Debarment
A government-wide bar on receiving federal awards, imposed for a fixed term after due process. A debarred entity is excluded from every federal programme at once, not merely from the one where the conduct occurred, and the exclusion is public.
Part of the GrantTrove grant funding glossary — one entry for every field the catalogue stores.
Also called Debarred · Exclusion
In detail
It follows serious conduct — fraud, repeated non-performance, a criminal conviction connected to a public contract — and it is a formal proceeding rather than an agency’s decision to stop working with someone.
It reaches individuals as well as organisations, and an organisation whose principal is debarred is affected in practice even if the organisation itself is not named.
Against suspension
Suspension is temporary and immediate, imposed on adequate evidence while an investigation runs. Debarment follows a completed proceeding and carries a term. Neither is a field here: exclusions are live data about your organisation, published in the federal exclusions list, and a copy of that status here would be stale the day someone stopped updating it.
How GrantTrove stores it
- We hold nothing about applicants. Every field on a record describes the opportunity or the funder, and eligibility is what the notice said about who may apply.
- Agencies check exclusions before awarding, in a live system. Directing a reader there is more useful than a cached flag we could not keep current.
Common questions
Do you check whether an applicant is debarred?
No. It is live data about your organisation and it is not ours to hold.
Does debarment affect state grants?
Federal money passed through a state, generally yes. A state’s own money follows the state’s rules.
How long does it last?
A fixed term set in the proceeding, commonly three years.