FEDERAL SPENDING TRANSPARENCY

DATA STANDARDS

Pursuant to the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act), Pub. L. 

No. 113-101, the Office of Management & Budget and the Department of the Treasury 

established the following set of final Government-wide data standards for Federal funds 

made available to or expended by Federal agencies and entities receiving Federal funds. 

Agencies should refer to M-15-12, Increasing Transparency of Federal Spending by Making 

Federal Spending Data Accessible, Searchable, and Reliable, on the implementation of these 

data standards. Additional information about the data element standardization process 

can be found at: http://fedspendingtransparency.github.io/. Any future final data 

standards to be used on USAspending.gov (or a successor site) will be included on this 

page.

*New Data Elements added July 13, 2015.

**New Data Elements added August 31, 2015.

Account Level Data Standards

This list of data elements describes the appropriations accounts from which agencies 

fund Federal awards.

The DATA Act requirements for data definitions and reporting financial data did not 

necessitate developing new definitions, as agencies have collected and reported these 

data to OMB and Treasury for decades. The definitions for the financial data elements 

below were written explicitly to inform the public and others not well versed in the 

nuances of the Federal Government’s budgeting and accounting laws, administrative 

guidance, operational systems, and audited agency financial systems. Agencies will 

continue to follow the detailed guidance in OMB Circular A-11 and the Treasury 

Financial Manual (TFM) in recording financial data in their systems and reporting the 

same to OMB and Treasury. The data standards below are drawn from these more 

detailed definitions that agencies will continue to follow.

Data Element Data Definition

Appropriations 

Account

The basic unit of an appropriation generally reflecting each 

unnumbered paragraph in an appropriation act. An 

appropriation account typically encompasses a number of 

activities or projects and may be subject to restrictions or 

conditions applicable to only the account, the appropriation act, 
titles within an appropriation act, other appropriation acts, or 

the Government as a whole.

An appropriations account is represented by a TAFS created by 

Treasury in consultation with OMB.

(defined in OMB Circular A-11)

Budget 

Authority 

Appropriated

A provision of law (not necessarily in an appropriations act) 

authorizing an account to incur obligations and to make outlays 

for a given purpose. Usually, but not always, an appropriation 

provides budget authority.

(defined in OMB Circular A-11)

Object Class Categories in a classification system that presents obligations by 

the items or services purchased by the Federal Government. 

Each specific object class is defined in OMB Circular A-11 § 

83.6.

(defined in OMB Circular A-11)

Obligation Obligation means a legally binding agreement that will result in 

outlays, immediately or in the future. When you place an order, 

sign a contract, award a grant, purchase a service, or take other 

actions that require the Government to make payments to the 

public or from one Government account to another, you incur 

an obligation. It is a violation of the Antideficiency Act (31 

U.S.C. § 1341(a)) to involve the Federal Government in a 

contract or obligation for payment of money before an 

appropriation is made, unless authorized by law. This means 

you cannot incur obligations in a vacuum; you incur an 

obligation against budget authority in a Treasury account that 

belongs to your agency. It is a violation of the Antideficiency 

Act to incur an obligation in an amount greater than the amount 

available in the Treasury account that is available. This means 

that the account must have budget authority sufficient to cover 

the total of such obligations at the time the obligation is 

incurred. In addition, the obligation you incur must conform to 

other applicable provisions of law, and you must be able to 

support the amounts reported by the documentary evidence 

required by 31 U.S.C. § 1501. Moreover, you are required to 

maintain certifications and records showing that the amounts 

have been obligated (31 U.S.C. § 1108). The following 

subsections provide additional guidance on when to record 
obligations for the different types of goods and services or the 

amount.

Additional detail is provided in Circular A‐11.

Other 

Budgetary 

Resources

New borrowing authority, contract authority, and spending 

authority from offsetting collections provided by Congress in an 

appropriations act or other legislation, or unobligated balances 

of budgetary resources made available in previous legislation, to 

incur obligations and to make outlays.

(defined in OMB Circular A-11)

Outlay Payments made to liquidate an obligation (other than the 

repayment of debt principal or other disbursements that are 

“means of financing” transactions). Outlays generally are equal 

to cash disbursements but also are recorded for cash-equivalent 

transactions, such as the issuance of debentures to pay 

insurance claims, and in a few cases are recorded on an accrual 

basis such as interest on public issues of the public debt. 

Outlays are the measure of Government spending.

(defined in OMB Circular A-11)

Program 

Activity

A specific activity or project as listed in the program and 

financing schedules of the annual budget of the United States 

Government.

(defined in OMB Circular A-11)

Treasury 

Account 

Symbol 

(excluding subaccount)

Treasury Account Symbol: The account identification codes 

assigned by the Department of the Treasury to individual 

appropriation, receipt, or other fund accounts. All financial 

transactions of the Federal Government are classified by TAS 

for reporting to the Department of the Treasury and the Office 

of Management and Budget.

(defined in OMB Circular A-11)

Treasury Appropriation Fund Symbol: The components of a 

Treasury Account Symbol – allocation agency, agency, main 

account, period of availability and availability type – that directly 

correspond to an appropriations account established by 

Congress.

