2 CFR 200.501 sets 4 requirements for organizations that receive federal grants and cooperative agreements. Applies once you spend federal award money, at audit time.
A non-Federal entity that expends $1,000,000 or more in Federal awards during its fiscal year must have a single audit (or, if eligible, a program-specific audit) conducted for that year under Subpart F.
Total Federal awards expended (computed per § 200.502 across ALL Federal sources, direct and pass-through) ≥ $1,000,000 in the entity's fiscal year
A program-specific audit may be elected in lieu of a single audit only if the entity expends Federal awards under only one Federal program (excluding R&D) and no statute, regulation, or award term requires a financial statement audit; for R&D, only if all awards are from the same Federal agency (or same agency and same pass-through entity) and the agency/pass-through approves in advance.
Applicant states it satisfies audit requirements via a program-specific audit rather than a single audit
An entity expending less than $1,000,000 in Federal awards in its fiscal year is exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year (except as noted in § 200.503), but its records must remain available for review or audit by the Federal agency, pass-through entity, and GAO.
Total Federal awards expended < $1,000,000 in the entity's fiscal year
Subpart F does not apply to for-profit organizations; a pass-through entity must establish requirements to ensure compliance by for-profit subrecipients, describe applicable compliance requirements and the for-profit subrecipient's compliance responsibility in the subaward, and use methods such as pre-award audits, monitoring, and post-award audits.
Application proposes subawards to for-profit entities
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.
(a) Audit required. A non-Federal entity that expends $1,000,000 or more during the non-Federal entity's fiscal year in Federal awards must have a single or program-specific audit conducted for that year in accordance with the provisions of this part.
(b) Single audit. A non-Federal entity that expends $1,000,000 or more in Federal awards during the non-Federal entity's fiscal year must have a single audit conducted in accordance with § 200.514 except when it elects to have a program-specific audit conducted in accordance with paragraph (c) or (d) of this section.
(c) Program-specific audit election (in general). A non-Federal entity may elect to have a program-specific audit conducted in accordance with § 200.507 if the following conditions are met:
(1) The non-Federal entity expends Federal awards under only one Federal program (excluding research and development); and
(2) The Federal program's statutes or regulations, or terms and conditions of the Federal award, do not require a financial statement audit of the non-Federal entity.
(d) Program-specific audit election for research and development. A non-Federal entity may elect to have a program-specific audit for research and development conducted in accordance with § 200.507, but only if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The non-Federal entity expends Federal awards only from the same Federal agency, or the same Federal agency and the same pass-through entity; and
(2) The Federal agency, or pass-through entity in the case of a subrecipient, approves a program-specific audit in advance.
(e) Exemption when Federal awards expended are less than $1,000,000. A non-Federal entity that expends less than $1,000,000 in Federal awards during its fiscal year is exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in § 200.503. However, in all instances, the records of the non-Federal entity must be available for review or audit by appropriate officials of the Federal agency, pass-through entity, and the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
(f) Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC). Management of an auditee that owns or operates a FFRDC may elect to treat the FFRDC as a separate entity for purposes of this part.
(g) Subrecipients and contractors. An auditee may simultaneously be a recipient, a subrecipient, and a contractor. Unless a program is exempt by Federal statute, Federal awards expended as a recipient or a subrecipient are subject to audit under this part. Payments received for goods or services provided as a contractor under a Federal award (see § 200.331) are not subject to audit under this part.
(h) Compliance responsibility for contractors. In most cases, the auditee's compliance responsibility for contractors is to ensure that the procurement, receipt, and payment for goods and services comply with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of a Federal award. Federal award compliance requirements normally do not flow down to contractors. However, for procurement transactions in which the contractor is made responsible for meeting program requirements, the auditee must ensure those requirements are met, including by clearly stating the contractor's responsibilities within the contract and reviewing the contractor's records to determine compliance. Also, when these procurement transactions relate to a major program, the scope of the audit must include a determination of whether these transactions comply with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of a Federal award. See also § 200.318(b).
(i) For-profit subrecipient. This subpart does not apply to for-profit organizations. As necessary, the pass-through entity is responsible for establishing requirements to ensure compliance by for-profit subrecipients. The subaward with a for-profit subrecipient must describe applicable compliance requirements and the for-profit subrecipient's compliance responsibility. Methods to ensure compliance for Federal awards made to for-profit subrecipients may include pre-award audits, monitoring throughout the performance of the subaward, and post-award audits (see § 200.332).
Source: eCFR · checked Sep 17, 2026
A non-Federal entity that expends $1,000,000 or more in Federal awards during its fiscal year must have a single audit (or, if eligible, a program-specific audit) conducted for that year under Subpart F. A program-specific audit may be elected in lieu of a single audit only if the entity expends Federal awards under only one Federal program (excluding R&D) and no statute, regulation, or award term requires a financial statement audit; for R&D, only if all awards are from the same Federal agency (or same agency and same pass-through entity) and the agency/pass-through approves in advance. An entity expending less than $1,000,000 in Federal awards in its fiscal year is exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year (except as noted in § 200.503), but its records must remain available for review or audit by the Federal agency, pass-through entity, and GAO. Subpart F does not apply to for-profit organizations; a pass-through entity must establish requirements to ensure compliance by for-profit subrecipients, describe applicable compliance requirements and the for-profit subrecipient's compliance responsibility in the subaward, and use methods such as pre-award audits, monitoring, and post-award audits.
Total Federal awards expended (computed per § 200.502 across ALL Federal sources, direct and pass-through) ≥ $1,000,000 in the entity's fiscal year. Applicant states it satisfies audit requirements via a program-specific audit rather than a single audit. Total Federal awards expended < $1,000,000 in the entity's fiscal year. Application proposes subawards to for-profit entities.
Plain-English summaries for information only, not legal advice. Always check the regulation text, your award terms and your agency’s guidance.