NIH Closeout

NIH closeout is the agency-specific implementation of the federal closeout requirements at 2 CFR 200.344, layered with NIH's own reporting mechanics: a recipient institution must submit a Final Research Performance Progress Report (Final RPPR), a Final Federal Financial Report (FFR, SF-425), and, where applicable, a Final Invention Statement and Certification (FIS), all within 120 calendar days of the end of the project period. The Final RPPR and any Final Progress Report Additional Materials (FRAM) are submitted through eRA Commons; the FFR is submitted through the federal Payment Management System (PMS), which eRA Commons' FFR module routes recipients to. An award is not considered closed until NIH has received and accepted all three documents and reconciled the award's financial status -- late or missing documents can trigger NIH's unilateral closeout process, in which NIH closes the award administratively without the recipient's final reports, which can result in disallowed costs and complicate future award processing for the institution.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 23 Jul 2026

Worked examples

Is an instance

A university sponsored-programs office submits the Final RPPR through eRA Commons summarizing the R01's overall outcomes, publications, and inventions, while its central grants accounting office separately files the Final FFR (SF-425) through the Payment Management System -- both within 120 days of the project period end date, since a Final RPPR alone does not satisfy the financial-reporting requirement.

Is an instance

A recipient institution discloses no reportable inventions during the project period, so it checks the appropriate box on the Final RPPR's inventions section rather than filing a separate paper Final Invention Statement -- NIH's current practice folds invention reporting into the Final RPPR for most awards, with the standalone HHS 568 form reserved for cases eRA Commons cannot handle.

Looks similar, but isn't

Not an instance

An annual (non-final) RPPR submitted mid-project reports progress for the current budget period only and does not close out the award -- only the Final RPPR, submitted after the project period ends, is a closeout document.

Not an instance

Submitting the Final RPPR on time but leaving the Final FFR outstanding does not complete NIH closeout -- NIH treats the scientific and financial reports as independent, non-substitutable requirements, and an award with an unresolved FFR remains open regardless of RPPR status.

NIH closeout is what happens when the general federal closeout rule at 2 CFR 200.344 meets NIH’s own award administration systems. Every federal awarding agency follows the Uniform Guidance’s closeout framework, but each layers its own forms, submission portals, and internal deadlines on top of it — for NIH, that means eRA Commons, the Payment Management System, and a specific set of three closeout documents.

What NIH closeout requires

Within 120 calendar days of the end of a grant’s project period, a recipient institution must submit, and NIH must accept, three separate items:

Final Research Performance Progress Report (Final RPPR) — the scientific and programmatic closeout report, covering cumulative outcomes, publications, and other products for the entire project period, submitted through eRA Commons. See CASRAI’s guide to the NIH RPPR: types, sections, and deadlines and a worked, filled-in Final RPPR example for the mechanics of completing one.
Final Federal Financial Report (FFR) — the financial closeout report, filed on SF-425, reporting cumulative expenditures against the award’s approved budget. Unlike the RPPR, the FFR is not submitted through eRA Commons directly — the Commons FFR module routes the filer to the federal Payment Management System (PMS) to complete and submit it.
Final Invention Statement and Certification (FIS), where applicable — historically filed on paper form HHS 568, now generally captured within the Final RPPR’s inventions section for awards processed through eRA Commons. See CASRAI’s Final Invention Statement and Certification entry.

NIH may also request a Final Progress Report Additional Materials (FRAM) submission alongside the Final RPPR, depending on the award.

Why the RPPR and FFR are not substitutes for each other

A common point of confusion is treating the Final RPPR as if it covers financial closeout too. It does not. The RPPR reports scientific and programmatic progress and outcomes; the FFR reports the award’s financial status — what was actually spent, by category, against the approved budget. NIH requires both, independently, and an award remains open if either is missing, even if the other was filed on time.

How this relates to 2 CFR 200.344

The 120-day deadline for NIH closeout tracks the general federal deadline set by OMB’s Uniform Guidance at 2 CFR 200.344, which OMB raised from 90 to 120 days effective for awards issued on or after October 1, 2024. NIH’s specific documents — the Final RPPR, FFR/SF-425, and FIS — are how NIH operationalizes the general Uniform Guidance requirement to submit “all financial, performance, and other reports” and to account for federally funded equipment and property. For the general regulatory requirements that apply across all federal awarding agencies, see CASRAI’s Closeout Costs (2 CFR 200.344) entry and the Federal Grant Closeout guide and checklist. For where closeout fits in the broader award lifecycle, see Closeout phase.

Consequences of missing the deadline

If a recipient fails to submit the required closeout documents, NIH can proceed to unilateral closeout — administratively closing the award without the recipient’s final reports. This does not relieve the recipient of its underlying obligations; it can instead result in disallowed costs, complications for future award processing, and continued institutional record-retention and property-accountability obligations even after the award shows as closed in NIH’s systems.

Use in your systems

JATS XML <role> element

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Schema.org DefinedTerm (JSON-LD)

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