How to Fill Out and Submit USDA Form AD-700: Sources, Vendors, and Funds

USDA Form AD-700, the department’s standard Purchase Request, is completed by filling in requester and delivery information, checking mandatory government supply sources, listing each item or service on its own line, recommending a vendor with a valid SAM.gov Unique Entity Identifier, entering the correct accounting and budget object codes, certifying that funds are available, and routing the signed form with any attachments to your procurement office. The current fillable PDF lives on the USDA Electronic Forms portal and can be completed on-screen before you print or route it electronically.¹

Where to Download the Current Form

Get the AD-700 from the USDA’s Electronic Forms portal, listed as “AD 700 Purchase Request.”¹ The National Finance Center also hosts a copy on its AD Forms page.² Use the USDA.gov version so you have the current layout. Older copies circulating on agency intranets may not match the current field structure.

Requester, Contact, and Delivery Information

The top of the form asks for the date you prepare the request, your unique purchase request tracking number, and the delivery date you need. Do not write “ASAP” in the delivery date field. Pick an actual date so the contracting officer can judge whether the timeline is realistic.³

Enter your name, phone, and email under “Requester’s Information.” If someone else should field technical questions about the purchase, such as an IT specialist for a software order, put their details in the separate “Technical Contact’s Information” section. The “Ship To” block takes the full destination address with ZIP code, plus any special delivery instructions like a loading dock location or restricted-access entry procedures.³

Checking Mandatory and Preferred Sources

Before buying from a commercial vendor, federal rules require you to check whether the supplies or services are available from certain government or government-designated sources first. The AD-700 includes a checklist drawn from FAR Part 8 that you must review in priority order:³

Agency inventory: supplies your own office already has on hand.
Excess from other agencies: surplus property through interagency channels.
Federal Prison Industries: products from Federal Prison Industries, Inc.
AbilityOne: items on the Procurement List maintained by the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled.
GSA Global Supply: stock programs through the General Services Administration.
GSA Advantage and Commercial Platforms, at the same priority level in the checklist.

Check every source you reviewed, and attach any waivers you obtained if a mandatory source was bypassed. The FAR spells out this order: agency inventory first, then excess, Federal Prison Industries, AbilityOne, and finally GSA wholesale supply sources.⁴ Skipping this step is one of the fastest ways to get a purchase request kicked back.

Describing Line Items

Each separately priced item or service gets its own line, numbered consecutively starting with 1. For every line you enter four things:³

Description. A clear explanation of what you need, including GSA catalog stock numbers, subscription renewal numbers, or model numbers where applicable. Attach detailed specifications for anything complex.
Quantity. How many units.
Unit of Issue. The unit type, such as EA (each), DZ (dozen), PK (pack), or JOB. For GSA stock-numbered items, use the unit of issue from the GSA Supply Catalog.
Price. The price per unit of issue, if known.

There is also a field for estimated shipping. The instructions say to set that estimate high enough to cover total freight; overestimating here is better than coming back later for additional funds. The form totals your line items and shipping into a single estimated cost figure.

Recommending Vendors

The “Recommended Vendors” section lets you list potential suppliers along with each vendor’s Unique Entity Identifier from SAM.gov. Use an attachment if you need more space than the form provides.³ The UEI is a 12-digit number that replaced the DUNS number as the standard identifier for organizations doing business with the federal government.⁵

Any vendor who ultimately receives an award needs an active SAM.gov registration. FAR subpart 4.11 requires registration before contract award, so flagging an unregistered vendor on the AD-700 only creates delays later.⁶ If your recommended vendor is not yet in SAM.gov, let them know early. Registration takes time, and an assigned UEI alone is not enough; the full registration must be active.

Entering Accounting and Budget Codes

The accounting section is where most errors happen, and errors here will bounce your request back every time. Two codes are required:

Accounting Code. Enter the shorthand accounting code, including any overrides. It must be valid in the Financial Management Modernization Initiative (FMMI) system and is assigned by the National Finance Center.³
Budget Object Classification Code. The four-digit code assigned by the National Finance Center that categorizes the type of expenditure, with different codes for equipment, supplies, travel, services, and so on.

