Notice of Federal Interest Form: Filing, Notarizing, and Recording

To fill out and file a Notice of Federal Interest, complete your awarding agency’s NFI template with the grant number, recipient name, grant purpose, and full legal description of the property; have the property owner sign it before a notary; record the notarized document at the county or district land records office where the property sits; and then send the stamped, recorded copy to your federal grants management officer and report the recording on the SF-429 Real Property Status Report. The awarding agency — typically an HHS operating division, the Department of Education, or another federal grantor — usually supplies the template, and the grantee is responsible for every step after that.

What Goes on the Form

Most agencies provide a fill-in-the-blank template. The HRSA sample form asks for the following:¹

The date of the notice.
The name of the awarding agency — the specific HHS operating division or other federal body that issued the award.
The grant number. On Department of Education awards this is the “P/R Award Number” in Box 2 of the Grant Award Notification.²
The name of the grant recipient.
The purpose of the grant, such as new construction, major renovation, acquisition, or ongoing mortgage payments.
The county and state where the property is located.
The legal description of the property. A street address alone is not enough. Use the full legal description from the deed; township-and-range or map-block-lot formats are also accepted.
The authorizing federal law — the statute or appropriations bill that authorized the award.
The signature of the property owner or an authorized representative, with printed name, title, and date.

The property description is where filings go wrong most often. Be specific about whether the federal interest covers the land, the building, or both, and include a street or campus address in addition to the legal description whenever possible.¹ A wrong grant number or a garbled legal description usually means a corrective filing later, so cross-check every field against the deed and the grant award notification before you go to the notary.

Extra Content Required for Head Start Grantees

If the award is a Head Start grant, the notice has to say more. Under 45 CFR 1303.47, the NFI must include statements that the property will only be used for purposes consistent with the Head Start Act, that it will not be mortgaged or sold without written permission from the responsible HHS official, and that the grant recipient’s governing body received a copy of the notice before it was filed.³ Head Start also requires a separate version of the notice for leased facilities, which must include the lease or occupancy agreement information.

Getting the Form Signed and Notarized

The signatory on the NFI should be the owner of the property or an authorized representative, not just any officer at the grant recipient organization. That signature represents the owner’s consent to the lien-like filing. The completed form must then be notarized and embossed with a notary seal before it is eligible to be recorded.²

Recording It at the Local Land Records Office

Inside the United States, except in Hawaii, which uses a different land records system, the NFI is filed at the county or district office where the property sits. Depending on the jurisdiction that is the County Court Clerk, the Probate Office, or the Register of Deeds.⁴

Some offices accept electronic submissions through secure portals. Others require hand delivery or certified mail. Call ahead to confirm the accepted format, the number of copies you need to bring, and how they take payment for recording fees. Fees vary by jurisdiction and usually scale with the page count of the document.

Once recorded, the office stamps the document with a date and assigns a reference number, typically a book-and-page citation or a file number. That stamped copy is proof the NFI is part of the public record and will show up in any future title search on the property.⁴ Keep the original stamped copy on file for monitoring and audit purposes.

Reporting the Recording Back to the Awarding Agency

Recording the NFI at the county is only half the job. Send a copy of the recorded NFI, with the county stamp and reference number, to the federal grants management officer. The NIH Grants Policy Statement requires that copy within 10 days of recording.⁵ Deadlines vary by agency, so check the specific notice of award or ask the grants management officer if you are not sure.

The recording also has to be reported on the Real Property Status Report (SF-429). Use Attachment A (General Reporting) and go to Item 14g, which asks whether documentation has been recorded to establish federal interest. Check “Yes” and enter the instrument used (for example, “Notice of Federal Interest”), the date it was recorded, and the jurisdiction. A sample entry: “Executed on 03/15/2026, in the Fairfax County, VA Clerk’s Office, Deed Book #12345, Page 678.”⁶ The SF-429 is due by the next scheduled reporting date after the property is acquired or improved, or as otherwise directed by the awarding agency.

When You Have to File One

Whether an NFI is required, and when, depends on the awarding agency and the type of project. Federal regulations under 45 CFR 75.323 give HHS awarding agencies the authority to require recipients to record liens or notices flagging that federal dollars went into the property and that use-and-disposition conditions apply.⁷

For HRSA-funded health center projects, an NFI is required for every new construction project regardless of cost, and for every alteration or renovation project with a total cost (federal and non-federal combined) above $500,000, excluding moveable equipment.⁴ The Department of Education applies a similar rule to grantees using $1 million or more in federal funds for renovation, construction, or real property acquisition.² Head Start grantees must record the NFI as soon as Head Start funds are used to purchase a facility or real property, as soon as the grantee receives a notice of award for construction, or as soon as the grantee receives a notice of award to renovate.⁸

Skipping the filing does not eliminate the obligation. The Administration for Children and Families states that the federal interest in the property cannot be defeated by a recipient’s failure to file the notice, and failing to follow disposition instructions is treated as a material violation of the award terms.⁹

After It’s Recorded: What You Can and Can’t Do

Once the NFI is on the public record, it functions like a lien. The grant recipient cannot sell, mortgage, refinance, or use the property as collateral for a loan without prior written consent from the awarding agency.⁹ Routine refinancing of existing debt is an encumbrance action that also requires formal approval. Any prospective buyer or lender running a title search will see the NFI, which effectively freezes most private transactions until the agency signs off.

Requests to encumber, dispose of, or subordinate the federal interest are submitted on SF-429 Attachment C (Disposition or Encumbrance Request) through the GrantSolutions Online Data Collection system. When a sale or transfer is involved, an independent real property appraisal from a state-licensed or certified appraiser is required.¹⁰

Subordinating the federal interest to a commercial lender is possible but restricted. For Head Start grantees, only the responsible HHS official can approve subordination, the agreement must be in writing, and when the federal funds already invested in the facility exceed the amount the lender proposes to provide, subordination is only allowed if the grant recipient can demonstrate that financing is not available without it.¹¹ Plan for agency review to take time; lenders familiar with federally funded properties will expect the delay.

1
Health Resources and Services Administration. Sample Notice of Federal Interest
2
U.S. Department of Education. Notice of Federal Interest Form
3
eCFR. 45 CFR 1303.47 – Contents of Notices of Federal Interest
4
Health Resources and Services Administration. Notice of Federal Interest in Real Property Filing Guide
5
National Institutes of Health. NIH Grants Policy Statement – 10.6.2 Notice of Federal Interest
6
National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Real Property Status Report SF-429
7
GovInfo. 45 CFR 75.323 – Property Trust Relationship
8
eCFR. 45 CFR 1303.46 – Recording and Posting Notices of Federal Interest
9
Administration for Children and Families. Award Terms and Conditions Involving Property
10
HeadStart.gov. Real Property Status Report (SF-429)
11
eCFR. 45 CFR 1303.51 – Subordination of the Federal Interest