When your grant ends, you aren't done yet; you must complete the closeout process by sending acceptable final reports on time.

File Your Final Reports at Award End

You have 120 days after the end of your grant to make sure we receive these forms and reports.

At the end of your grant, the institutional business official submits three closeout reports to NIAID:

1. Final Federal Financial Report (FFR).
2. Final Invention Statement and Certification (HHS 568).
3. Final progress report. Note
   • If you apply for a renewal, you do not need to submit a final progress report since you documented the progress of the research in the renewal application.
   • You cannot use the RPPR mentioned above for final progress reports.
   • For instructions on how to fill out your Final Progress Report, visit the PHS Instructions.

The business official has 120 days after the end of the grant to send these final forms and reports to NIH.

Get your due dates in the eRA Commons or by searching Grants Pending Closeout.

If you fail to submit your final reports on time, it may affect future funding for your institution. If final reports are missing or inaccurate 180 days after your grant’s end date, NIAID will begin unilateral closeout of your grant. We may consider enforcement action such as reducing your award amount.

For more information, refer to NIH Closeout.

Final Federal Financial Report (FFR)

Your final FFR should indicate the exact balance of unobligated funds. You must reconcile your FFR expenditure report with the cash transactions you reported in the Payment Management System.

Final Invention Statement and Certification (HHS 568)

Your HHS 568 should cover the period from the date your support began to the date your award expired. Send it even if you previously reported inventions or your funded project did not result in an invention.

Make sure you list all inventions that were conceived of or put into practice during the course of your project. If you had no inventions, put "None."

Before you submit your form, remember to have your institutional business official sign it.

Final Progress Report

Your final progress report helps NIAID staff evaluate your research and should include the following:

• Complete heading with the grant number, PI, grantee institution, project title, and date of the entire period of the grant (include any authorized extension of the final budget period).
• Statement of progress made toward your Specific Aims. List the results, positive or negative, direct or indirect, and those considered to be significant. When possible, tie these results to the report's publication list.
• List of publications originating from the grant and those already in print, in press, or planned as a result of your grant.
  • Cite PubMed Central identification numbers (PMC ID) for each new publication.
  • Also be aware that you must submit to PubMed Central an electronic version of any final peer-reviewed manuscript accepted for publication that resulted from the award.
  • For more information, see the Public Access of Publications SOP. The SOP covers submission and citation requirements, reimbursement of publication costs, and what to do if a PMC ID is not ready.
• Sharing of research resources. If your application had a sharing plan, your program officer will assess how you followed your plan, so be sure to include the number of requests received and fulfilled. We previously discussed this topic at Create a Resource Sharing Plan.
• Description of data, research materials, and other information resulting from research and how they may be shared with other investigators. See the Data Sharing for Grants: Final Research Data SOP and Data Sharing for Grants: Genome-Wide Association Studies SOP, which include information on removing individual identifiers and when data sharing should begin.
• For human subjects, report on the inclusion of gender and minority study subjects using the progress report's PHS Inclusion Enrollment Report, selecting "Cumulative (Active)" for enrollment type. If children were involved, indicate how the study was relevant for them.
• For instructions on how to fill out your Final Progress Report, visit the PHS instructions.

Submit Final Reports

Submit final reports electronically through the Closeout screen of the eRA Commons. For instructions, read eRA Closeout Status.

Keep Your Records Accessible

Keep records for three years after the grant ends.

You must keep your project records for three years after the grant ends.

If any issue arises, we need to be able to verify the records, which must include all data and fiscal information. For detailed information, read Retention and Access Requirements for Records, 45 CFR Part 74.53.

Know that through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), other people can gain access to information concerning your grant.

If other scientists formally request non-proprietary information from your application, our FOIA office will provide it.