Forms

Public Filers: Senate-confirmed Presidential appointees, all SES employees (and equivalent) and most Schedule C staff are required to file public financial disclosure reports (SF-278s) within 30 days of entering and leaving a position at USDA, as well as annually while serving in a covered position. Annual reports, covering the previous calendar year, are due between January 1^st and May 15^th each year.

Confidential Filers: Career staff below the SES level may be required to file confidential financial disclosure reports (OGE Form 450 or OGE Optional Form 450-A) if they make decisions or recommendations that can have a financial impact on the Department's contractors or the commercial interests USDA services or regulates. New Entrant reports are due within 30 days of entering a covered position. Annual reports now cover a calendar year and are due each year by February 15.

Form Formats for Public Filers: A savable Excel spreadsheet version of the 278 form is available at this location (and is vastly more convenient than filling the form out by hand). However, knowing that eGovernment initiatives will eventually mandate on-line-reporting, the Office of Ethics has teamed up with the National Finance Center to web-enable the 278 filing process. The process is easy and secure (residing on the NFC’s servers alongside our Personal Pages and TSP data), so we provide "Online Reporting" as an option (see links below under SF 278).

Filers who prefer to stick with the spreadsheet or Acrobat downloadable formats of the SF 278 as opposed to the online version may continue to do so. (Warning: the Acrobat version of the SF 278 does not store information; it is a printable template similar to a paper form. We recommend against using this version of the 278 form if you have anything other than a simple report.) Please refer to the Help Page if you require assistance in downloading/using those alternatives.

Form Formats for Confidential Filers: We make it easy. You must use the new (approved in 2006) Adobe OGE 450 Form for reporting. The only exception is using the 450-A form, which requires that you have no new reportable information from your last report. We have also included a section 508 compliant accessible form, courtesy of OGE. The "Add Page" feature of the form does not work, so we have included extra pages as separate Adobe .pdf files.

in 2007—

• The Optional Form 450-A is authorized for the 2007 filing season and is available for download. The form is the new August 2005 version, which makes changes to the Privacy Act statement.

• The Public Form (SF-278) indicates on Schedule B, Gifts, that filers should report gifts totaling more than $260. Note that a new form has not been approved for release, but the threshold for gift reporting has been raised to $305.

• The new OGE 450 form requires Adobe Reader 7.0 or higher. Click here to upgrade your Adobe Reader. (Call your help desk if you have problems.)

SF 278 — Public Financial Disclosure Form for use by Presidential Appointees, Schedule C employees, SES members or others schedules that pay more than 120% of the minimum pay for a GS-15. USDA employees may fax an advance copy of their report to (202) 690-2642, but must follow-up with a signed original to USDA Office of Ethics, Stop 0122, 1400 Independence Ave S.W., Washington D.C. 20250-0122.

• Excel Version
• Acrobat Version
• Online reporting:
  Sign on or register with NFC
• Instructions (Word)
• Instructions (Acrobat)

OGE Form 450 — Confidential Financial Disclosure Form for use by employees below the SES level occupying positions of such sensitivity that they have been so designated. Annual filers and new entrant filers who file after January 1, 2007 must use the 2007 version. Annual reports are due by February 15, 2007 but may not filed before January 1, 2007. Links to OGE training and FAQs are also below.

• Acrobat version of 2007 Form (allows addition of new pages)
• Accessible (Section 508 compliant) version of 2007 form
  • Accessible additional page for Part I
  • Accessible additional page for Parts II and III
  • Accessible additional page for Parts IV and V
• Training on 2007 form from OGE
• FAQ from OGE on 2007 form

AD-1202— USDA Confidential Conflict of Interest Certification short form for use in lieu of the OGE-450 in FSIS, AMS and GIPSA.

• Microsoft Word
• Acrobat Version

OGE-201 — Request for Copy of a Completed Public Disclosure Report

• Acrobat Version

 

AD-1101 — Approval and Report of Travel Funds Received from Non-Federal Sources for use by a prospective traveler.

• Acrobat Version

 

SF-326 — Semi-annual Report of Payments Accepted from a Non-Federal Source for use by ethics official charged with documenting travel assistance accepted under 31 U.S. C. 1353.

• Excel Version
• Acrobat Version

 

Review/Approval of Non-Federal Employment or Activity Form for use with USDA Supplemental Ethics Regulation, 5 CFR Part 8301. Prior to submitting a request for non-Federal employment, view guidance under Rules of the Road, specifically the Standards of Ethical Conduct (5 CFR 2635.401-.403; .501-.503; .701-.705; and .801-809).

• Acrobat Version

 

Review / Approval of Outside Awards

• Acrobat Version

 

Review / Approval of Honorary Degrees

• Acrobat Version

Documentation of Official Participation in Non-Federal Organizations — to be used to document employee service as an Agency liaison, representative, or consultant (see Ethics Issuance 00-1, Participation in Non-Federal Organizations).

• Acrobat Version