Appropriations Law Training

OVERVIEW | GAO’S COURSE | REGISTRATION | PAYMENT | COURSE DATES | COURSE OUTLINE

Overview

GAO’s Course

Principles of Appropriations Law (PAL) is taught by experienced GAO attorneys. Beginning March 2026, GAO is offering several courses through virtual training and several courses exclusively through live, in-person training at a requesting agency’s training site.

Virtual Courses: The virtual course is 5 ½ hours, including breaks. It begins at 9:30 AM EST and ends at approximately 3:00 PM. The course generally qualifies for 6 continuing professional education (CPE) credits. See below for a complete course outline.

In-Person Courses: The in-person course is 2 ½ days long. The course begins at 8:30 AM each day and ends at approximately 3:45 PM on Days 1 and 2 and 11:30 AM on Day 3. The course generally qualifies for 17 CPE credits. See below for a complete course outline.

Registration

Open Enrollment Course (Individual Registration)

Each fiscal year, GAO offers a PAL course on an “open enrollment” basis, meaning that GAO enrolls individual federal employees for a fee of $300 per seat for virtual attendance and $500 per seat for in-person attendance. GAO will begin accepting open enrollment requests immediately. All requests are on a first come, first served basis. Participants should send an email to PALCourse@GAO.GOV to register for the course. In the subject line of the email, you must include (Open Enrollment Course).

There are two open enrollment courses this year:

• The FY 2026 in-person open enrollment course will be taught at the GAO HQ building in Washington, D.C. on August 4–6, 2026.
• The FY 2026 virtual open enrollment course will be taught on August 18, 2026.

The open enrollment course is the only course available for individual registration. Individual participants may not register for any of the group course dates below. Please read the Payment section below to ensure you can register for the course.

Group Courses (Agency Registration)

In the past year, GAO has taught group courses for the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of the Navy, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the General Services Administration, among others.

• Virtual group courses can accommodate up to 35 agency employees for a fee of $3,500.
• In-person group courses are taught at various federal agencies and can accommodate up to 35 agency employees for a fee of $6,700 (plus additional costs for instructor travel expenses for group courses held outside the Washington, D.C. local travel area).

GAO will begin accepting group course requests immediately. All requests are on a first come, first served basis. Agencies should send an email to PALCourse@GAO.GOV to register for a course. In the subject line of the email, you must include (Group Course/Date). All registrations must be received by COB, February 13, 2026.

Only one POC from each agency can register their group. Confirmed registrations will only be sent to the agency POC. If your circumstances change after GAO has confirmed your attendance, please email PALCourse@GAO.GOV to decline the offer and free it up for someone else. Please note that individual participants may not register for group courses. Group courses are only available for agencies registering up to 35 of their employees for the course.

Please read the Payment section below to ensure your agency can register for a course.

Payment (Interagency Agreement)

If GAO has offered you a seat in the open enrollment course, or your agency a group course date, you must finalize your registration by having a signed interagency agreement (IAA) in G‑Invoicing. If your agency is not ready for G-Invoicing, we will accept a PDF 7600A and 7600B. We will not accept hybrid IAAs such as a GT&C in G-Invoicing and a PDF 7600B. A MIPR can be signed, if necessary, but only after we receive a fully executed GT&C and Order or a PDF 7600A and 7600B. Please note that the Government Employees Training Act, 5 U.S.C. § 4104 (GETA), not the Economy Act, is the specific Statutory Authority for this agreement.

If your agency cannot complete an IAA in G-Invoicing or in PDF format, you will not be able to register for a course. Once the IAA is in place, an IPAC will be initiated to collect payment upon completion of the course. Please note that GAO cannot accept government purchase cards for payment.

Failure to complete this process (or request an extension) within 6 weeks of the course may result in the loss of your registration. In addition, if your circumstances change after GAO offers your agency a group course date, please email PALCourse@GAO.GOV to decline your spot as soon as possible so your space can be made available to another agency.

FY 2026 PAL Group Course Dates

Virtual Group Course Dates

• March 11, 2026
• April 7, 2026
• May 6, 2026
• June 11, 2026
• July 15, 2026
• July 29, 2026

In-Person Group Course Dates

• March 17‒19, 2026
• April 22‒24, 2026
• May 19‒21, 2026
• June 24‒26, 2026
• July 21‒23, 2026

Course Outline

Virtual Course

1. Introduction
   1. Constitution
   2. Major Statutes
   3. Key Concepts
   4. Appropriations Law Framework
2. Availability of Appropriations: Purpose
   1. The Purpose Statute
   2. Purpose Three-Step Analysis
3. Availability of Appropriations: Time
   1. Time Limitations
   2. Duration of Appropriation Availability
   3. The Bona Fide Needs Rule
   4. Account Closing Law
4. Availability of Appropriations: Amount
   1. Antideficiency Act
   2. Impoundment Control Act
   3. Miscellaneous Receipts Statute
5. Recording Obligations and Inter- and Intra-agency Transactions
6. Resources

In-Person Course**

1. Introduction to Appropriations Law
   1. Constitution and Major Statutes
   2. Annual Budget and Appropriations Process
   3. Budget Execution and Control
   4. Apportionment and Allotment
   5. Obligating and Disbursing Funds
   6. Impoundment
2. Terminology and Classification
3. Statutory Construction
4. Availability of Appropriations: Purpose
   1. Purpose Three-Step Analysis
   2. Necessary Expense Rule
   3. Statutory Purpose Restrictions
   4. Other Available Appropriations
5. Availability of Appropriations: Amount
   1. Antideficiency Act: Provisions, Exceptions, Sanctions and Applications
   2. Rules Against Augmentation, and the Miscellaneous Receipts Act
6. Availability of Appropriations: Time
   1. General Rule
   2. Bona Fide Needs Rule
   3. Prohibition on Advanced Payments
   4. Account Closing Law
7. Obligation of Appropriations
8. Interagency Transactions

**Please note that the outline for the In-Person course may change