Established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, the Coronavirus Economic Relief for Transportation Services (CERTS) program authorized $2 billion in grant assistance to support payroll and other operational expenses of eligible transportation service providers that suffered revenue loss due to the coronavirus pandemic. Eligible companies included motorcoach companies, school bus companies, passenger vessel companies, and pilotage companies.
The CERTS program assisted over 1,400 eligible transportation service providers, which used more than 81% of grant funds on payroll costs. Over 90% of grants were awarded to small businesses, many of whom were left out of the larger pandemic relief programs for other transportation sectors. Nearly a quarter of the grantees were women-owned businesses, one-third were minority-owned businesses, and 7% were veteran-owned businesses. As of May 16, 2022, all grant amounts under the CERTS program have been fully disbursed.
The CERTS Program is now closed, the Covered Period has ended. All unexpended funds must be returned to Treasury. If a Grantee has correctly completed its final reporting requirements in accordance with the terms and conditions of its Grant Agreement, no further action is needed, unless notified otherwise by Treasury. For more details refer to the Closeout Checklist below.
CERTS Closeout Checklist for Grantees
|
Due Dates |
Reporting Period |
|---|---|
|
February 15, 2022 |
Agreement Effective Date through December 31, 2021 |
|
April 15, 2022 |
First Quarter 2022 - January 1, 2022 through March 31, 2022 |
|
July 15, 2022 |
Second Quarter 2022 - April 1, 2022 through June 30, 2022 |
|
October 17, 2022 |
Third Quarter 2022 - July 1, 2022 through September 30, 2022 |
Treasury will never attempt to solicit Grantee information from a webpage not hosted on Treasury.gov, a website not utilizing Treasury’s official verification service (ID.me), or from an email address not ending in @treasury.gov or @oig.treas.gov.
For questions concerning the quarterly reports you may refer to the documents below, paragraph 12 of the CERTS Grant Agreement, or contact CERTS@Treasury.gov.
Program Information
- Final Format of CERTS Quarterly Report Due February 15, 2022
- CERTS Program Guidelines *Updated* (08/12/2021)
- Industry Allocation Method and Grant Sizing Documentation
- Information on the ID.me identity service
- Information for companies applying from U.S. Territories
- IRS information on the tax treatment of CERTS grants
- Form of Standard CERTS Grant Agreement for All Approved Grantees
- CERTS Employee Recall and Rehire Information
- List of CERTS Participants with Amounts Provided
- Treasury Completes $2 Billion in Recovery Fund Payments to Transportation Businesses