U.S. Department of Treasury American Rescue Plan Guidance

The U.S. Department of Treasury laid out on their website the steps that metropolitan cities and non-entitlement units of local government need to take to receive their grants from the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA). These steps should be taken as soon as possible to ensure cities, towns and villages receive their funds in a timely fashion.

As soon as possible, metropolitan cities should take the steps below.

  • Ensure the entity has a valid DUNS number. A DUNS number is a unique nine-character number used to identify an organization and is issued by Dun & Bradstreet. The federal government uses the DUNS number to track how federal money is allocated. A DUNS number is required prior to registering with the SAM database, which is outlined below. Registering for a DUNS number is free of charge. If an entity does not have a valid DUNS number, please visit https://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/ or call 1-866-705-5711 to begin the registration process.
  • Ensure the entity has an active SAM registration. SAM is the official government-wide database to register with in order to do business with the U.S. government. All Federal financial assistance recipients must register on SAM.gov and renew their SAM registration annually to maintain an active status to be eligible to receive Federal financial assistance. There is no charge to register or maintain your entity SAM registration. If an entity does not have an active SAM registration, please visit, SAM.gov to begin the entity registration or renewal process. Please note that SAM registration can take up to three weeks; delay in registering in SAM could impact timely payment of funds. Click here for a quick overview for SAM registration
  • Gather the entity’s payment information, including:
    • Entity Identification Number (EIN), name, and contact information
    • Name and title of an authorized representative of the entity
    • Financial institution information (e.g., routing and account number, financial institution name and contact information)

Eligible Non-entitlement Units of Local Government will receive a distribution of funds from their respective state government. “Non-entitlement units of local government” are defined in 42 U.S.C. 5302(a)(5) that are not metropolitan cities. For these Non-entitlement units of local government, Treasury will allocate and pay funds to state governments, and the state will distribute funds to non-entitlement units of local government in proportion to population. Non-entitlement units must have a valid DUNS number to meet reporting requirements under the program. If an entity does not have a valid DUNS number, please visit https://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/ or call 1-866-705-5711 to begin the registration process.

The U.S. Department of Treasury stated that program guidance for Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund will be released in the coming weeks.