The compliance prerequisites that appear in nearly every RHTP solicitation — SAM.gov, cost allocation, Single Audit, accounting systems, reimbursement capacity. Based on patterns across 30 published solicitations. Get ready before the window opens.

RHTP Application Checklist: Everything You Need Before Your State Opens

You will have 2-4 weeks to respond when your state opens RHTP solicitations. That is not enough time to build compliance infrastructure from scratch. This checklist covers every prerequisite that appears across the 30 solicitations published so far — so you can be ready before the window opens, not after it closes.

Across the 30 RHTP sub-grantee solicitations published by 11 states as of March 26, 2026, a consistent set of compliance prerequisites has emerged. These are not suggestions. They are gates — binary requirements that determine whether your application is reviewed or rejected before a human reads your proposal.

The patterns are remarkably consistent. SAM.gov registration appears in 97% of solicitations. Cost allocation methodology appears in 100% (explicitly in 72%, implicitly in the rest through the grant agreement). Zero solicitations require matching funds. The compliance bar is administrative, not financial — and the organizations most likely to fail it are the ones that have never managed a federal sub-award.

This checklist is organized by lead time — how long each prerequisite takes to complete. Start at the top.

90+ Days Before Application (Start Now)

1. SAM.gov Registration with Active UEI

What it is: The System for Award Management is the federal government's database of entities eligible to receive federal awards. Your Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) is assigned through SAM.gov.

Why it matters: 97% of published RHTP solicitations require active SAM.gov registration at the time of application. This is a hard gate — the application system rejects you automatically if your UEI is expired, inactive, or nonexistent.

What to do:

Go to SAM.gov and search for your organization
If registered: check expiration date. SAM.gov registration must be renewed annually. If expiration is within 60 days, renew now.
If not registered: begin registration immediately. Initial registration takes 7-10 business days. As of early 2026, SAM.gov is processing renewals with intermittent delays due to RHTP-driven volume.
Verify your registration is "Active" — not "Expired," not "Submitted," not "Work in Progress." Only "Active" counts.
Record your UEI. You will enter it on every RHTP application.

Common failure: Organizations that check SAM.gov for the first time when the solicitation opens and discover their registration expired 8 months ago. Renewal takes 7-10 business days. A 3-week application window does not have 10 days to spare.

2. Cost Allocation Methodology — Documented, Board-Approved, Current

What it is: A written document that describes how your organization allocates shared costs (personnel, facilities, overhead) across multiple funding streams. Required under 2 CFR 200 for any organization receiving federal awards.

Why it matters: 100% of RHTP solicitations require compliance with 2 CFR 200. The grant agreement you sign after receiving an award will contain cost allocation requirements. States that don't mention it in the RFA aren't waiving it — they're assuming you already have one.

What to do:

Determine whether you have a written cost allocation methodology. A cost allocation methodology is not a budget. It is a document that describes the allocation bases (time and effort for personnel, square footage for facilities, MTDC for indirect costs), the rationale for each base, and the process for applying them monthly.
If you have one: verify it is current (reviewed within the past 12 months), board-approved, and compliant with 2 CFR 200 Subpart E.
If you don't have one: this is a 2-4 week project. See our Cost Allocation Methodology Guide for a step-by-step walkthrough with worked examples.
Ensure your methodology covers RHTP specifically — the RHTP sub-award will be a new funding stream that must be tracked separately from existing grants and contracts.

Common failure: Organizations that have a budget but not a methodology. A budget says "we plan to spend $50,000 on personnel for this grant." A methodology says "personnel costs are allocated to each funding stream based on monthly time-and-effort records, with effort percentages documented by each employee and approved by their supervisor." The first is a plan. The second is a compliance document. Auditors ask for the second.

3. Indirect Cost Rate — NICRA or De Minimis Election

What it is: Your organization's mechanism for recovering overhead costs (executive leadership, finance, HR, IT, facilities, audit) from federal awards.

Why it matters: RHTP sub-grants under 2 CFR 200 allow indirect cost recovery. If you don't have a rate, you're leaving money on the table — and your cost allocation may not be compliant.

What to do:

Determine your current status:
- Have a NICRA (Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement)? Verify it is current and not expired. Rate negotiations with your cognizant agency can take 3-12 months. For tribal organizations, the rate is negotiated with DOI's Interior Business Center (IBC).
- No NICRA? You can elect the 15% de minimis rate under 2 CFR 200.414(f). This requires no negotiation — you simply document the election. The 15% rate applies to Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC).
- Planning to negotiate a rate? Start now. The process takes months, and you cannot charge indirect costs to a federal award without either a NICRA or a de minimis election in place.
Document your election or rate in your cost allocation methodology.

