Program information

Popular name

CERTS, CERTS Program

Assistance listing number

21.028

Agency

Department of the Treasury

Sub-agency

Departmental Offices

Categories & sub-categories

  • Business and Commerce - Maritime
  • Transportation - Highways, Public Roads, and Bridges
  • Transportation - Water Navigation

Assistance types

  • Formula Grants

Eligible applicants

  • Other private institutions/organizations

Eligible beneficiaries

Awards & recipients

View this program's awards and recipients at USASpending.gov

Assistance listing

View this program's assistance listing at SAM.gov

Grant opportunities

View this program's available grant opportunities at Grants.gov

Program objective

Division N, Title IV, Section 421 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”), Pub. L. No. 116-260 (December 27, 2020) authorized the $2 billion Coronavirus Economic Relief for Transportation Services (CERTS) program to provide grants to eligible motorcoach companies, school bus companies, passenger vessel companies, and pilotage companies that have experienced annual revenue losses of 25 percent or more as result of COVID-19 directly or indirectly. The priority use of grant funds was required to be for payroll costs, though grants may be used for operating expenses and the repayment of debt accrued to maintain payroll.

Program obligations, by FY (2022 - 2024)

This chart shows obligations for the program by fiscal year. All data for this chart was provided by the administering agency and sourced from SAM.gov or USASpending.gov.

“SAM.gov actual” displays actual obligations for the fiscal year, as reported by the agency to SAM.gov after the fiscal year concludes.

“SAM.gov estimate” displays estimated obligations for the fiscal year, as reported by the agency to SAM.gov before the fiscal year concludes.

“USAspending.gov obligations” displays the total obligations submitted by the agency to USAspending, linked to the assistance listing through its assistance listing number. USAspending.gov is the official source of Federal spending information, displaying actual obligations made by agencies as they are committed. Annual obligations reported to SAM.gov may be inconsistent with annual obligations reported to USASpending.gov. More information can be found on the “About the data” page.

Please note that SAM.gov does not provide agencies with detailed guidance on how to report loan, loan guarentee, or insurance obligations. These figures may not be comparable arocess programs or consistent with USASpending.gov.

For more information on each of these data sources, please see the “About the data” page.

Authorizing statutes

  • Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, Division N, Title IV, Subtitle B, 421. Pub. L. 116, 260.

Program results

2023

Over 1,400 motorcoach, school bus, passenger vessel, and pilotage companies across the United States used grant funds to support jobs, rehire staff, and stabilize an industry that experienced significant economic disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, grant recipients have spent the majority of funds on payroll costs, with the remainder of funds expended on costs such as operations, maintenance, and COVID-19 protection. Grantees represented a diverse segment of the industry: approximately 23% of recipients were women-owned businesses, 33% were minority-owned businesses, and 6% were veteran-owned businesses. Approximately 93% of all grantees were small businesses that supported staff during challenging times, while serving customers and communities across the country.