[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 24, Volume 1]

[Revised as of April 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 24CFR85.42]



[Page 537-538]

 

                 TITLE 24--HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

 

PART 85_ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS 

TO STATE, LOCAL AND FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS

--Table of Contents

 

                    Subpart C_Post-Award Requirements

 

Sec.  85.42  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 which 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.  85.36(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, awarding agencies may make 

special arrangements with grantees and subgrantees to retain any records 

which are continuously needed for joint use. The awarding agency 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 the Federal agency, 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 the awarding agency 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 the awarding 

agency.

    (3) Records for income transactions after grant or subgrant support. 

In some cases grantees must report income after the period of grant 

support.



[[Page 538]]



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 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. The 

awarding agency and the Comptroller General of the United States, or any 

of their authorized representatives, shall 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 shall 

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.