Common failure: Organizations that have never held a federal sub-award and don't realize they need an indirect cost strategy before the award starts, not after.

60 Days Before Application

4. Accounting System — Can Track Expenditures by Federal Spending Category

What it is: Your accounting system's ability to separately track every dollar spent on the RHTP sub-award — by cost category (personnel, fringe, travel, supplies, contractual, indirect) and by funding stream.

Why it matters: 2 CFR 200 requires that costs charged to federal awards be tracked in a manner that supports the cost allocation methodology and produces the data needed for federal financial reporting (SF-425).

What to do:

Assess whether your current system (QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, Blackbaud, etc.) can track expenditures by funding stream and cost category simultaneously.
- In QuickBooks: This typically means using Classes or Projects to tag every transaction with the funding source.
- In Sage Intacct: Use Dimensions for funding stream tracking.
- In spreadsheet-based systems: This is a red flag. Manual tracking is error-prone and difficult to audit. Consider whether RHTP is the impetus to upgrade.
Set up the RHTP funding stream in your chart of accounts before the award arrives. You should be able to pull a report showing "all expenditures charged to RHTP by cost category for October" on demand.
If your system cannot do this, budget 30-60 days for configuration or migration.

Common failure: Winning a sub-award and discovering in Month 2 that your accounting system cannot produce the financial reports the state requires. The reporting requirement is not optional and the state will not wait while you reconfigure your chart of accounts.

5. Single Audit Status

What it is: Organizations that spend $1,000,000 or more in federal awards in a fiscal year are required to undergo a Single Audit under 2 CFR 200 Subpart F. The audit tests whether federal funds were spent in compliance with the terms of the award.

Why it matters: If your organization already exceeds the $1,000,000 threshold (from existing federal awards), you should already be undergoing Single Audits. If RHTP pushes you over the threshold for the first time, you need audit readiness before the award starts — not when the auditor arrives.

What to do:

Calculate your current federal expenditure level. Add the projected RHTP sub-award. Will you exceed $1,000,000?
If already above threshold: is your most recent Single Audit current and filed with the Federal Audit Clearinghouse? Any unresolved findings?
If RHTP will push you over for the first time: engage an audit firm experienced in 2 CFR 200 compliance before the award period begins. The audit covers the fiscal year in which you spend the federal funds — preparation must start before that year, not during it.
Review the Single Audit preparation guide for organizations managing multiple funding streams.

Common failure: First-time sub-grantees who don't realize Single Audit applies until 18 months later, when the audit produces findings on cost allocation and effort documentation that should have been in place from Day 1.

6. Time-and-Effort Documentation System

What it is: A system for documenting how each employee's time is allocated across funding streams. Required under 2 CFR 200.430 for any personnel costs charged to federal awards.

Why it matters: Personnel costs are typically 65-80% of a healthcare organization's total costs. If personnel time is charged to RHTP, it must be supported by after-the-fact activity records — not estimates, not budget projections, not assumptions.

What to do:

Determine whether you have a time-and-effort documentation system in place. This can be timesheets, activity logs, EHR-derived reports, or any system that produces after-the-fact records of actual work performed.
The system must:
- Cover all employees whose time is charged to any federal award
- Produce records showing the distribution of effort across all funding streams (not just the RHTP award)
- Be signed or certified by the employee and a supervisor
- Account for 100% of each employee's time
If you don't have a system: implement one before the award period starts. See our Time and Effort Certification guide.

Common failure: Organizations that allocate personnel costs to RHTP based on the budget ("we budgeted 30% of this position to RHTP, so we charge 30% every month") rather than on actual effort records. Budget-based allocation is not compliant with 2 CFR 200.430. The allocation must reflect actual work, documented after the fact.

30 Days Before Application

7. Reimbursement Float Capacity

What it is: The ability to sustain operations if RHTP sub-grant payments are made on a reimbursement basis — you spend first, then request reimbursement 30-60 days later.

Why it matters: Most state RHTP solicitations use reimbursement-based payment. Your organization must have the cash reserves or credit facility to cover 1-2 months of RHTP program costs before the first reimbursement check arrives.

What to do:

Estimate your monthly RHTP program costs (based on the award amount and performance period).
Determine whether your organization can carry 60-90 days of those costs without reimbursement.
If not: identify bridge financing options (line of credit, interfund borrowing, cash reserve designation).
Note: 2 CFR 200.305 permits advance payments to sub-recipients who demonstrate adequate cash management. If your state offers advance payment, you may not need the full float — but don't assume. Check the solicitation terms.

