# USAspending Federal Awards Scraper (Contracts & Grants) (`cblu/usaspending-federal-awards-scraper`) Actor
Extract US federal award records from the official USAspending.gov Treasury API — contracts, grants, loans and direct payments with recipient, amount, agency, NAICS/PSC/CFDA, and dates. Filter by keyword, recipient, agency, code, state, amount, and date. Pay per award record.
- **URL**: https://apify.com/cblu/usaspending-federal-awards-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Steven Carleton](https://apify.com/cblu) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet
## Pricing
from $3.00 / 1,000 award records
This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.
Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event
## What's an Apify Actor?
Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".
## How to integrate an Actor?
If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.
In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md):
```bash
npm install apify-client
```
In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md):
```bash
pip install apify-client
```
In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):
````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash
In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md).
If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).
For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.
For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).
# README
## USAspending Federal Awards Scraper — Contracts, Grants & Recipients API
Search and export **US federal award records from the official USAspending.gov API** — the US Treasury's authoritative record of every federal contract, grant, loan, and direct payment. Get the **award ID, recipient name and UEI, award amount, awarding agency, NAICS/PSC/CFDA code, place of performance, and dates**, and optionally the **recipient's mailing address and business categories**. Filter by **keyword, recipient, awarding agency, industry code, program, recipient/place-of-performance state, dollar amount, and date**, then download clean JSON, CSV, or Excel.
This Actor reads the **official USAspending.gov API** (`api.usaspending.gov`) — **no account, no API key, no rate-limit application**. It is the *post-award* companion to federal opportunity feeds: SAM.gov tells you what the government *wants to buy*; USAspending tells you **who actually got paid, how much, and for what** — the data you need for competitive intelligence, subcontractor targeting, and grant research.
### What data do you get?
One result per federal award:
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| `awardId` / `usaspendingUrl` | `70B01C25F00001121` + direct award link |
| `category` | `contract` or `assistance` |
| `recipientName` / `recipientUei` | `LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP` / `FYHNA5WC8XD7` |
| `awardAmount` / `totalOutlays` | Obligated dollars and outlays to date |
| `awardType` | `DEFINITIVE CONTRACT`, `BLOCK GRANT (A)`... |
| `description` | `CONSTRUCTION OF BORDER BARRIER WALL SYSTEM.` |
| `awardingAgency` / `awardingSubAgency` / `fundingAgency` | `Department of Homeland Security` / `U.S. Customs and Border Protection` |
| `naics` / `psc` | Industry + product/service code with descriptions (contracts) |
| `cfdaNumber` | Assistance Listing / CFDA program number (grants) |
| `startDate` / `endDate` | Period of performance |
| `placeOfPerformanceState` | Where the work happens |
| `recipientAddress` | **Street, city, state, ZIP, county, congressional district, business categories** (optional enrichment) |
### Use cases
- **GovCon competitive intelligence** — see every contract a competitor won last year, by amount, agency, and NAICS. Track who is winning in your market.
- **Subcontractor & supplier lead generation** — pull prime awardees in your industry and state, turn on `includeRecipientAddress` for mailing addresses, and build a targeted outreach list of funded primes who need subs and suppliers.
- **Grant research** — find every federal grant or assistance award for a program (CFDA number), agency, or recipient type; benchmark award sizes; identify active grantees.
- **Market sizing & analytics** — quantify federal spending by agency, industry, geography, and time for BD strategy or investor research.
- **Recipient due diligence** — verify that an entity actually holds the federal awards it claims, with amounts and periods of performance from the source of record.
- **AI agents / MCP** — a clean, filterable interface to federal spending for agent-driven research and enrichment.
