On behalf of granting agencies, the administering agency of the System for Award Management (SAM), the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), announced its intent to change how financial assistance recipients certify compliance with new anti-discrimination requirements. As we have covered previously, President Trump issued an executive order taking action against "illegal DEI" programs (DEI EO). In response, individual federal agencies have begun incorporating certification requirements into grant programs. To date, however, the federal government has not issued uniform certification language. That could soon be changing, according to GSA's proposal to include such a certification in SAM moving forward.
On January 28, 2026, GSA proposed a revision to the "System for Award Management Registration Requirements for Financial Assistance Recipients." The proposed amendment would:
Update the Financial Assistance General Representations and Certifications to align with updated executive branch guidance including Department of Justice "Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination" (July 29, 2025) (https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1409486/dl) and Executive Order (E.O.) 14173 of January 21, 2025, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/31/2025-02097/ending-illegal-discrimination-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity) applicable to all entities receiving grants, cooperative agreements, and financial assistance such as loans, insurance, and direct appropriations.
The impact of this change will depend on the details. Note that, during the initial application and annual SAM renewals, entities already certify that they will comply with "federal laws, executive orders, regulations, and public policies governing financial assistance awards," including several anti-discrimination laws. Those anti-discrimination laws include Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (pertaining to housing programs), Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975.[1] Yet, the GSA's proposal indicates an intent to include more specific certification language in SAM beyond merely agreeing to follow the DEI EO.
While the potential new SAM certification language is not yet available, the Federal Register Notice indicates that the change would update the certifications to align with guidance including a Department of Justice (DOJ) memorandum released in July 2025, in addition to the DEI EO. The memorandum included significant changes in DOJ's prior interpretation of federal law to prohibit programs intended to remedy the effects of past discrimination, along with several other activities.[2] Like one federal agency's December 22, 2025 revision of its own certification, the new SAM certification may include language referring the signatory to the July 2025 DOJ memorandum immediately under its recounting of applicable anti-discrimination laws. In other words, the new SAM certification could require recipients to specifically certify that they are not engaged in practices that the DOJ's memorandum designates as impermissible, even if courts have not yet held federal anti-discrimination law actually requires such a result. Moreover, it would also likely make clear that any certification would be material to the government's determination to pay or reimburse awardees federal funds.
Importantly, the administration's implementation of the DEI EO has not been without challenge, as some courts have enjoined implementation and enforcement. See, e.g., Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence v. Kennedy, No. 25-cv-00342 (D.R.I. Jul. 21, 2025); King County v. Turner, No. 25-cv-00814 (W.D. Wa. May 2, 2025); and City of Seattle v. Trump, No. 25-cv-01435 (W.D. Wa. Jul. 31, 2025). However, in the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision in Trump v. CASA, 606 U.S. 831 (2025), limiting the use of nationwide injunctions, the injunctions in these cases have generally been limited to applying to the plaintiffs or defendants in the case, certain entities represented by industry associations, or specific geographic regions.
The public comment period is currently open for GSA's proposal to change the SAM certification language and will continue until March 30, 2026.
If you have an interest in submitting comments or have questions related to federal financial assistance certification or other compliance aspects regarding federal aid, you may contact any of the authors of this alert.
[1] Financial assistance (federal grant and cooperative agreement) applicants also already routinely certify compliance with such laws via the ubiquitous Standard Forms 424-B (non-construction) and 424-D (construction) required with nearly all grant applications. Notably, neither the SF 424-B, the SF 424-D, nor current SAM financial assistance certifications assert that compliance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a condition of receipt of grant funds.
[2] The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' bespoke certification similarly acknowledges that it "reflects a change in the government's position regarding the materiality of the foregoing requirements[.]"