(defined in OMB Circular A-11)

Unobligated 

Balance

Unobligated balance means the cumulative amount of budget 

authority that remains available for obligation under law in 

unexpired accounts at a point in time. The term “expired 
balances available for adjustment only” refers to unobligated 

amounts in expired accounts.

Additional detail is provided in Circular A‐11.

Award Characteristic Data Standards

These data elements describe characteristics that apply to specific financial assistance 

and/or procurement awards. These data have been reported publicly for decades, 

however, did not use similar terminology in such reporting, making it difficult for public 

users to compare and analyze data. The definitions for these shared data elements 

below were written explicitly to inform the public and others not well versed in the 

nuances of the Federal Government’s financial assistance and procurement laws, 

regulations, and operations. To maintain the integrity of the Federal awarding 

processes, agencies will continue to follow the detailed regulatory and policy guidance 

that governs the making and management of awards using Federal tax. 

Data Element Data Definition

Action Date** The date the action being reported was issued / 

signed by the Government or a binding agreement 

was reached.

Action Type** Description (and corresponding code) that provides 

information on any changes made to the Federal 

prime award. There are typically multiple actions for 

each award.

(Note: This definition encompasses current data 

elements ‘Type of Action’ for financial assistance 

and ‘Reason for Modification’ for procurement)

Award Description A brief description of the purpose of the award.

Award Identification (ID) 

Number

The unique identifier of the specific award being 

reported, i.e. Federal Award Identification Number 

(FAIN) for financial assistance and Procurement 

Instrument Identifier (PIID) for procurement.

Award 

Modification/Amendment 

Number

The identifier of an action being reported that 

indicates the specific subsequent change to the 

initial award.

Award Type** Description (and corresponding code) that provides 

information to distinguish type of contract, grant, 

or loan and provides the user with more granularity 

into the method of delivery of the outcomes.
Business Types** A collection of indicators of different types of 

recipients based on socio-economic status and 

organization / business areas.

Catalog of Federal 

Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) Number**

The number assigned to a Federal area of work in 

the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.

Catalog of Federal 

Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) Title**

The title of the area of work under which the 

Federal award was funded in the Catalog of Federal 

Domestic Assistance.

North American 

Industrial Classification 

System (NAICS) Code

The identifier that represents the North American 

Industrial Classification System Code assigned to 

the solicitation and resulting award identifying the 

industry in which the contract requirements are 

normally performed.

North American 

Industrial Classification 

System (NAICS) 

Description

The title associated with the NAICS Code.

Ordering Period End 

Date**

For procurement, the date on which, for the award 

referred to by the action being reported, no 

additional orders referring to it may be placed. This 

date applies only to procurement indefinite delivery 

vehicles (such as indefinite delivery contracts or 

blanket purchase agreements). Administrative 

actions related to this award may continue to occur 

after this date. The period of performance end 

dates for procurement orders issued under the 

indefinite delivery vehicle may extend beyond this 

date.

Parent Award 

Identification (ID) 

Number

The identifier of the procurement award under 

which the specific award is issued, such as a Federal 

Supply Schedule. This data element currently 

applies to procurement actions only.

Period of Performance 

Current End Date**

The current date on which, for the award referred 

to by the action being reported, awardee effort 

completes or the award is otherwise ended. 

Administrative actions related to this award may 

continue to occur after this date. This date does not 

apply to procurement indefinite delivery vehicles 

under which definitive orders may be awarded.
Period of Performance 

Potential End Date**

For procurement, the date on which, for the award 

referred to by the action being reported if all 

potential pre-determined or pre-negotiated options 

were exercised, awardee effort is completed or the 

award is otherwise ended. Administrative actions 

related to this award may continue to occur after 

this date. This date does not apply to procurement 

indefinite delivery vehicles under which definitive 

orders may be awarded.

Period of Performance 

Start Date**

The date on which, for the award referred to by the 

action being reported, awardee effort begins or the 

award is otherwise effective.

Primary Place of 

Performance Address**

The address where the predominant performance 

of the award will be accomplished. The address is 

made up of components for: City, State Code, and 

ZIP+4 or Postal Code.

Primary Place of 

Performance 

Congressional District**

U.S. congressional district where the predominant 

performance of the award will be accomplished. 

This data element will be derived from the Primary 

Place of Performance Address.

Primary Place of 

Performance Country 

Code**

Country code where the predominant performance 

of the award will be accomplished.

Primary Place of 

Performance Country 

Name**

Name of the country represented by the country 

code where the predominant performance of the 

award will be accomplished.

Record Type** Code indicating whether an action is an individual 

transaction or aggregated (for financial assistance).

Award Amount Data Standards

These data elements describe characteristics that apply to amount information for 

financial assistance and/or procurement awards.

Data Element Data Definition

Amount of 

Award**

The cumulative amount obligated by the Federal Government 

for an award, which is calculated by USAspending.gov or a 

successor site.

For procurement and financial assistance awards except loans, 

this is the sum of Federal Action Obligations.
For loans or loan guarantees, this is the Original Subsidy 

Cost.

Current Total 

Value of 

Award**

For procurement, the total amount obligated to date on a 

contract, including the base and exercised options.

