Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200)

2 CFR Part 200 is the single rulebook for federal grants and cooperative agreements across every agency. It replaced a scatter of agency-specific circulars, and it means the cost rules that apply to a Department of Energy award are the same ones that apply to a National Institutes of Health award.

Four parts matter in practice. The COST PRINCIPLES define what is allowable, allocable and reasonable, and list items that are never allowable: lobbying, alcohol, fines, most entertainment. The PROCUREMENT STANDARDS impose competition requirements on how you buy things with federal money, with thresholds that determine how much competition is needed. The AUDIT REQUIREMENTS establish the single audit. The ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS govern subawards, property, reporting and closeout.

The procurement standards catch foreign and small organisations hardest, because they apply your obligations rather than your habits. Buying from a familiar supplier without documented competition is a finding even when the price was fair, and "we always use them" is not a justification the rules recognise.

The guidance was substantially revised in 2024, with the changes applying to awards issued from October 2024 onward. The revision raised the de minimis indirect cost rate, raised the single audit threshold, and raised several equipment and subaward thresholds. Older awards continue under the older terms, so an organisation can be running two sets of rules simultaneously. Check the award date before applying a figure.

Agencies add their own supplements on top, and those supplements can be stricter but not looser. Read the agency's own terms and conditions alongside the general rulebook rather than assuming the general one is complete.