How to Apply for a Federal Grant on Grants.gov, Step by Step

Applying for a federal grant on Grants.gov takes five stages: register your organization in SAM.gov, set up Grants.gov accounts and roles, find the opportunity and read its notice, complete the application package in Grants.gov Workspace, and have an Authorized Organization Representative submit it. After submission you get a tracking number and a validation or rejection email. Validation is not the same as acceptance: the agency still reviews the package against its funding notice.

This guide covers each stage in order, with links to the official instructions. It is written for organizations, which is who most federal grants are for. Grants.gov notes that most opportunities on the site are for organizations, not individuals, and that individuals can only apply to opportunities that are open to individuals.

Stage 1: Register in SAM.gov

Grants.gov uses your SAM.gov registration to establish your organization's identity and who can act for it. The Grants.gov registration page lists SAM.gov as the first step and says to allow up to 10 business days for a SAM.gov registration to become active. Registration is free and must be renewed every year.

During SAM.gov registration you name an Electronic Business Point of Contact (E-Biz POC). This person matters in Grants.gov because they approve who can submit on the organization's behalf. SAM.gov also assigns your Unique Entity ID (UEI), which automatically appears in your Grants.gov applications. Our guide to SAM.gov registration and the UEI covers this stage in detail.

Stage 2: Set up Grants.gov accounts and roles

Sign in with Login.gov

Grants.gov requires applicants to sign in with Login.gov credentials. That requirement took effect in February 2022, as announced in agency notices such as EPA's RAIN-2022-G03. Each person who prepares or submits applications needs their own Login.gov account. Do not share one login across staff.

Create the organization profile

The E-Biz POC creates a Grants.gov account using the same email address listed in SAM.gov, then adds an organization applicant profile by entering the UEI. Other staff create their own Grants.gov accounts and add a profile linked to the same UEI. One Grants.gov account can hold profiles for more than one organization if a person works with several.

Assign roles

Roles control what each person can do. Grants.gov lists these key roles:

• E-Biz POC: the organization's main contact, who assigns roles to others.
• Authorized Organization Representative (AOR): can sign and submit applications for the organization.
• Workspace Manager: can create and manage Workspaces for application packages.
• Custom roles: set by the E-Biz POC to give specific permissions.

Each person can confirm their role on the Manage Profiles tab of the My Account page. Check this well before the deadline. Finding out on the last day that nobody has the AOR role is a common and avoidable problem.

Stage 3: Find the opportunity and read the notice

Every federal grant opportunity is announced through a notice of funding opportunity, often called a NOFO. Grants.gov carries a summary of each notice, and agencies post the full notice with it. The notice tells you who is eligible, what the agency wants to fund, what to include, how applications are scored, and the deadline.

Before you open any forms, check three things in the notice:

1. Eligibility. Grants.gov lists applicant categories such as state and local governments, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status, institutions of higher education, small businesses and individuals. See the Grants.gov eligibility page. If your type is not listed in the notice, you cannot apply as the prime applicant.
2. Deadline and time zone. Note the exact date and time, and whether the agency also requires a letter of intent or preliminary proposal earlier.
3. Agency systems. Some agencies require registration in their own system in addition to Grants.gov.

Each opportunity also has an Assistance Listing number, which Grants.gov explains was formerly called the CFDA number. The first two digits identify the agency. Our guide to reading a NOFO explains every section of a notice.

Stage 4: Build the application in Workspace

Grants.gov Workspace is the shared online space where you complete an application package. The Grants.gov glossary defines an application package as the set of forms, documents and attachments that make up your submission.

Create a Workspace

A user with the Workspace Manager role creates a Workspace for the specific opportunity. The Workspace owner can invite other people from the organization to work on forms. Several people can work on different forms at once, which helps when the narrative, budget and attachments come from different staff.

Complete the forms

Each package lists its required and optional forms. Common ones include the SF-424 application for federal assistance, a budget form such as the SF-424A, project narrative and budget justification attachments, and certifications. Complete each form, then check it for errors inside Workspace. Forms can be filled online or downloaded and uploaded, depending on the form.

Attach required documents

Follow the notice's rules for file names, formats and page limits exactly. Agency guidance points out that Grants.gov does not check whether you included every attachment the agency requires. The USDA AMS application guide, for example, states that it is the applicant's responsibility to make sure all required attachments are included. Use the notice's checklist, not the Grants.gov form list, as your final check.

Check the budget against the narrative

Reviewers read the budget and narrative together. Every cost in the budget should connect to an activity in the narrative, and the totals on the budget form must match your budget justification. Our guide on writing a federal grant budget walks through the cost categories and rules, and the Grant Budget Calculator helps you check the math.

Stage 5: Submit

When the package is complete, the Workspace Manager notifies users with the AOR role, and an AOR signs and submits it. Only an AOR can submit for an organization.

Your tracking number

After submission, Grants.gov assigns a tracking number in the format GRANT followed by eight digits and shows it on the confirmation page. Agency guidance such as the HRSA Grants.gov overview notes that the date and time stamp on the submission is the official time of submission. Save the confirmation page and the tracking number.

The emails that follow

You should receive a receipt email first, then a second email that confirms the package was validated or tells you it was rejected and why. If it was rejected, fix the listed errors and submit again before the deadline. A rejected package does not hold your place.

Validation is not acceptance

Grants.gov validation checks that certain parts of the package were submitted correctly. It does not mean the agency has accepted the application as complete or eligible. After Grants.gov validates the package, the agency retrieves it and runs its own checks against the notice. An application can pass Grants.gov and still be returned by the agency for missing sections, page limit problems or eligibility issues. Our guide on why federal applications are rejected lists the most common agency-level problems.

Submit early

Agency guides recommend submitting at least 24 to 48 hours before the deadline so there is time to fix a rejected package. The USDA AMS guide gives that window, for example. Some agencies recommend more. Treat the deadline in the notice as the last moment the system will accept a valid package, not as a target.

Working backward from the deadline, a realistic schedule looks like this: registrations finished at least a month ahead, a full draft two weeks ahead, internal review one week ahead, and submission two days ahead. The Application Timeline Planner builds a schedule like this from your deadline.

After submission

You can check the status of a submission in Grants.gov using the tracking number. After the agency retrieves the package, the agency also assigns its own identifier, and later updates usually come from the agency rather than from Grants.gov. Review times vary by agency and program. The notice's Award Notices section usually says when decisions are expected.

If you are selected, the agency issues a notice of award with terms and conditions. Read it carefully. It sets reporting dates, allowable costs and any special conditions, and the rules in 2 CFR 200 apply to most federal grants.

Applying is free

Searching for opportunities on Grants.gov and submitting applications through it is free, and so is SAM.gov registration. The FTC notes that Grants.gov is the only place to find a free list of federal grants. Anyone who asks for a fee to "guarantee" a grant or to unlock access to applications is a red flag. See our guide on how to spot a grant scam.

Quick checklist

1. SAM.gov registration active, with the expiration date noted.
2. Everyone who will work on the package has a Login.gov account and a Grants.gov profile under your UEI.
3. At least one person holds the AOR role, and you have confirmed it on the Manage Profiles tab.
4. Eligibility, deadline and agency system requirements checked in the notice.
5. Workspace created and forms assigned to the right people.
6. Every attachment on the notice's checklist included, named and formatted as instructed.
7. Budget form totals match the budget justification.
8. Submitted at least 24 to 48 hours before the deadline, tracking number saved.
9. Validation email received and agency retrieval confirmed.

You can browse open listings on our federal grants pages, which link to the official notice for every opportunity.