Subpart D: Post-award requirements 2024 Uniform Guidance · effective Oct 1, 2024

2 CFR 200.338: Restrictions on public access to records

2 CFR 200.338 sets one requirement for organizations that receive federal grants and cooperative agreements. Applies while you manage a federal award.

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What 2 CFR 200.338 requires

1. Disclosure

What you must do

Recipients/subrecipients are not required to permit public access to their award records unless federal, state, local, or tribal law requires it; FOIA does not apply to records remaining under the recipient's control (except as § 200.315 requires for intangible property/research data); protected PII and FOIA-exempt or CUI-equivalent information must be kept confidential where the agency restricts it.

When it applies

Public-records or transparency commitments in the application, or receipt of public/FOIA-style records requests

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Grantable compliance database

Ask what 2 CFR 200.338 means for your award

Upload your award terms and ask what you owe and when. Grantable answers from its compliance database of federal, agency and state rules, with citations.

Sections 2 CFR 200.338 refers to

Regulation text of 2 CFR 200.338

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Federal agencies may not place restrictions on the recipient or subrecipient that limit public access to the records of the recipient or subrecipient pertinent to a Federal award, except for protected personally identifiable information (PII) or other sensitive information when the Federal agency can demonstrate that such records will be kept confidential and would have been exempted from disclosure pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) or controlled unclassified information pursuant to Executive Order 13556 if the records had belonged to the Federal agency. The Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) (FOIA) does not apply to records that remain under the recipient's or subrecipient's control except as required by § 200.315. Unless required by Federal, State, local, or tribal law, recipients and subrecipients are not required to permit public access to their records. The recipient's or subrecipient's records provided to a Federal agency generally will be subject to FOIA and applicable exemptions.

Source: eCFR · checked Sep 17, 2026

Questions about 2 CFR 200.338

What does 2 CFR 200.338 require?

Recipients/subrecipients are not required to permit public access to their award records unless federal, state, local, or tribal law requires it; FOIA does not apply to records remaining under the recipient's control (except as § 200.315 requires for intangible property/research data); protected PII and FOIA-exempt or CUI-equivalent information must be kept confidential where the agency restricts it.

When does 2 CFR 200.338 apply?

Public-records or transparency commitments in the application, or receipt of public/FOIA-style records requests.

Plain-English summaries for information only, not legal advice. Always check the regulation text, your award terms and your agency’s guidance.