The FY25 Certifications and Assurances reflect updates to requirements for:

• Disposition of real estate
• Lobbying disclosures
• Civil Rights Act compliance
• Recent regulatory changes for micro-purchase thresholds and
• Expiring authorizations for COVID-19 funding.

On May 23, 2025, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued its FY2025 Annual List of Certifications and Assurances for FTA Grants and Cooperative Agreements. The document is a consolidated list of the statements that recipients of financial assistance from the FTA must make annually or as part of an application. The changes to the FY2025 Certifications and Assurances reflect clarifications based on existing requirements, changes to regulations, or expiring statutory authorization, and not large-scale policy shifts seen in recent Executive Orders or U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) guidance.

However, while there are no changes expressly referencing recent Executive Orders (EOs), existing unchanged provisions (Section 1.1(r)) require applicants to “certify compliance with all governing EOs.” EO’s issued since January 20, 2025 include: EO 14005 – Ensuring the Future is Made in all of America by All of America’s Workers; EO 14149 – Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship; EO 14151 – Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing; EO 14154 – Unleashing American Energy; EO 14168 – Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government; and EO 14173 – Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity. EOs direct action on the part of Executive branch agencies, not grantees, so we anticipate FTA will issue guidance to establish criteria for grantees to use to comply with this directive. “Certification of compliance with governing EOs” therefore does not require immediate action by grantees, but future regulatory changes implementing the EOs may require grantees to undertake changes.

The most notable changes to the FTA’s FY2025Certifications and Assurances are:

• New certification concerning compliance with requirements for use and disposition of real property acquired with federal assistance. A new Section 1.7 has been added requiring applicants to certify that they will comply with federal requirements concerning real property acquired or improved with federal assistance under 2 C.F.R. 200.311. This certification includes that they will use property for the purposes authorized in an award, and that they will seek disposition instructions from FTA when property no longer is needed for any authorized purposes. FTA notes that this certification responds to a recommendation made by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General in its Report FS2024025 (May, 20, 2024).
• New certification concerning increases in micro-purchase thresholds. A new Section 1.4 has been added requiring certain certifications if a recipient establishes a micro-purchase threshold that is higher than the federal micro-purchase threshold. The FTA has noted that it has added this provision to implement 2 C.F.R. 200.320(a)(1)(iv)-(v), which permits recipients to self-certify a micro-purchase threshold above the federal threshold up to $50,000, or higher if approved by the cognizant agency for indirect costs.
• Removal of certifications related to the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations. Former certifications at Sections 1.5 and 1.6 have been removed. These required that funding made available under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, the CARES Act, and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 be directed towards payroll and operations of public transportation unless the applicant to certified that the applicant has not furloughed any employees. The removal of these certifications reflects the expiration of their statutory funding deadlines and the fact that the FTA had obligated effectively 100 percent of its available Coronavirus relief finding as of September 2024.
• Relocation of certification regarding lobbying. Certifications regarding disclosure of a grantee’s or applicant’s lobbying activities has been moved from its own category (formerly Category 4) to Section 1.6 under Category 1, which contains certifications and assurances required of every recipient or applicant. FTA comments that this change was made to avoid confusion and occasional delays resulting from recipients failing to execute the certification.
• Clarification to certification of compliance with Title IV of the Civil Rights Act. Section 1.1(f)(1), which requires applicants to certify compliance with Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, “as effectuated by U.S. DOT regulation 49 CFR Part 21,” has been amended to note that the certification applies to “any amendments thereto.” This change may indicate an expectation of forthcoming amendments to Title IV of the Civil Rights Act or implementing U.S. DOT regulations.

If you have questions or wish to discuss any of 2025 FTA Certifications and Assurances, please contact Allison Ishihara Fultz, Ayelet Hirschkorn, John Putnam, Chuck Spitulnik, Christian Alexander, or Grant Glovin.