need to reprogram award 

funds and has provided this fact sheet for CPD, CPD Microgrants, LEMHWA, TRGP-TA, and PASS recipients 

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

June 2020

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

Award amount Type of reprogramming Next step

Less than $250,000 Reprogramming at any level relative to total 

approved budget

Inform COPS Office program manager prior to 

reprograming of funds

More than $250,000

Less than 10 percent of total approved budget 

(over the course of the award)

Notify your COPS Office program manager prior 

to reprogramming of funds

More than 10 percent of total approved budget Submit a formal budget modification 

requiring approval from the COPS Office 

prior to reprogramming of funds

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. 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.
2

June 2020

Budget Modifications for CPD, CPD Microgrants, TRGP-TA, LEMHWA, and PASS Recipients

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 your account via the “Account Access” tab 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 in readonly mode. Select “Modify” for each category (Civilian/

Nonsworn Office 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. 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

6. After each section change, 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 narratives, 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.”

9. Once your budget modification is submitted, inform 

your PM via email. In addition, include any relevant 

documentation as needed for the modification. This 

documentation may include the following:

a. For any new personnel or consultants you plan to 

hire noncompetitively, a resume must be submitted 

to your PM for prior approval.

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

rate justification must be submitted to your PM for 

prior 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.

d. Documentation for personnel and consultant costs.

Once you have completed all of these steps, the COPS 

Office will review the budget modification. It is important to note that throughout the COPS Office review, no 

other processes including extensions can be submitted, and 

extension request should be submitted before requests for 

budget modifications. The budget modification typically 

takes 30 days to process.
3

Next steps

Your budget modification will go through two rounds of 

review at a minimum: (1) by your PM and (2) 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 recipient 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 revised budget is allowable and meets 

all regulations and policies. The BA will work with the PM 

for any points of clarification, changes, or justification. Any 

changes required by the BA will result in the rejection of 

the modification, and the recipient will have to correct and 

resubmit the modification.

In the case of any rejection, an automatic notification will 

be sent out via email, and the award’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 email.

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 a budget detail worksheet 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 PM.

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 Document, 

Cooperative Agreement (if applicable), FCM, and Terms 

and Conditions will provide more information on specific 

requirements 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.

Budget Modifications for CPD, CPD Microgrants, TRGP-TA, LEMHWA, and PASS Recipients

Contact the COPS Office

For more information about COPS Office 

programs and resources, please call the COPS 

Office Response Center at 800-421-6770 or visit 

the COPS Office website at www.cops.usdoj.gov.

June 2020