2 CFR 200.461 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.
Publication costs for electronic and print media (including distribution, promotion, and general handling) are allowable; when not identifiable with a particular cost objective they should be allocated as indirect costs to all benefiting activities.
Publication, printing, or dissemination lines in the budget.
Page charges, article processing charges (APCs), and similar open-access fees for professional journal and peer-reviewed publications resulting from the award are allowable only where the publications report work supported by the federal government and the charges are levied impartially on all items published by the journal, whether or not under a federal award.
Journal APC, page-charge, or open-access fee lines in the budget.
Publication or research-results-sharing costs not incurred during the period of performance may be charged to the award during closeout; such costs must be charged to the final budget period unless the Federal agency specifies otherwise.
Publication costs arise after the period of performance ends but before closeout.
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) Publication costs for electronic and print media, including distribution, promotion, and general handling, are allowable. These costs should be allocated as indirect costs to all benefiting activities of the recipient or subrecipient if they are not identifiable with a particular cost objective.
(b) Page charges, article processing charges (APCs), or similar fees such as open access fees for professional journal publications and other peer-reviewed publications resulting from a Federal award are allowable where:
(1) The publications report work supported by the Federal Government; and
(2) The charges are levied impartially on all items published by the journal, whether or not under a Federal award.
(3) The recipient or subrecipient may charge the Federal award during closeout for the costs of publication or sharing of research results if the costs were not incurred during the period of performance of the Federal award. These costs must be charged to the final budget period of the award unless otherwise specified by the Federal agency.
Source: eCFR · checked Sep 17, 2026
Publication costs for electronic and print media (including distribution, promotion, and general handling) are allowable; when not identifiable with a particular cost objective they should be allocated as indirect costs to all benefiting activities. Page charges, article processing charges (APCs), and similar open-access fees for professional journal and peer-reviewed publications resulting from the award are allowable only where the publications report work supported by the federal government and the charges are levied impartially on all items published by the journal, whether or not under a federal award. Publication or research-results-sharing costs not incurred during the period of performance may be charged to the award during closeout; such costs must be charged to the final budget period unless the Federal agency specifies otherwise.
Publication, printing, or dissemination lines in the budget. Journal APC, page-charge, or open-access fee lines in the budget. Publication costs arise after the period of performance ends but before closeout.
Plain-English summaries for information only, not legal advice. Always check the regulation text, your award terms and your agency’s guidance.