Applicant and Recipient Forms Library of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The questions below were submitted by both applicants and recipients and are designed to help provide further guidance on both EPA forms and Standard Forms (SF) used by the EPA.

If you have additional questions about a specific Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), applicants should contact the point of contact in the Notice of Funding Opportunity being applied for. For questions on your specific award agreement, please contact your Grant Specialist (GS) and or Project Officer (GS).

On this page:

General Questions

1. Can I download a form from the EPA Applicant and Recipient Forms website and upload it to my Grants.gov application?

To apply for a specific funding opportunity, you must use the forms located in your Grants.gov Workspace.  If you download the form from somewhere other than your Workspace, the form will not upload to your application properly.

For post-award Applicant, Fellowship, and Recipient forms, you do not need to submit them through Grants.gov, but will work directly with your Project Officer.

2. If forms on the Applicant and Recipient Forms webpage have expired, are they still useable?

The forms used by the EPA to collect information for grants are currently undergoing re-approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In the meantime, applicants and recipients should continue using the existing forms.

3. Do I need to provide a digital signature or electronic signature on my forms?

Recipients and applicants may provide either digital or electronic signatures on EPA forms dependent on the form being signed. Forms submitted electronically with initial application packages via Grants.gov should follow the established submission process within that site. 

For further guidance on which process you should follow, please reference RAIN-2020-G04-R1.

Submitting Applicant and Recipient Forms

1. Why are some forms submitted through Grants.gov vs some are submitted via email?

Some forms are required to be submitted through Grants.gov to ensure that the information is submitted correctly and that it is a complete application. This process also ensures that the individual submitting has the authorization to do so. 

For forms that are not required during the initial application phase, you may work with your EPA Project Officer or Grant Specialist to determine what these forms are and how to submit them via email. 

If forms that were submitted through Grants.gov need to be revised later in the grant award process, you may be asked by your EPA Project Officer or Grant Specialist to resubmit them via email.

2. How do I know what forms are required to be submitted to apply for an EPA grant?

Applicants should reference Section 4. Application Contents and Format in the Notice of Opportunity (NOFO) of the specific opportunity you are interested in. General information about the forms necessary  for competitive and non-competitive initial applications can be found in RAIN-2018-G07-R2, Full Application Submission with Initial Proposal Submission Requirement. 

3. Do applicants have to submit the same form for each Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)?

Each Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will specify which form(s) need to be included in the package, which may include the same form(s) as other Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFO). Applicants are encouraged to carefully review the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) as each one has specific instructions, eligibility requirements, and criteria that may differ.

4. Can application forms be reused to apply for different Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs)?

Per EPA’s Recipient/Applicant Information Notice (RAIN)-2018-g07-r2, Full Application Submission with Initial Proposal Submission Requirement, applicants have the ability to copy and reuse forms when applying to Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs). However, it is highly recommended that each form be adapted and individualized to meet the specific Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) criteria and requirements and reflect current information.

5. Are previously submitted application forms required to be resubmitted after award?

This is dependent on several specific factors which can include the type of grant or cooperative agreement that has been awarded, if revisions to initially submitted forms need to be revised, and or if there are programmatic requirements associated with the award. 

Recipients should work directly with their Project Officer.

Sam.gov and Grants.gov

1. How can an applicant signup for SAM.gov if there are issues with a .gov email address?

Entities with a .gov email address do not have the same secondary verification requirements as those with a .com email addresses. For entities who are having trouble with this, please visit the .gov Domain Support and Resources page, linked HERE.

2. What do I do if I experience technical issues when submitting my application/forms?

Applicants that experience technical issues with SAM.gov or Grants.gov that prevents them from submitting their application and or forms must contact the applicable customer support to formally report the technical issue and receive a tracking number. 

To contact either SAM.gov or Grants.gov, please reference the below:

EPA Form 4700-4

1. Who do I contact if I have questions about filling out EPA Form 4700-4, Preaward Compliance Review Report for all Applicants and Recipients Requesting EPA Financial Assistance?

First, review the Tips for Completing EPA Form 4700-4. If you have additional questions, direct them to 4700-4_Form_Questions@epa.gov.

2. Do subrecipients have to complete the EPA Form 4700-4?

EPA does not require subrecipients to complete the Form 4700-4; this requirement only applies to the applicant (and ultimate recipient) of the grant or cooperative agreement. 

However, the recipient has an obligation to ensure that subrecipients are in compliance with Federal civil rights laws and may require subrecipients to provide some form of certification to the recipient. The EPA’s Civil Rights Guidance on Procedural Safeguards includes a sample assurance form that a recipient may refer to in developing its own assurance form for subrecipients.

SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance

1. Does the EPA require applicants to re-submit a separate signed version of the SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance, outside of Grants.gov?

Application packages submitted through Grants.gov are automatically signed when the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) clicks the “sign and submit” button in Workspace. This includes the SF-424, which is part of the application package. 

If your application is selected for award and the SF-424 needs to be revised, EPA will inform you, and in these cases, the revised SF-424 will be submitted by working directly with your EPA Project Officer or Grant Specialist.

2. Does the EPA have guidance showing how to complete the SF-424?

For assistance on how to complete the SF-424, we recommend viewing the EPA webinar, “Applying to Non-Competitive EPA Grants”. For further information please reference the Instructions for the SF-424 (pdf) provided by the EPA.

3. Do you submit the non-construction or construction SF-424, or do both have to be submitted?

Most EPA grant programs only utilize the SF-424A, Budget for Non-Construction. The specific application forms are always specified in the grant Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

SF-425, Federal Financial Reports (FFRs)

1. When are Federal Financial Reports (FFR), the SF-425 due?

Per 2 CFR 200.329, Monitoring and Reporting Program Performance, EPA recipients must submit the interim form no later than thirty (30) calendar days after the conclusion of each specified reporting period for quarterly and semi-annual reports and ninety (90) calendar days for annual reports. EPA’s standard reporting frequency for interim reports is annual. Please refer to your specific grant Terms and Conditions to confirm this.

For final reports, EPA recipients must submit the form no later than one hundred and twenty (120) calendar days after the conclusion of the period of performance of the award.

2. Where should recipients their FFRs?

Both interim and final FFRs must be submitted to the EPA Research Triangle Park Finance Division (RFD) via email at rtpfc-grants@epa.gov or mail it to:

                    US Environmental Protection Agency
                    Research Triangle Park Finance Division (Mail Code AA216-01)
                    4930 Page Rd. 
                    Durham, NC, 27703

3. Are there any resources on how to complete the SF-425?

Recipients should reference the Frequent Questions about Closeouts webpage, which provides information specific to this form. For further questions, please work with you Project Officer.

4. When trying to view the PDF format of the SF-425 Form, a warning message appears on the screen, is there an issue with the form?

The warning message received when clicking the PDF link stems from attempting to view the form in the internet browser. Because the form has been created through the Adobe programing, some users will receive a warning message if they do not have Adobe Reader, have an older version of Adobe Reader, and or if their computer system is not configured to use Adobe Reader. 

Recipients can either download the form directly through Grants.gov, use the instructions provided on the Recipient and Applicant Forms webpage, or view the form using any PDF reader, like the free Adobe Acrobat reader.

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Last updated on November 25, 2025