Forms
Public Filers: Senate-confirmed Presidential appointees, all SES employees (and equivalent) and most Schedule C staff are required to file public financial disclosure reports, OGE Form 278s (formerly SF-278s) within 30 days of entering and leaving a position at USDA, as well as annually while serving in a covered position. Annual reports, covering the previous calendar year, are due between January 1st and May 15th each year.
Confidential Filers: Career staff below the SES level may be required to file confidential financial disclosure reports (OGE Form 450) if they make decisions or recommendations that can have a financial impact on the Department's contractors or the commercial interests USDA services or regulates. New Entrant reports are due within 30 days of entering a covered position. Annual reports now cover a calendar year and are due each year by February 15. The form was updated in December 2011, and all USDA filers should use the 2011 version (provided here) instead of the former 2008 version.
Form Formats for Public Filers: The only version of the OGE 278 Form is a saveable Adobe format form. It requires an updated version of Adobe Reader. You can obtain the form here.
Form Formats for Confidential Filers: We make it easy. You should use the new (approved in December 2011) Adobe OGE 450 Form for reporting instead of the 2008 form. The only exception is using the 450-A form, which requires that you have no new reportable information from your last report. We have also included a link to a section 508 compliant accessible form courtesy of the Office of Government Ethics.
NEW FILING LOCATIONS
The USDA Office of Ethics reorganized in 2009. While Public Financial Disclosure filers will continue to file their reports with the OE Headquarters Office, beginning in 2009 those that submit OGE Form 450 Confidential Financial Disclosure Reports should file based on the following:
Who: Employees from FAS, RMA, DA, OBPA, ASCR, OC, OCIO, CPRC, OGC, OO, OPPM, OALJ, OES, OHCM, OSDBU, Homeland Security, OCE, OSS and OMS.
File With: OE Headquarters Office
Room 347-W, JL Whitten Building
1400 Independence Ave, SW
Washington, DC 20250
Contact: Andrew Tobin, Ethics Specialist
(202) 720-2251
Who: Employees from Research Education & Economics (REE) Agencies - ARS, CSREES, ERS & NASS;
Forest Service (FS) - Research and Development; (Rocky Mountain Research Station, Southern Research Station, Northern Research Station, Forest Product Lab, Pacific Northwest Region, Pacific Southwest Research Station); Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) - Soil Survey and Resource Assessment (SSRA) & Science and Technology (S&T) Divisions.
File With: Science Branch
5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Rm. 2-2290
Beltsville, MD 20705-5620
Contact: Sue Sheridan, Branch Chief
(301) 504-4414
Who: All career personnel in the Farm Service Agency, NRCS (other than those serviced by OE-Science), and the Rural Development mission area.
File With: Farm, Conservation and Rural Programs Branch
Room 6840, South Building
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20250
Contact: Ed Peterman, Branch Chief
(202) 205-2061
****For those individuals outside of the Washington DC region you will receive specific instructions from your Ethics Contact regarding the appropriate location to submit your OGE Form 450.
Who: All career personnel in the Marketing and Regulatory Programs, Food Safety, and Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services mission areas.
File With: Marketing, Regulatory and Nutrition Branch
Room 5913, South Building
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20250
Contact: Mary Royster, Branch Chief
(202) 720-0020
Who: All career FS employees, other than those served by OE-Science.
File With: Forest Service Branch
RPC 6 HCM
1601 North Kent Street
Arlington, VA 22209-2137
Contact: Lorraine Luciano, Branch Chief
(202) 720-2251
• The Optional Form 450-A is NOT authorized for the 2012 filing season and is not available for download.
• The new OGE 450 form requires Adobe Reader 7.0 or higher. Click here to upgrade your Adobe Reader. (Call your help desk if you have problems.)
| FORM # | FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE FORMS | AVAILABLE FORMATS | |||
| OGE-278 (latest verision) | Public Financial Disclosure Form for filers not using e-filing for use by Presidential Appointees, Schedule C employees, SES members or others schedules that pay more than 120% of the minimum pay for a GS-15. USDA employees may fax an advance copy of their report to (202) 690-2642, but must follow-up with a signed original to USDA Office of Ethics, Stop 0122, 1400 Independence Ave S.W., Washington D.C. 20250-0122. |
Adobe PDF (2011) | MS Excel version (2011) | Link to OGE instructions on using the screen reader version of the OGE Form 278 (508 compliant) | |
| OGE Form 450 (latest version) | Confidential Financial Disclosure Form for use by employees below the SES level occupying positions of such sensitivity that they have been so designated. Annual reports are due by February 15, 2012 but may not filed before January 1, 2012. Links to OGE training and FAQs are also below. |
Adobe PDF (2011) | Link to OGE instructions on using the screen reader version of the OGE Form 450 (508 compliant) | ||
OGE Form 450-A |
Confidential Statement of No New Interests |
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| AD-1202— USDA | Confidential Conflict of Interest Certification short form for use in lieu of the OGE-450 in FSIS, AMS and GIPSA. |
MS Word | |||
| FORM # | REQUEST FOR DOCUMENTS | AVAILABLE FORMATS | |||
| OGE-201 | Request for Copy of a Completed Public Disclosure Report | ||||
| FORM # | TRAVEL | AVAILABLE FORMATS | |||
| AD-1101 | Approval and Report of Travel Funds Received from Non-Federal Sources for use by a prospective traveler. |
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| SF-326 | Semi-annual Report of Payments Accepted from a Non-Federal Source for use by ethics official charged with documenting travel assistance accepted under 31 U.S.C. 1353. |
MS Excel | |||
| FORM # | AWARDS & DEGREES | AVAILABLE FORMATS | |||
| Review / Approval of Outside Awards | |||||
| Review / Approval of Honorary Degrees | |||||
| FORM # | OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT | AVAILABLE FORMATS | |||
| Review/Approval of Non-Federal Employment or Activity Form for use with USDA Supplemental Ethics Regulation, 5 CFR Part 8301. Prior to submitting a request for non-Federal employment, view guidance under Rules of the Road, specifically the Standards of Ethical Conduct (5 CFR 2635.401-.403; .501-.503; .701-.705; and .801-809). |
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| Office of Ethics – Farm, Conservation, & Rural Programs Branch Guidance: Request for Prior Approval of Outside Activity / Employment for use by employees of FSA, NRCS, and RD in connection with with requests for outside employment pursuant to the USDA Supplemental Ethics Regulation, 5 CFR Part 8301. |
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| Office of Ethics – Forest Service Guidance: Request for Prior Approval of Outside Activity / Employment for use by employees of the Forest Service in connection with with requests for outside employment pursuant to the USDA Supplemental Ethics Regulation, 5 CFR Part 8301. | |||||
| FORM # | OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS | AVAILABLE FORMATS | |||
| Appointment as Agency Liaison Memorandum | |||||
| FORM # | COMBINED FEDERAL CAMPAIGN | AVAILABLE FORMATS | |||
| OE-109 | CFC Event Review Form | ||||
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Last Updated: December 29, 2011