Period of Performance

In plain English: a period of performance is the start date and end date printed on a federal award — the window during which the money can actually be spent and the funded work is supposed to happen. Everything below explains where that window comes from in the regulations, what governs the costs charged inside it, and what happens when it ends.

The period of performance is the specific time window — start date to end date — during which a recipient or subrecipient is authorized to incur allowable costs and carry out the substantive programmatic work of a federal award. It is defined at 2 CFR 200.1 and is the regulatory anchor for two of the most consequential questions in federal grants administration: which costs are chargeable to this award at all, and when does the award’s active life actually end.

The 2 CFR 200.1 definition

2 CFR 200.1 defines period of performance as “the time interval between the start and end date of a Federal award, which may include one or more budget periods.” The same section separately defines budget period as “the time interval from the start date of a funded portion of an award to the end date of that funded portion, during which recipients and subrecipients are authorized to incur financial obligations of the funds awarded, including any funds carried forward or other revisions” under 2 CFR 200.308. In plain terms: the period of performance is the full authorized span of the award, and a multi-year award’s period of performance is commonly broken into one or more budget periods — annual funding increments — nested inside it.

What “incurring costs” within the period of performance means

The rule that gives the definition its teeth is 2 CFR 200.403(h) (Factors affecting allowability of costs): administrative closeout costs may be incurred up through the due date of the final report and charged to the final budget period, but “other costs must be incurred during the approved budget period.” In effect, a non-Federal entity may charge to a Federal award only allowable costs incurred during the period of performance, with two narrow, separately regulated exceptions — (1) pre-award costs incurred before the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity made the award, allowable only where authorized in advance under 2 CFR 200.458, and (2) certain publication and research-sharing costs addressed separately at 2 CFR 200.461, which may still be charged during closeout even though the underlying activity happened after the period of performance ended. Outside those exceptions, a cost incurred before the start date or after the end date of the period of performance is not an allowable charge to that award, regardless of whether the cost would otherwise satisfy the general allowability tests (reasonable, allocable, consistently treated) in 2 CFR 200 Subpart E. This is why the period of performance dates on a Notice of Award matter well beyond scheduling — they are the outer boundary of what a recipient’s own accounting system is permitted to post against the award.

What 2 CFR 200.309 itself says

Anyone arriving here by searching “2 CFR 200.309 period of performance” is usually looking for the cost-incurral rule above — but that is no longer what 200.309 covers, and getting this citation right matters. Before the Office of Management and Budget’s April 2024 revision of the Uniform Guidance (government-wide effective October 1, 2024), 200.309 did carry a version of the costs-incurred rule. Under the current, post-revision text, 2 CFR 200.309 is titled “Modifications to Period of Performance” and covers something narrower: how and when the period of performance’s own end date changes. Its operative rule, in full: when a Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity approves an extension — or a recipient extends under the one-time expanded-authority provision at 2 CFR 200.308(g)(2) — the period of performance is amended to end at the completion of that extension. If the award is terminated, the period of performance is amended to end on the termination’s effective date. And the start date of a renewal award begins a new and distinct period of performance rather than continuing the old one.

The table below separates the three distinct 2 CFR 200 questions that get run together under the single phrase “period of performance,” and cites the section that actually governs each one under the current, post-October-2024 text:

Question it answers	Governing citation	What it says
Which costs can be charged to the award?	2 CFR 200.403(h), with exceptions at 200.458 (pre-award costs) and 200.461 (publication costs)	Costs must be incurred during the approved budget period; a limited pre-award-cost exception and a limited publication-cost exception apply.
How does the period of performance’s own end date get changed?	2 CFR 200.309	An approved extension or an expanded-authority no-cost extension amends the end date to the extension’s completion; termination amends it to the termination’s effective date; a renewal award starts a new, distinct period of performance.
What has to happen once the end date passes?	2 CFR 200.344	Required reports must be submitted and financial obligations liquidated within 120 calendar days of the period of performance’s end (90 calendar days for a subrecipient reporting to a pass-through entity).

Period of performance vs. budget period vs. project period

These three terms get used loosely and interchangeably in practice, but they are not identical:

• Period of performance — the full, regulation-defined span of the award (2 CFR 200.1), from its overall start date to its overall end date.
• Budget period — a funded sub-increment within the period of performance (2 CFR 200.1), typically one year on a multi-year award. A three-year award has one period of performance and, ordinarily, three budget periods.
• Project period — not itself a term defined in 2 CFR 200.1. It is agency usage — NIH is the most common example, using “project period” to describe the total span of a (potentially multi-year) award — and in that usage it maps closely onto the Uniform Guidance’s period of performance rather than naming a separate regulatory concept. When reading an award notice, don’t assume “project period” and “period of performance” carry different legal weight; check which term the specific awarding agency’s terms and conditions actually use and treat it as that agency’s label for the same start-to-end window.

