2 CFR 200.455 sets 3 requirements for organizations that receive federal grants and cooperative agreements. Applies when you build your application and budget, and to every cost you charge after award.
Costs of establishing or reorganizing an organization — incorporation fees, brokers' fees, fees to promoters, organizers or management consultants, attorneys, accountants, or investment counselors (whether or not employees) — are unallowable except with prior approval of the Federal agency.
Start-up incorporation, entity-formation, or reorganization costs appear in the budget.
Costs of activities undertaken to persuade employees (of the recipient, subrecipient, or any other entity) to exercise or not exercise, or concerning the manner of exercising, the right to organize and bargain collectively are unallowable.
Labor-relations or union-related consulting or campaign costs in the budget.
Data and evaluation costs are allowable, including expenditures to gather, store, track, manage, analyze, disaggregate, secure, share, publish, or otherwise use data (data systems, personnel, dashboards, cybersecurity, integrated data systems linking individual-level data across state/local agencies) and evaluation costs (evidence reviews, evaluation planning and feasibility, conducting and sharing evaluations).
Data-infrastructure or program-evaluation lines in the budget.
Upload the funding notice and your draft budget or narrative, and ask. Grantable answers from its compliance database of federal, agency and state rules, with citations.
(a) Costs such as incorporation fees, brokers' fees, fees to promoters, organizers or management consultants, attorneys, accountants, or investment counselors, whether or not employees of the recipient or subrecipient in connection with the establishment or reorganization of an organization, are unallowable except with prior approval of the Federal agency.
(b) The costs of any of the following activities are unallowable: activities undertaken to persuade employees of the recipient or subrecipient, or any other entity, to exercise or not to exercise, or concerning the manner of exercising, the right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of the employees' own choosing.
(c) The costs related to data and evaluation are allowable. Data costs include (but are not limited to) the expenditures needed to gather, store, track, manage, analyze, disaggregate, secure, share, publish, or otherwise use data to administer or improve the program, such as data systems, personnel, data dashboards, cybersecurity, and related items. Data costs may also include direct or indirect costs associated with building integrated data systems—data systems that link individual-level data from multiple State and local government agencies for purposes of management, research, and evaluation. Evaluation costs include (but are not limited to) evidence reviews, evaluation planning and feasibility assessment, conducting evaluations, sharing evaluation results, and other personnel or materials costs related to the effective building and use of evidence and evaluation for program design, administration, or improvement.
Source: eCFR · checked Sep 17, 2026
Costs of establishing or reorganizing an organization — incorporation fees, brokers' fees, fees to promoters, organizers or management consultants, attorneys, accountants, or investment counselors (whether or not employees) — are unallowable except with prior approval of the Federal agency. Costs of activities undertaken to persuade employees (of the recipient, subrecipient, or any other entity) to exercise or not exercise, or concerning the manner of exercising, the right to organize and bargain collectively are unallowable. Data and evaluation costs are allowable, including expenditures to gather, store, track, manage, analyze, disaggregate, secure, share, publish, or otherwise use data (data systems, personnel, dashboards, cybersecurity, integrated data systems linking individual-level data across state/local agencies) and evaluation costs (evidence reviews, evaluation planning and feasibility, conducting and sharing evaluations).
Start-up incorporation, entity-formation, or reorganization costs appear in the budget. Labor-relations or union-related consulting or campaign costs in the budget. Data-infrastructure or program-evaluation lines in the budget.
Plain-English summaries for information only, not legal advice. Always check the regulation text, your award terms and your agency’s guidance.