Frequently Asked Questions - General and Miscellaneous
- What is "Federal Excess Personal Property"?
Federal Excess Personal Property is defined as any item -- other than real property -- purchased by a federal entity and available for transfer (reutilization) to another federal activity, activities with federal monies, or those with legislative authority to receive items from excess. This can include federal agencies, cost reimbursement contractors, project grantees, and Federal cooperators from land grant universities and others who acknowledge the prime directive to use Federal Excess Personal Property as the first source of supply. The reutilization of FEPP within the federal community saves hundreds of millions of dollars annually by replacing additional federal expenditures.
The following organizations are eligible to obtain excess property:
- Federal Agencies, including wholly-owned Government corporations.
- Cost-reimbursable Government contractors
- Federal cooperatives and project grantees (some require reimbursement)
- District of Columbia municipal government
- Architect of the Capitol, U.S. Congress
- Federal judicial agencies
- Mixed-ownership corporations as defined in the Government Corporation Act
- Certain non-Federal agencies eligible to use GSA sources of supply
- Is there a cost affiliated with receiving Federal Excess Personal Property?
Although there are a few exceptions, usually there are no costs associated with the transfer of FEPP from one agency to another other than transportation, packing, and crating. When screening property, investigate the "Cost-Reimbursible" code affiliated with the property (listing available from the
FEPP "Electronic Toolkit"). If the code is a 1, 4, A, or E, the items may be "Exchange-sale" and require fair market value reimbursement from the transferee.
- How do I know if I am eligible for acquiring and utilizing Federal Excess Personal Property?
Are you.....
.....a purely federal agency?
.....a Principal Investigator performing research via federal grants of any type?
.....a land grant institution conducting agricultural research or working with the Cooperative Extension Service?
.....a participant in a State Forestry Program?
.....federal cooperator?
.....participant in a federally owned corporation?
.....match criteria defined in question/answer 1 above?
If you answered any of these questions with a "yes", you may be eligible -- and are encouraged -- to pursue the possibility of receiving Federal Excess Personal Property for your programs. You can start with placing a message on the USA Forum, visiting the listing of National Utilization Officers, or contact your local GSA Area Property Officer for assistance and direction.
- What is my accountability for property acquired?
When an item is declared "Excess" and transferred from one agency to another, title transfers as well to the receiving activity. Each agency taking possession mandates specific requirements for accountability on the part of recipients. Regardless of the new "owner" of the property, there are accountability elements attached to the property throughout its life. If you utilize property via USDA land grant institutions, USDA Forest Service, or the National Science Foundation, you can find specific information regarding accountability issues on the
USA Resource/Reference Section. If not, visit the listing of
National Utilization Officers on the web for the correct contact person for your agency.
- What is my ultimate responsibility as a FEPP manager?
The ultimate responsibility of a manager, user, screener, or generator is to place FEPP as the first source of supply in lieu of additional federal expenditures and extend the investment made by the American taxpayer within the federal community to the fullest extent.
- Where can I get a list of National Utilization Officers?
The listing is on the
GSAxcess website on the left column of the page.
- Where can I get a list of GSA Area Property Officers (APO's)?
The listing is on the
GSAxcess website on the left column of the page.
- What is the National Property Management Association?
The
National Property Management Association (NPMA) is committed to leadership, education, legislative affairs, and other issues related to asset management in all realms of ownership whether it be government, commercial, industrial, etc. USA-FEPP members are encouraged to visit the NPMA home page and take advantage of association membership, attendance at seminars, participation in educational certification programs, and more.
- What is the National Association of State Agencies for Surplus Property?
The
National Association of State Agencies for Surplus Property (NASASP) is a consortium of "SASP's" from all fifty states. State Agencies for Surplus Property have access to federal property after it has been screened for federal requirements. When items enter the state screening cycle (known as "Donation"), items are made available to the SASP's for state and local programs in each state. Items at this point are no longer termed "excess", but are "surplus". Members of USA-FEPP are encouraged to partner with NASASP and help extend the life and benefit of all government owned personal property onto the taxpayer.
- Are there other websites related to specific programs within Federal Excess Personal Property?
Yes...visit both our
USA-FEPP Resource/Reference Section and our
related websites menu for additional sites.
- How is "Excess" property different from "Surplus" property"?
With the exception of special or expedited screening, Federal Excess Personal Property begins its disposal process entering the "Excess" screening cycle. The excess screening cycle lasts 42 days and property is available for transfer (reutilization) to other federal agencies and/or those eligible to utilize FEPP. Beginning on day 22, remaining items enter the state screening or "Donation" cycle and are available for donation to State Agencies for Surplus Property, listed on the
GSAxcess site, in the left column. Items donated to State Agencies for Surplus Property are termed "Surplus". Federal parties can continue to screen on through the donation cycle as long as it does not interfere with freezes or issue of property to state agencies. In summary, "Excess" and "Surplus" property could be summed up by the following table:
Excess Surplus
| Property Recipient |
Federal agencies/other eligible parties |
State Agencies for Surplus Property |
| Screening Period |
Day 1 through 42 |
Day 22 through 42 |
| Property Title |
Federal retains or varies by program |
Transfers to states receiving property |
| Official Terms |
"Transfer" or "Reutilization" |
"Donation" |
- Where can I get additional description on National Stock Numbers?
Defense Logistics Information Services (DLIS) is a subordinate component of the
Defense Logistics Agency and catalogs/publishes description information for active National Stock Numbers (NSN's). This information is available via on-line access or CD-ROM for official use only and requires a yearly subscription fee. Keep in mind if an item has become "inactive" in the DLIS cataloging system, description information may not be available. Please note extended description information for NSN's on the DRMS website draw off the same information as DLIS cataloging information, i.e. for the most part, description information from DLIS will be no greater than that available via hypertext link on DRMS search results.