### How to use it
Every large construction contract performed in Texas last fiscal year, with recipient addresses:
```json
{
"awardTypes": ["contracts"],
"naicsCodes": ["236220"],
"placeOfPerformanceStates": ["TX"],
"timePeriodStart": "2024-10-01",
"timePeriodEnd": "2025-09-30",
"minAwardAmount": 1000000,
"includeRecipientAddress": true,
"maxResults": 500
}
````
Every HHS grant to a university:
```json
{
"awardTypes": ["grants"],
"awardingAgency": "Department of Health and Human Services",
"recipientSearchText": ["university"],
"timePeriodStart": "2024-10-01",
"maxResults": 500
}
```
**Filters:** `awardTypes` (contracts, contract-idvs, grants, direct-payments, loans, other), `keywords`, `recipientSearchText`, `awardingAgency`, `naicsCodes`, `pscCodes` (contracts), `cfdaNumbers` (grants), `recipientStates`, `placeOfPerformanceStates`, `timePeriodStart`/`timePeriodEnd`, `minAwardAmount`/`maxAwardAmount`, `includeRecipientAddress`, `maxResults`. At least one narrowing filter is required.
### Data source & freshness
Every run queries the **official USAspending.gov API** live. USAspending is refreshed from the government's financial and award systems (FPDS for contracts, FABS for assistance) on a rolling basis — typically within a day or two of the source transaction. You get whatever USAspending has at the moment of your call; no stale mirror, no monthly file. Because it reads a structured federal API rather than scraping a website, it does not break the way HTML scrapers do.
Notes on coverage: contract awards carry NAICS/PSC codes; assistance awards (grants, direct payments) carry CFDA/Assistance Listing numbers instead — so `naicsCodes`/`pscCodes` apply only to contract award types. The API paginates the top 10,000 matching awards per award-type query (sorted by amount); narrow with filters to reach beyond that.
### Pricing
This Actor uses **pay per result**: you are charged **one `award-record` event per award returned**, and only for records actually delivered. Suggested price **$0.003 per record ($3.00 / 1,000 awards)**.
Why this price: USAspending competitors on the store charge **$0.001–$0.009 per record** (most add an actor-start fee on top). At **$0.003/record with no start fee**, this Actor undercuts the "intelligence"-tier incumbents ($0.005+) while delivering more per record — normalized contract *and* assistance awards in one schema, plus optional recipient-address enrichment that the cheap scrapers do not provide. Start low; you only pay for the awards you keep.
### Why this Actor
- **Official Treasury API, no key** — no SAM.gov-style application, no rate-limit approval, no website scraping to break.
- **Contracts *and* grants in one normalized schema** — most incumbents cover only one; this Actor merges every award category with a single flat record shape.
- **Recipient-address enrichment** — turn awards into mailing lists with one flag, straight from the award record of truth.
- **Pay only for results**, transparent per-record pricing, JSON/CSV/Excel export, and an MCP-ready interface for AI agents.
# Actor input Schema
## `awardTypes` (type: `array`):
Which categories of federal award to search. Contract and assistance types are queried separately and merged.
## `keywords` (type: `array`):
Free-text keywords matched against award descriptions and recipients, e.g. cybersecurity, solar.
## `recipientSearchText` (type: `array`):
Recipient (awardee) name search, e.g. Lockheed, University of Texas.
## `awardingAgency` (type: `string`):
Top-tier awarding agency name, e.g. Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services.
## `naicsCodes` (type: `array`):
Industry NAICS codes (contracts only), e.g. 236220 (commercial building construction).
## `pscCodes` (type: `array`):
Product/Service codes (contracts only), e.g. D307 (IT services).
## `cfdaNumbers` (type: `array`):
Assistance Listing (CFDA) program numbers for grants/assistance, e.g. 93.778 (Medicaid).
## `recipientStates` (type: `array`):
Two-letter state codes of the recipient's location, e.g. TX.
## `placeOfPerformanceStates` (type: `array`):
Two-letter state codes where the work is performed.
## `timePeriodStart` (type: `string`):
Only awards with an action date on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD). Defaults to 365 days ago.
## `timePeriodEnd` (type: `string`):
Only awards with an action date on or before this date (YYYY-MM-DD). Defaults to today.
## `minAwardAmount` (type: `integer`):
Only awards at or above this dollar amount.
## `maxAwardAmount` (type: `integer`):
Only awards at or below this dollar amount.
## `includeRecipientAddress` (type: `boolean`):
Enrich every award with the recipient's mailing address and business categories (one extra API call per award — slower).
## `includeRawData` (type: `boolean`):
Attach the complete raw USAspending search result to every record under raw.
## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):
Maximum number of award records to return. You are only charged for records actually returned.