How the period of performance ends: closeout and No-Cost Extensions

The end date of the period of performance triggers the recipient’s federal grant closeout obligations under 2 CFR 200.344: recipients generally have 120 calendar days after the period of performance ends to submit all required financial, performance, and other reports and to liquidate all financial obligations (90 days for subrecipients reporting to a pass-through entity). Any unliquidated obligation still open at that point has to be resolved — liquidated or deobligated — before the award can close; the end date of the period of performance is the clock’s zero point, not the date the recipient happens to finish spending.

Because the period of performance is a hard boundary on allowable costs, a recipient that needs more time to complete the funded work — not more money — requests a no-cost extension (NCE). Under 2 CFR 200.308(g)(2), many recipients can take a single, one-time extension of up to 12 months through expanded authority, with notification (at least 10 days in advance) rather than prior approval; extensions requiring additional Federal funds, involving a change in scope, or prohibited by the award’s own terms require the Federal awarding agency’s explicit approval instead. An approved NCE moves the end date of the period of performance itself — formally, this is the extension mechanism described in 2 CFR 200.309 above — and it does not create a new award or add funds; every cost charged during the extended window is still governed by the same 2 CFR 200.403(h) incurred-during-the-budget-period rule. See the CASRAI no-cost extension lifecycle entry for how an NCE request typically moves through institutional and sponsor approval.

Some award types layer agency-specific reporting onto the same end date. For NIH and other PHS awards not being renewed, for example, closeout also requires a Final Invention Statement and Certification submitted through iEdison — see the CASRAI Final Invention Statement & Certification entry — which is an agency-specific addition on top of, not a substitute for, the government-wide 2 CFR 200.344 closeout timeline keyed to the period of performance end date.

Related CASRAI terms and guides

• Unliquidated Obligations (ULO) — the obligation-but-not-yet-paid state that has to be resolved by the period of performance’s closeout deadline.
• No-cost extension (NCE) — the mechanism for extending a period of performance’s end date without additional funds.
• No-cost extension (lifecycle context) — the institutional approval workflow behind an NCE request.
• Closeout phase — the broader lifecycle stage that begins once the period of performance ends.
• Federal Grant Closeout: The Process and a Practical Checklist — the full recipient/agency closeout timeline.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 2 CFR 200.309 actually say about the period of performance?

Under the current, post-October-2024 text of the Uniform Guidance, 2 CFR 200.309 is titled “Modifications to Period of Performance” and governs how the end date changes — not which costs are allowable. It sets the rules for extensions (including the one-time expanded-authority no-cost extension under 2 CFR 200.308(g)(2)), termination, and renewal awards, each of which amends or resets the period of performance’s end date. The separate question of which costs can be charged to the award is governed by 2 CFR 200.403(h), not 200.309.

What is a period of performance?

The period of performance is the specific start-to-end time window, defined at 2 CFR 200.1, during which a recipient or subrecipient is authorized to incur allowable costs and carry out a federal award’s funded work. A multi-year award’s period of performance is often divided into one or more budget periods nested inside it.

What’s the difference between a period of performance and a budget period?

The period of performance is the full, regulation-defined span of the award, while a budget period is a funded sub-increment within it — typically one year on a multi-year award. A three-year award, for example, has one period of performance and, ordinarily, three budget periods.

Is “project period” the same thing as period of performance?

“Project period” isn’t itself a term defined in 2 CFR 200.1 — it’s agency usage, most commonly at NIH, to describe an award’s total span. In that usage it maps closely onto the Uniform Guidance’s period of performance, but check the specific awarding agency’s own terms and conditions to confirm which term it actually uses.

Which costs can be charged to an award during its period of performance?

Under 2 CFR 200.403(h), only allowable costs incurred during the approved budget period may be charged to the award, with two narrow exceptions: certain pre-award costs specifically authorized in advance under 2 CFR 200.458, and certain publication and research-sharing costs addressed at 2 CFR 200.461. Outside those exceptions, a cost incurred before the start date or after the end date isn’t an allowable charge to that award.

What happens when the period of performance ends?

The end date triggers closeout obligations under 2 CFR 200.344: recipients generally have 120 calendar days (90 days for subrecipients reporting to a pass-through entity) to submit required reports and liquidate financial obligations. A recipient that needs more time but not more money can request a no-cost extension, which moves the end date itself under 2 CFR 200.309 rather than creating a new award.