If one line item needs to be charged across multiple accounting codes, split the cost by either percentage or dollar amount using the designated fields. Each accounting code gets its own line, tied back to the line item number it supports. FMMI is USDA’s enterprise accounting system, and it validates codes as requests are routed.⁷ Invalid codes get caught after routing, which wastes everyone’s time. Verify your codes with your budget office before submitting.

Certifying Funds and Signing

The AD-700 carries a funds certification statement: “I certify that sufficient funds are available for this purchase and I am authorized for the funds.” The Fund Approver signs this section, and the form is not valid without that signature.³ The Fund Approver can be the same person as the requester or a separate budget approver; the form allows either arrangement.

The requester signs separately. Both signatures must be present before the form moves forward. The certification exists because under 31 U.S.C. § 1341, a federal employee may not make or authorize an expenditure exceeding the amount available in the relevant appropriation.⁸ Violations can result in administrative discipline and are reported to Congress.

Attachments and Supporting Documents

The form has an attachments checkbox where you confirm supporting documents are included. Common attachments are a scope of work for service contracts, detailed technical specifications for equipment, agency-specific approvals, and any waivers from mandatory source requirements.³ If the purchase involves information technology, you may also need a technical approval number from the Office of the Chief Information Officer, which goes in the “Technical Approval Request” field.

For complex procurements, the attachment is often more important than the form. A brief description on the form paired with a detailed scope of work attachment is fine. A vague description with no attachment is likely to stall.

Purchase Thresholds That Affect Handling

The AD-700 instructions note that transactions exceeding the micro-purchase threshold must be entered into a contract system.³ As of October 2025, the federal micro-purchase threshold is $15,000.⁹ At or below that amount, simplified buying procedures apply, often a government purchase card transaction. Above $15,000, the procurement needs more formal contracting documentation and competitive procedures.

The simplified acquisition threshold, the ceiling for streamlined purchasing procedures that still involve a contract, rose to $350,000 in the same October 2025 adjustment.¹⁰ Purchases above that amount trigger full competitive bidding requirements. Knowing where your purchase falls tells you roughly how long the process will take and what else the contracting officer will need from you.

Submitting the Form and What Happens Next

Once the completed and signed AD-700 reaches the procurement office, it enters the agency’s acquisition workflow. In many USDA agencies that means the Integrated Acquisition System (IAS), which handles routing, approval, and management of requisitions and contracts.¹¹ Some offices now enter requisitions directly into IAS rather than using the paper AD-700.¹² Check with your agency’s procurement office to confirm which method it currently accepts.

The typical workflow moves the request from you to a budget analyst who verifies the accounting codes, then to a warranted contracting officer, the only person with legal authority to bind the government to a contract. The contracting officer reviews the request against federal acquisition regulations, chooses the right procurement method, and either awards a purchase order or comes back to you for clarification. If discrepancies show up in the accounting codes, vendor information, or item descriptions, the form gets returned for correction. Turnaround varies with dollar amount, complexity, and workload. A simple supply order near the micro-purchase threshold moves far faster than a complex services acquisition approaching the simplified acquisition threshold.

1
United States Department of Agriculture. Electronic Forms
2
National Finance Center. AD Forms
3
United States Department of Agriculture. Instructions for Purchase Request
4
Acquisition.GOV. 8.002 Priorities for Use of Mandatory Government Sources
5
EXIM.GOV. SAM.GOV and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)
6
USDA. Vendor Registration Information
7
National Finance Center. Payroll/Personnel System Overview – Financial Management Modernization Initiative (FMMI) System
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 1341 – Limitations on Expending and Obligating Amounts
9
Acquisition.GOV. Threshold Changes – October 1st, 2025
10
Federal Register. Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds
11
Farm Service Agency. IAS Briefing
12
Farm Service Agency. Notice AS-2093 – Integrated Acquisition System