Federal Action 

Obligation**

Amount of Federal Government’s obligation, de-obligation, or 

liability, in dollars, for an award transaction.

Non-Federal 

Funding 

Amount**

For financial assistance, the amount of the award funded by 

non-Federal source(s), in dollars. Program Income (as defined 

in 2 C.F.R. § 200.80) is not included until such time that 

Program Income is generated and credited to the agreement.

Potential Total 

Value of 

Award**

For procurement, the total amount that could be obligated on a 

contract, if the base and all options are exercised.

Awardee & Recipient Entity Data Standards

These data elements describe the recipients/awardees of Federal funds.

Data Element Data Definition

Awardee/Recipient 

Legal Entity 

Name*

The name of the awardee or recipient that relates to the 

unique identifier. For U.S. based companies, this name is 

what the business ordinarily files in formation documents 

with individual states (when required).

Awardee/Recipient 

Unique Identifier*

The unique identification number for an awardee or 

recipient. Currently the identifier is the 9-digit number 

assigned by Dun & Bradstreet referred to as the DUNS® 

number.

Highly 

Compensated 

Officer Name

First Name: The first name of an individual identified as 

one of the five most highly compensated “Executives.” 

“Executive” means officers, managing partners, or any 

other employees in management positions.

Middle Initial: The middle initial of an individual 

identified as one of the five most highly compensated 

“Executives.” “Executive” means officers, managing 

partners, or any other employees in management positions.

Last Name: The last name of an individual identified as 

one of the five most highly compensated “Executives.” 

“Executive” means officers, managing partners, or any 

other employees in management positions.
Highly 

Compensated 

Officer Total 

Compensation

The cash and noncash dollar value earned by the one of the 

five most highly compensated “Executives” during the 

awardee's preceding fiscal year and includes the following 

(for more information see 17 C.F.R. § 229.402(c)(2)): salary 

and bonuses, awards of stock, stock options, and stock 

appreciation rights, earnings for services under non-equity 

incentive plans, change in pension value, above-market 

earnings on deferred compensation which is not tax 

qualified, and other compensation.

Legal Entity 

Address

The awardee or recipient’s legal business address where the 

office represented by the Unique Entity Identifier (as 

registered in the System for Award Management) is located. 

In most cases, this should match what the entity has filed 

with the State in its organizational documents, if required. 

The address is made up of five components: Address Lines 

1 and 2, City, State Code, and ZIP+4 or Postal Code.

Legal Entity 

Congressional 

District

The congressional district in which the awardee or recipient 

is located. This is not a required data element for non-U.S. 

addresses.

Legal Entity 

Country Code

Code for the country in which the awardee or recipient is 

located, using the ISO 3166-1 Alpha-3 GENC Profile, and 

not the codes listed for those territories and possessions of 

the United States already identified as “states.”

Legal Entity 

Country Name

The name corresponding to the Country Code.

Ultimate Parent 

Legal Entity 

Name*

The name of the ultimate parent of the awardee or 

recipient. Currently, the name is from the global parent 

DUNS® number.

Ultimate Parent 

Unique Identifier*

The unique identification number for the ultimate parent of 

an awardee or recipient. Currently the identifier is the 9-

digit number maintained by Dun & Bradstreet as the global 

parent DUNS® number.

Awarding Entity Data Standards

These data elements describe the characteristics of the entity that made the award.

Data Element Data Definition

Awarding 

Agency Code

A department or establishment of the Government as used in 

the Treasury Account Fund Symbol (TAFS).
Awarding 

Agency Name

The name associated with a department or establishment of the 

Government as used in the Treasury Account Fund Symbol 

(TAFS).

Awarding Office 

Code**

Identifier of the level n organization that awarded, executed or 

is otherwise responsible for the transaction.

Awarding Office 

Name**

Name of the level n organization that awarded, executed or is 

otherwise responsible for the transaction.

Awarding Sub 

Tier Agency 

Code**

Identifier of the level 2 organization that awarded, executed or 

is otherwise responsible for the transaction.

Awarding Sub 

Tier Agency 

Name**

Name of the level 2 organization that awarded, executed or is 

otherwise responsible for the transaction.

Funding Entity Data Standards

These data elements describe the characteristics of the entity that provided the 

funding for an award.

Data Element Data Definition

Funding 

Agency Code**

The 3-digit CGAC agency code of the department or 

establishment of the Government that provided the 

preponderance of the funds for an award and/or individual 

transactions related to an award.

Funding 

Agency 

Name**

Name of the department or establishment of the Government 

that provided the preponderance of the funds for an award 

and/or individual transactions related to an award.

Funding Office 

Code**

Identifier of the level n organization that provided the 

preponderance of the funds obligated by this transaction.

Funding Office 

Name**

Name of the level n organization that provided the 

preponderance of the funds obligated by this transaction.

Funding Sub 

Tier Agency 

Code**

Identifier of the level 2 organization that provided the 

preponderance of the funds obligated by this transaction.

Funding Sub 

Tier Agency 

Name**

Name of the level 2 organization that provided the 

preponderance of the funds obligated by this transaction.