Personal property management for federal agencies

GSA’s Office of Personal Property Management helps federal agencies dispose of personal property that is no longer needed. Once personal property has been deemed excess, GSA helps other federal agencies acquire these items.

Disposing of excess federal personal property

Federal agencies with unneeded personal property must dispose of it through GSA by following these steps:

Conduct an internal screening

Any office within a federal agency that has unneeded property must screen the property for other offices within the agency. For more information about internal screening, please contact your National Utilization Officer. Once the agency has determined that no other office in the agency needs the property, the property is declared as “excess” to the agency’s need and can be reported to GSA for transfer to other agencies or donation to state or local organizations.

Consider direct transfer

Once the agency completes the inventory assessment, it can directly transfer its excess personal property to another federal agency without prior GSA approval—assuming the total acquisition cost is no more than $10,000 per line item.

Report excess personal property to GSA

You should report excess personal property electronically via the Personal Property Management System (PPMS). Property may reported manually using the Standard Form 120 (SF 120) only with prior approval from the Personal Property Management Office.

Conduct 21-day screening

Generally, once agencies report their excess personal property to GSA, other federal agencies can screen the property over a 21-day period. If one agency selects another agency’s property, PPMS will generate transfer forms.

The forms must be signed and approved by the agency allocating the property, the agency receiving the property, and the regional GSA Area Property Officer. The agencies must coordinate the actual shipping and transportation of the property once the transfer is official.

Learn more about screening your property through our PPMS informational videos.

Offer to State and local agencies and organizations

GSA declares the personal property as surplus and offers it to the State Agencies for Surplus Property (SASP) for donation if no federal agency expresses interest by the end of the 21-day screening period (14 days if the property is furniture or computers).

Sell to the public

The property becomes available to the public for sale if no state or local government agency (or other qualified recipient) expresses interest in the personal property.

Abandon, destroy, or recycle

Federal agencies can abandon or destroy excess personal property when an authorized official of the agency makes a written determination that the personal property has no commercial value, or that the estimated cost of its continued care and handling would exceed the estimated proceeds from its sale.

A reviewing official of the agency must approve this determination. This official must be someone who is not directly accountable for the item or items.

Note: The federal agency must abandon or destroy the item or items in a way that is safe for the public health and security.

The federal disposal process does not address recycling of excess personal property currently. However, reuse or recycling is always preferable to disposing of an item in a landfill.

Acquiring excess federal personal property

Government regulations mandate that federal agencies consider acquiring excess personal property first, before purchasing new items. This approach saves taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Please see 41 CFR 102-36.305 to 41 CFR 102-36.330 for more information.

Use PPMS

Federal agencies can use PPMS to look through GSA’s worldwide online inventory of excess personal property.

Coordinate with reporting agency and local GSA Personal Property Management Office

An agency submits a request for the item(s) in PPMS once it finds the property it needs. PPMS will then notify the local GSA Area Property Officer of the request for the property. GSA generally approves transfers on a first-come, first-served basis and other allocating factors. The local Personal Property Management Office can assist in manually coordinating the transfer if property is not made available on PPMS.

Note: Acquiring federal agencies do not typically pay for excess personal property. However, they are responsible for any packing, shipping, and transportation costs.

Conduct on-site screening

Federal agencies can often view personal property offerings at the facility holding the item or items. Federal agency employees must present a valid federal ID or other security credential in order to enter the facility.

Locate personal property

Federal agencies can locate what they need on PPMS. Agencies need a User ID and password to access and select/report property in the system, which can be issued by the National Utilization Officer or, if the agency does not have an assigned NUO, then it would be issued by the local GSA Area Property Officer. All federal employees with a “.gov” or “.mil” email address can register for view-only access.

Work with an Area Property Officer (APO)

To order, federal agencies should contact the GSA Area Property Officer in the region where the personal property is located. The APO helps transfer or donate personal property.

Gain approval

Once the APO has allocated the personal property, PPMS will generate an email with a transfer order to the acquiring agency’s approving official notifying him/her to go into PPMS and approve the property. Manual transfer orders will be sent by the APO to the acquiring agency for signature. The acquiring agency official signs and returns the transfer order to APO for GSA approval.

Process transfer order

The APO will electronically approve the SF 122 after the acquiring agency’s approving official approves the transfer. The system will then email a copy of the approval to the holding agency and the acquiring agency.

Arrange pickup

The acquiring agency must contact the disposing agency to arrange pickup. Pickup must occur within 15 calendar days from the date of allocation (21 days from date of allocation for DoD excess). The agency is responsible for requesting additional removal time if required.

Note: The acquiring agency is responsible for any packing, shipping, or transportation costs.

Watch our videos for more information on how to report, request, and acquire excess property.

Note: These videos are hosted by a nongovernment website.