May 26, 2022

Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury released new information on how counties can access their second tranche of the over $65 billion directed to counties through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). ARPA required payments to counties to be divided into two tranches, allocating 50 percent last year and the remaining 50 percent no earlier than 12 months after a county certifies its first tranche.

Below you will find an overview of the process for counties to receive their second ARPA payment and the new SAM.gov registration requirements that impact this process. Key highlights include:

1. All counties must have an active SAM.gov registration in order to receive their second tranche of funding
2. Effective April 4, 2022, the federal government switched service providers and stopped using the DUNS number and began using the Unique Entity ID (UEI) – All counties are required to switch from a DUNS number to a UEI
3. If a county’s SAM.gov registration expired (12-month coverage) before it is due to receive its second tranche payment (and after April 4, 2022) the county is required to re-active its SAM.gov registration, which will require them to adopt a UEI (instead of a DUNS number) PRIOR TO receiving their second tranche

Process for Counties to Receive Second Tranche ARPA Recovery Fund Payment

• Section 603 of ARPA provides payments to eligible local governments in two tranches, with the second tranche payment being made no earlier than 12 months after the first payment
• Consistent with this requirement, Treasury expects to provide second tranche payments to local governments approximately 12 months after their first payment
• In the coming weeks, Treasury will open the submission portal in a phased approach, allowing counties to access the portal for 30 days prior to their second tranche payment date
• Counties will receive a notification from Treasury by email letting them know that they can enter the portal – it is very important to make sure that the assigned point of contact is still available to receive future communications
  • The point of contact is the individual designated in the portal during the first tranche submission who will receive email notifications on submission status, including any issues found during the verification and communication regarding payments
  • The individual entering the portal for the second tranche submission will be the same individual with the registered ID.me who submitted for the first tranche allocation
  • If that individual is no longer with the county and you need to designate a new individual, email COVIDReliefITSupport@treasury.gov with the subject line “Entity Name – Update to Designated Individuals” and include the role that needs to be updated along with the full name, title, email and phone number of the new person designated
• After the email is received by the county, the point of contact will be able to update their entity information to include banking information in the portal
• In preparation for the second tranche payment, counties should ensure their SAM.gov entity registration is still active – all counties are required to have a SAM.gov registration to receive their second tranche payment
  • Note that on April 4, 2022, the federal government changed service providers and stopped using the DUNS Number and began using the Unique Entity ID (UEI) in SAM.gov to identify entities
  • All counties, even those already registered in SAM.gov, must validate their entity information through the new service provider
  • Counties may need to provide additional supporting documentation through the new system
  • The General Services Administration (GSA) released FAQs to support counties through this new process
  • Counties are required to renew their SAM.gov registration every 12-months. If a county’s SAM.gov registration expired (12-month coverage) before it is due to receive its second tranche (and after April 4, 2022) the county is required to re-active their SAM.gov registration, which will require them to adopt a UEI (instead of a DUNS number) PRIOR TO receiving their second tranche