NOAA Submission via Grants.gov

NOAA proposal submissions must undergo a two-step validation process through Grants.gov and eRA Commons. Learn about the process and common submission errors.

On this page

Proposal submissions to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) via Grants.gov undergo two layers of system checks. This page describes the system checks and common errors associated with NOAA submissions through Grants.gov.

First check: Grants.gov

Grants.gov confirms:  

  • The application was received on time 
  • All the required forms were uploaded. If the application is accepted by Grants.gov, the organization will receive a Grants.gov tracking number.   

Assignment of a Grants.gov tracking number alone does not mean the application has been accepted by NOAA/eRA for further processing or funding consideration. The application must also pass eRA Commons validations. 

Second check: eRA Commons

eRA Commons checks for errors and/or warnings associated with an application and sends the organization and/or PI an email noting the specific issues. Errors are problems that must be resolved before an application can move forward for funding consideration (e.g., file formatting or role information).   

Do not assume an application has been received by NOAA until an email is received from eRA specifying it was received by NOAA. Applicants are encouraged to log in to eRA Commons to check the status of their application. More information on application submission and tracking in eRA Commons:  

eRA Commons checks for errors and/or warnings associated with an application and sends the organization and/or PI an email noting the specific issues. Errors are problems that must be resolved before an application can move forward for funding consideration (e.g., file formatting or role information).   

Do not assume an application has been received by NOAA until an email is received from eRA specifying it was received by NOAA. Applicants are encouraged to log in to eRA Commons to check the status of their application. More information on application submission and tracking in eRA Commons:  

The Office of Research and Sponsored Projects will monitor the eRA Commons Status module for successful submission and post a comment to the PI and research administrator.    

All errors noted must be resolved and the application must be resubmitted to Grants.gov before the sponsor deadline for it to move forward for NOAA for processing.

Common eRA Commons errors

This section describes some common application errors. While Grants.gov may accept an application with these errors, eRA Commons will not. An application that is not accepted by eRA Commons will not move forward to NOAA.

Project Director/PI eRA Commons ID is not included on the SF-424

A PI on an application must have a valid eRA Commons account affiliated with the University of Michigan, and their eRA Commons ID must be listed on the SF-424, in Box 4, Applicant Identifier. Always follow the specific notice of funding opportunity and Grants.gov package instructions for where the eRA Commons ID should be entered. Failure to provide a valid and correct eRA Commons ID will result in an eRA error, and the application will not move forward for NOAA processing. 

Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) is not entered correctly

The University’s UEI must be entered correctly in the appropriate UEI field on the SF-424, generally Box 8c on the standard SF-424 form. This should be consistent with the campus of the administrative home (e.g., Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Flint). See Frequently Required Proposal Documents & Data.

Congressional District is not entered in the correct format

The congressional district must be entered on the SF-424 in a specific format consisting of the two-letter abbreviation, a hyphen, then the three-digit district number.  

  • UM-Ann Arbor: MI-006 
  • UM-Dearborn: MI-012 
  • UM-Flint: MI-008

PDFs are not flattened

Any PDF attachment submitted through Grants.gov and validated by eRA Commons must be “flattened,” meaning the document can no longer be edited. To flatten a PDF, after filling out the form and saving it:

  • Windows: Go to File > Print, select Adobe PDF in the Printer dropdown, click print
  • Mac: Open the PDF in preview, go to File > Print > Save as PDF

Other formatting issues

Grants.gov does not check for formatting issues, but eRA Commons has strict formatting requirements. The most common eRA Commons formatting errors are:

  • Invalid characters are in the file name
  • Files are too large (over 100 MB)
  • Pages are larger than standard letter size (8 1/2” x 11”)
  • File names are too long (greater than 50 characters including spaces)