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Template
Time and effort certification template
Updated September 2026
A time and effort certification is a short signed statement. It says the time charged to a grant matches the work really done. Federal rules don't require a set form, so here are three templates you can copy and adapt.
Download the monthly template (Word, .docx)
What the rule actually asks for
Under 2 CFR 200.430(g), pay charged to a grant must rest on solid records. The records must reflect the work done, sit in your official books, and be backed by internal controls. And they must cover each employee's total activity, not just the grant-funded slice.
Certification turns a record into evidence. Someone with firsthand knowledge of the work confirms the split is right, and dates it.
Two things worth knowing before you build one:
- The documentation standards moved. They sit at §200.430(g). If you find a template or an article citing (i), it predates the Uniform Guidance revision effective 1 October 2024, and it may be stale in other ways too.
- Nonexempt staff still need daily hours. §200.430(g)(3) requires records of total hours worked each day for nonexempt employees, hourly or salaried, via the Fair Labor Standards Act. The requirement comes from wage-and-hour law, it is separate from effort distribution, and a certification doesn't replace it.
Monthly certification, for staff paid from more than one source
One person, one month, percentages that add to 100. Signed by the employee and by a supervisor with firsthand knowledge.
Employee: [Name]
Position: [Title]
Period covered: [Month, Year]
Distribution of total activity for the period:
- [Federal award / grant name and number], ____%
- [Federal award / grant name and number], ____%
- [Non-federal program or funder], ____%
- General administration, ____%
- Fundraising, ____%
Total: 100%
I certify that the distribution above is a reasonable representation of the total activity for which I was compensated during this period, and that the work was performed as described.
Employee signature ____________________ Date __________
I have firsthand knowledge of the work performed and confirm the distribution above.
Supervisor signature ____________________ Print name ____________________ Date __________
Retain with payroll records for the period required by your award terms.
Sample only, not legal or accounting advice. Adapt it to your award terms and check with your auditor before use.
Notice what isn't there: no hours, no task narrative, no project codes. Those may live in your timekeeping records; the certification is the attestation layer on top.
Semi-annual certification, when someone works on one thing
Say an employee works only on one federal award, and their effort truly doesn't change. Then a less frequent certification may be enough. The federal rule sets no frequency, so check your award terms first; a pass-through agreement can require more.
Employee: [Name]
Position: [Title]
Period covered: [Start date] to [End date]
I certify that during the period above I worked 100% on [award name and number], and that the salary charged to that award reflects the work actually performed.
Employee signature ____________________ Date __________
I have firsthand knowledge of the work performed and confirm the statement above.
Supervisor signature ____________________ Print name ____________________ Date __________
Sample only, not legal or accounting advice. Adapt it to your award terms and check with your auditor before use.
The reconciliation note, the part auditors look for
Say you charge interim amounts using budget percentages. The rule is clear: budget estimates alone don't support a charge. You have to compare them to actual activity and adjust. That compare-and-adjust step is easy to skip, and it is what auditors check.
Employee: [Name] Award: [Name and number] Period: [Quarter/Year]
Budgeted effort: ____% Certified actual effort: ____% Variance: ____ points
Adjustment required under our policy threshold of ____ points: [ ] Yes [ ] No
If yes, journal entry reference: ____________ Amount: $__________ Date posted: __________
Prepared by ____________________ Date __________
Reviewed by ____________________ Date __________
Sample only, not legal or accounting advice. Adapt it to your award terms and check with your auditor before use.
Five things that make a certification hold up
It covers total activity
All of someone's time, not just the grant share. A record showing 40% on a grant with no account of the other 60% doesn't demonstrate anything.
It's contemporaneous
Signed close to the period it covers. A stack of certifications all signed in one sitting at year end carries less weight.
Someone with firsthand knowledge signs it
Not the bookkeeper, not the ED by default, whoever actually knows what the person did. If you are the ED and the person being certified, ask the board officer who oversees your work, such as the treasurer or chair, to sign as supervisor. Check your award terms first.
It reconciles to payroll
What the grant was charged and what the person was paid have to agree.
There's a written policy behind it
One page: who records, how often, who certifies, what variance triggers an adjustment. "What's your process?" is a question an auditor will ask, and the answer should be a document.
This is general information, not legal or accounting advice. Federal grant rules change and are applied differently by different agencies and auditors. Check with your auditor, your grant officer, or an attorney before relying on any of it.
The Ember tool for thisEmber Time
Ember Time lets your team log time by program, and you approve the week. Approved hours for hourly staff become each program's staff cost at the rate you set. Unlimited users on every tier.
Sources: 2 CFR 200.430 (eCFR), compensation for personal services, §(g) documentation standards. Verified 27 September 2026.