Sneak Preview: Revised Part 25 Clarifies Requirements for Obtaining UEIs

(The following was excerpted from a recent Thompson Grants Compliance Expert article.) Along with amending the uniform guidance (2 C.F.R. Part 200), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in April made numerous revisions to the other parts of Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations that relate to receipt of federal financial assistance. Of note, OMB updated 2 C.F.R Part 25 to better clarify that it applies to applicants for and recipients of federal financial assistance unless exempted by federal statutes, as well as first-tier subrecipients.

These Title 2 sections, other than the uniform guidance, are:

• Part 1 — About Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations and Subtitle A;
• Part 25 — Universal Identifier and System for Award Management;
• Part 170 — Reporting Subaward and Executive Compensation Information;
• Part 175 — Award Term for Trafficking in Persons;
• Part 176 — Award Terms for Assistance Agreements that Include Funds Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111-5;
• Part 180 — OMB Guidelines to Agencies on Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement);
• Part 182 — Governmentwide Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Financial Assistance);
• Part 183 — Never Contract with the Enemy; and
• Part 184 — Buy America Preferences for Infrastructure Projects.

In October 2023, OMB proposed numerous revisions to these sections. While OMB has maintained many of the proposed revisions within the final version released April 22, some provisions were amended in light of stakeholder comments to the proposal. The final revisions become effective for awards issued on or after Oct. 1, unless the federal agency elects to implement them as early as June 21.

In §25.105, OMB adds new language to clarify that applicants, recipients and first-tier subrecipients are required to obtain a unique entity identifier (UEI) in accordance with Subpart C of Part 25. Subpart C states that a recipient may not make a subaward to a subrecipient that has not obtained a UEI and provided it to the recipient, although subrecipients are not required to complete full registration in SAM.gov to obtain a UEI. Together with stating that the requirement to obtain a UEI does not apply to an individual who applies for and receives assistance, OMB adds that it also does not apply to second-tier subrecipients or contractors under federal awards.

Further, OMB adds new language under §25.105(d) stating that “because this [requirement] applies to loan guarantees and other guaranteed programs, recipients of the guarantee from the federal agency (e.g., lenders of guaranteed loans) are required to complete entity validations and acquire a UEI. Additionally, at the federal agency’s discretion, nonindividual beneficiary borrowers (for example, small businesses or corporations) may be required by the federal agency to obtain a UEI or register in SAM.gov.”

(The full version of this story has now been made available to all for a limited time here.)

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