[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 20, Volume 2]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 20CFR437.42]

[Page 1178-1179]
 
                      TITLE 20--EMPLOYEES' BENEFITS
 
               CHAPTER III--SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
 
PART 437_UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE 
AGREEMENTS TO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS--Table of Contents
 
                    Subpart C_Post-Award Requirements
 
Sec. 437.42  Retention and access requirements for records.

    (a) Applicability. (1) This section applies to all financial and 
programmatic records, supporting documents, statistical records, and 
other records of grantees or subgrantees that are:
    (i) Required to be maintained by the terms of this part, program 
regulations or the grant agreement, or
    (ii) Otherwise reasonably considered as pertinent to program 
regulations or the grant agreement.
    (2) This section does not apply to records maintained by contractors 
or subcontractors. For a requirement to place a provision concerning 
records in certain kinds of contracts, see Sec. 437.36(i)(10).
    (b) Length of retention period. (1) Except as otherwise provided, 
records must be retained for three years from the starting date 
specified in paragraph (c) of this section.
    (2) If any litigation, claim, negotiation, audit or other action 
involving the records has been started before the expiration of the 3-
year period, the records must be retained until completion of the action 
and resolution of all issues which arise from it, or until the end of 
the regular 3-year period, whichever is later.
    (3) To avoid duplicate recordkeeping, SSA may make special 
arrangements with grantees and subgrantees to retain any records that 
are continuously needed for joint use. SSA will request transfer of 
records to its custody when it determines that the records possess long-
term retention value. When the records are transferred to or maintained 
by SSA, the 3-year retention requirement is not applicable to the 
grantee or subgrantee.
    (c) Starting date of retention period--(1) General. When grant 
support is continued or renewed at annual or other intervals, the 
retention period for the records of each funding period starts on the 
day the grantee or subgrantee submits to SSA its single or last 
expenditure report for that period. However, if grant support is 
continued or renewed quarterly, the retention period for each year's 
records starts on the day the grantee submits its expenditure report for 
the last quarter of the Federal fiscal year. In all other cases, the 
retention period starts on the day the grantee submits its final 
expenditure report. If an expenditure report has been waived, the 
retention period starts on the day the report would have been due.
    (2) Real property and equipment records. The retention period for 
real property and equipment records starts from the date of the 
disposition or replacement or transfer at the direction of SSA.
    (3) Records for income transactions after grant or subgrant support. 
In some cases grantees must report income after the period of grant 
support. Where there is such a requirement, the retention period for the 
records pertaining to the earning of the income starts from the end of 
the grantee's fiscal year in which the income is earned.
    (4) Indirect cost rate proposals, cost allocations plans, etc. This 
paragraph applies to the following types of documents, and their 
supporting records: Indirect cost rate computations or proposals, cost 
allocation plans, and any similar accounting computations of the rate at 
which a particular group of costs is chargeable (such as computer

[[Page 1179]]

usage chargeback rates or composite fringe benefit rates).
    (i) If submitted for negotiation. If the proposal, plan, or other 
computation is required to be submitted to the Federal Government (or to 
the grantee) to form the basis for negotiation of the rate, then the 3-
year retention period for its supporting records starts from the date of 
such submission.
    (ii) If not submitted for negotiation. If the proposal, plan, or 
other computation is not required to be submitted to the Federal 
Government (or to the grantee) for negotiation purposes, then the 3-year 
retention period for the proposal plan, or computation and its 
supporting records starts from end of the fiscal year (or other 
accounting period) covered by the proposal, plan, or other computation.
    (d) Substitution of microfilm. Copies made by microfilming, 
photocopying, or similar methods may be substituted for the original 
records.
    (e) Access to records--(1) Records of grantees and subgrantees. SSA 
and the Comptroller General of the United States, or any of their 
authorized representatives, have the right of access to any pertinent 
books, documents, papers, or other records of grantees and subgrantees 
which are pertinent to the grant, in order to make audits, examinations, 
excerpts, and transcripts.
    (2) Expiration of right of access. The rights of access in this 
section must not be limited to the required retention period but last as 
long as the records are retained.
    (f) Restrictions on public access. The Federal Freedom of 
Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) does not apply to records. Unless 
required by Federal, State, or local law, grantees and subgrantees are 
not required to permit public access to their records.