To submit the SF-SAC to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse, download the official Excel workbook templates from fac.gov, complete them with your independent auditor, upload the workbooks and the full reporting package PDF through the FAC portal at fac.gov, and have both the Auditee Certifying Official and the Auditor Certifying Official electronically sign before the deadline. The portal runs automated validation on every upload, so most of the work is getting the workbooks clean enough to pass those checks the first time.
Do You Actually Have to File
The filing obligation turns on one number: total federal awards expended during your fiscal year. Under 2 CFR 200.501, any non-federal entity that spends $1,000,000 or more must have a single audit performed and submit the results to the FAC.1eCFR. 2 CFR 200.501 – Audit Requirements The Office of Management and Budget raised this threshold from $750,000 in its April 2024 revision to the Uniform Guidance; the $1,000,000 figure applies to fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2024.
“Non-federal entity” covers state and local governments, Indian Tribes, institutions of higher education, and nonprofits receiving federal awards as recipients or subrecipients.2eCFR. 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart F – Audit Requirements Entities that spend less than $1,000,000 in a given year are exempt from single audit requirements for that year, but records must remain available for federal or GAO review.
One narrow alternative: if you spent federal awards under only one federal program (excluding research and development), you may elect a program-specific audit under 2 CFR 200.507 instead of a full single audit. Research and development funds qualify only when every award comes from the same federal agency, or the same agency and same pass-through, and the agency approves the election in advance.
When the SF-SAC Is Due
The SF-SAC and the full reporting package must reach the FAC within 30 calendar days after the auditee receives the auditor’s report, or nine months after the end of the audit period, whichever comes first. When the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, it moves to the next business day.3eCFR. 2 CFR 200.512 – Report Submission
For a June 30 fiscal year-end, the outside deadline is March 31 of the following year. If your auditor delivers the report on January 15, though, the filing is due February 14, because 30 days from receipt comes first.
Federal agencies no longer grant routine extensions.4Federal Audit Clearinghouse. How Do I Request an Extension on the Due Date The cognizant or oversight agency for audit may authorize an extension when the nine-month timeframe would place an undue burden on the auditee, so if you know a submission will be late, contact that agency as early as possible.
What to Gather Before You Start
Completing the SF-SAC is a joint effort between your organization and the independent auditor. Have the following in hand before logging in:
- Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): the 12-character identifier from SAM.gov that replaced the old DUNS number.
- Employer Identification Number (EIN): your organization’s federal tax ID.
- Assistance Listing Numbers for each federal program under which you spent awards. These appear in your grant agreements or on SAM.gov’s Assistance Listings.
- Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA), listing programs by federal agency with Assistance Listing numbers, identifying pass-through entities and their identifying numbers for subawards, showing totals for each program and cluster, and reporting amounts provided to subrecipients.5eCFR. 2 CFR 200.510 – Financial Statements
- Auditor’s reports on your financial statements, on the SEFA, and on compliance with federal program requirements and internal controls.
- Audit findings and corrective action plan, if the auditor identified findings: the schedule of findings and questioned costs plus your organization’s corrective action plan.
The Reporting Package PDF
Along with the SF-SAC workbooks, you upload the complete single audit reporting package as one PDF. It includes the financial statements, the SEFA, the auditor’s report on the financial statements and the SEFA, the auditor’s report on compliance and internal control over compliance for major programs, the schedule of findings and questioned costs (when applicable), a summary schedule of prior audit findings, and the corrective action plan (when applicable).6U.S. Government Accountability Office. GAO-24-106173, Single Audits
Filling Out the Workbooks
The FAC provides Excel workbook templates on fac.gov that you download, complete offline, and then upload to the portal.7Federal Audit Clearinghouse. SF-SAC Workbooks Each workbook handles a specific section of the data collection form: federal awards (each program, Assistance Listing number, and expenditures), federal awards audit findings, notes to the SEFA, secondary auditors, additional UEIs, and additional EINs.8Federal Audit Clearinghouse. SF-SAC Section 8 – Additional EINs
You’ll also enter data directly in the portal: general information, auditee information (audit period, UEI, EIN), and audit information such as the type of opinion the auditor issued (unmodified, qualified, adverse, or disclaimer) and whether the organization qualifies as a low-risk auditee.
Validation Errors That Cause Rejections
The portal runs automated checks on every uploaded workbook. These are the failures that reject submissions most often:9FAC Help Center. How Do I Fix Workbook Validation Errors
- Mismatched award or finding references. Every reference number must use only letters and numbers. No #, /, or *. References must match exactly across the Federal Awards, Findings, and Corrective Action Plan tabs. Even a stray space triggers an error.
- Overwritten formula cells. Some cells contain built-in formulas. Pasting values over them breaks the workbook. Never copy-paste into a formula cell.
- Manually typed dropdown responses. For fields that don’t apply, select “N/A” from the dropdown. Typing “N/A” by hand or leaving the cell blank fails validation.
- Deleted rows. Deleting a row can break hidden references. Clear cell contents instead. If you already deleted a row, insert a new one in the same position with the same formatting.
- Altered template structure. Don’t rename tabs, reorder columns, or insert rows outside the data entry area. The system expects the exact structure of the official template.
Start each submission from a fresh copy of the official template. Avoid copying data from PDFs or Word documents, which can carry invisible characters that trip validation. Enter 0 in required numeric fields rather than leaving them blank.
Portal Accounts and Certifying Officials
Everyone involved in the submission needs their own Login.gov account. Shared accounts aren’t allowed.10Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. Federal Audit Clearinghouse Update
Each submission requires exactly one Auditee Certifying Official and one Auditor Certifying Official, and they must be different people. The Auditor Certifying Official cannot also serve as an Audit Editor on the same submission.11Federal Audit Clearinghouse. Managing User Access The Auditee Certifying Official is typically a senior financial officer at the organization, such as a CFO or finance director. The Auditor Certifying Official is typically a partner or manager at the CPA firm that performed the audit.
Once the workbooks are uploaded and validation passes, both certifying officials apply electronic signatures, which formally certify that the data is complete and accurate. After both signatures are in place, the designated user performs the final submission. The portal generates a confirmation of receipt.
After You Submit
Receipt is not the same as acceptance. A submission is not complete until the FAC marks it as accepted, confirming that the filing meets all technical and formatting requirements. Once accepted, it enters the FAC’s public database at app.fac.gov/dissemination/search/, where federal awarding agencies, pass-through entities, inspectors general, the GAO, and the public can view it.
If the audit contains findings, the responsible federal agency or pass-through entity must issue a management decision within six months of FAC acceptance. That decision states whether the finding is sustained, explains the reasoning, identifies expected corrective actions, and sets a follow-up timetable. Begin corrective action as soon as you receive the audit report; don’t wait for the management decision.12eCFR. 2 CFR 200.521 – Management Decisions
What Happens If You File Late or Not at All
Under 2 CFR 200.339, federal agencies and pass-through entities may withhold a percentage of federal awards until the audit is completed, disallow overhead costs, suspend active federal awards, or terminate them.2eCFR. 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart F – Audit Requirements A late or missing filing also disqualifies your organization from low-risk auditee status for the next two audit periods, which increases the scope and cost of future audits.13eCFR. 2 CFR 200.520 – Criteria for a Low-Risk Auditee
Because the FAC database is how oversight agencies monitor compliance, a missing filing is visible to every federal grantor. Late filers often see new grant applications scrutinized more heavily or held up until prior-year audits are resolved.