Common failure: Small organizations that win a $500K sub-award, hire staff and purchase equipment in Month 1, and face a cash crisis in Month 3 when the first reimbursement request is still being processed.

8. State Procurement Portal Registration

What it is: The online portal through which your state accepts RHTP applications. This is separate from SAM.gov.

Why it matters: Each state uses a different portal. Registration often requires separate credentials, organizational information, and sometimes pre-qualification steps.

What to do:

Identify your state's application portal. Common portals:
- Iowa: IowaGrants.gov
- Kansas: KDHE online portal
- Nebraska: DHHS portal
- Delaware: mmp.delaware.gov
- South Dakota: postingboard.sd.gov
- Washington: WEBS (Washington's Electronic Business Solution)
- Indiana: in.gov/grow-rural-health
- North Carolina: NCDHHS portal
- New Jersey: healthapps.nj.gov
Register and complete your organizational profile before the solicitation opens. Portal registration can take 1-5 business days.
Check your state's tracker page for the specific portal and current solicitation status.

9. Spending Category Alignment

What it is: Understanding which RHTP spending categories align with your organization's mission, strategic plan, and existing capabilities.

Why it matters: RHTP solicitations fund specific initiative areas (workforce, technology, chronic disease, behavioral health, maternal health, etc.). Your application must demonstrate alignment between what you propose and what the state is funding. Generic proposals that say "we will improve rural health" score poorly.

What to do:

Review your state's published initiatives on the tracker. Most states fund 4-8 initiative areas.
Identify 1-3 initiatives where your organization has existing capacity, measurable need, and a credible implementation plan.
Prepare data: patient volume, service area demographics, provider shortage designations, health outcome metrics for your county. Solicitations that include scoring rubrics consistently reward specificity and data.
Consider coalition applications. States reward integration — an FQHC + behavioral health provider + EMS agency applying together for an integrated program scores higher than three separate applications.

10. Organizational Capacity Documentation

What it is: Evidence that your organization can manage a federal sub-award — financial management history, audit history, staff credentials, governance structure.

Why it matters: Scoring rubrics across published solicitations consistently include an "organizational capacity" or "management capability" section worth 15-25% of the total score.

What to do:

Compile: most recent audited financial statements, most recent Single Audit (if applicable), board roster with qualifications, organizational chart showing who manages grants, and a brief history of federal/state awards managed.
If you have never managed a federal sub-award: be honest about it in the application and describe the capacity you are building (cost allocation methodology in progress, audit firm engaged, etc.). First-time applicants are not disqualified — but undisclosed inexperience that surfaces during the award period creates findings.

The Day the Solicitation Opens

If you've completed items 1-10, you are positioned to respond within the application window. Your preparation time should now focus on:

Reading the full solicitation document (not just the summary)
Identifying the scoring rubric and weighting each section
Writing the narrative to match the rubric — not to describe your organization, but to demonstrate how your proposal addresses the state's stated priorities
Assembling the required attachments (most solicitations require: budget, budget narrative, organizational chart, letters of support, cost allocation methodology, SAM.gov verification)
Having a second person review the application for completeness before submission

What You Don't Need

Based on the 30 solicitations analyzed:

No match required. Zero of 30 solicitations require matching funds. RHTP is 100% federally funded. This removes the single largest barrier that historically prevented small organizations from competing for federal grants.

No prior federal award history required. Most solicitations include catch-all eligibility categories ("other eligible healthcare providers," "community-based organizations"). Prior federal award experience improves your competitiveness but is not a prerequisite.

No specific organizational size. Small RHCs, solo tribal health programs, and community behavioral health centers are eligible alongside large hospital systems. The compliance requirements are the same regardless of size — but the preparation burden falls hardest on the smallest organizations.

Check Your Readiness

This checklist tells you what to prepare. Our Preflight Assessment tells you where you stand.

Take the RHTP Preflight Check →

23 questions, about 5 minutes. You'll receive an immediate readiness score, a grade benchmarked against peer organizations, and specific gap identification — so you know exactly which items on this checklist need your attention first.

Your State's Status

Not sure whether your state has opened solicitations yet?

Check your state on the RHTP Tracker →

We track implementation across all 50 states — stage classification, open solicitations, deadlines, eligible entity types, and compliance requirements. Updated weekly.

This checklist is based on compliance patterns observed across 30 RHTP sub-grantee solicitations published by 11 states as of March 26, 2026 (per the GrantBridges RHTP State Rollout Tracker). Requirements may vary by state and solicitation. Always read the full solicitation document for your state's specific requirements. For compliance framework details, see the Compliance Framework Comparison Chart.