## Actor input object example
```json
{
"awardTypes": [
"contracts"
],
"recipientSearchText": [
"Lockheed Martin"
],
"includeRecipientAddress": false,
"includeRawData": false,
"maxResults": 500
}
```
# API
You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.
## JavaScript example
```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
token: '',
});
// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
"awardTypes": [
"contracts"
],
"recipientSearchText": [
"Lockheed Martin"
],
"maxResults": 500
};
// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("cblu/usaspending-federal-awards-scraper").call(input);
// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
console.dir(item);
});
// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs
```
## Python example
```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient
# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("")
# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
"awardTypes": ["contracts"],
"recipientSearchText": ["Lockheed Martin"],
"maxResults": 500,
}
# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("cblu/usaspending-federal-awards-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)
# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
print(item)
# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start
```
## CLI example
```bash
echo '{
"awardTypes": [
"contracts"
],
"recipientSearchText": [
"Lockheed Martin"
],
"maxResults": 500
}' |
apify call cblu/usaspending-federal-awards-scraper --silent --output-dataset
```
## MCP server setup
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"apify": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"mcp-remote",
"https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=cblu/usaspending-federal-awards-scraper",
"--header",
"Authorization: Bearer "
]
}
}
}
```
## OpenAPI specification
```json
{
"openapi": "3.0.1",
"info": {
"title": "USAspending Federal Awards Scraper (Contracts & Grants)",
"description": "Extract US federal award records from the official USAspending.gov Treasury API — contracts, grants, loans and direct payments with recipient, amount, agency, NAICS/PSC/CFDA, and dates. Filter by keyword, recipient, agency, code, state, amount, and date. Pay per award record.",
"version": "0.1",
"x-build-id": "gL9Qi0ycSyGdLEcPF"
},
"servers": [
{
"url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
}
],
"paths": {
"/acts/cblu~usaspending-federal-awards-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-cblu-usaspending-federal-awards-scraper",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK"
}
}
}
},
"/acts/cblu~usaspending-federal-awards-scraper/runs": {
"post": {
"operationId": "runs-sync-cblu-usaspending-federal-awards-scraper",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK",
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
}
}
}
}
}
}
},
"/acts/cblu~usaspending-federal-awards-scraper/run-sync": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-cblu-usaspending-federal-awards-scraper",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK"
}
}
}
}
},
"components": {
"schemas": {
"inputSchema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"awardTypes": {
"title": "Award types",
"type": "array",
"description": "Which categories of federal award to search. Contract and assistance types are queried separately and merged.",
"items": {
"type": "string",
"enum": [
"contracts",
"contract-idvs",
"grants",
"direct-payments",
"loans",
"other"
],
"enumTitles": [
"Contracts",
"Contract IDVs",
"Grants",
"Direct payments",
"Loans",
"Other financial assistance"
]
},
"default": [
"contracts",
"grants"
]
},
"keywords": {
"title": "Keywords",
"type": "array",
"description": "Free-text keywords matched against award descriptions and recipients, e.g. cybersecurity, solar.",
"items": {
"type": "string"
}
},
"recipientSearchText": {
"title": "Recipient name",
"type": "array",
"description": "Recipient (awardee) name search, e.g. Lockheed, University of Texas.",
"items": {
"type": "string"
}
},
"awardingAgency": {
"title": "Awarding agency",
"type": "string",
"description": "Top-tier awarding agency name, e.g. Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services."
},
"naicsCodes": {
"title": "NAICS codes (contracts)",
"type": "array",
"description": "Industry NAICS codes (contracts only), e.g. 236220 (commercial building construction).",
"items": {
"type": "string"
}
},
"pscCodes": {
"title": "PSC codes (contracts)",
"type": "array",
"description": "Product/Service codes (contracts only), e.g. D307 (IT services).",
"items": {
"type": "string"
}
},
"cfdaNumbers": {
"title": "CFDA / Assistance Listing numbers (grants)",
"type": "array",
"description": "Assistance Listing (CFDA) program numbers for grants/assistance, e.g. 93.778 (Medicaid).",
"items": {
"type": "string"
}
},
"recipientStates": {
"title": "Recipient states",
"type": "array",
"description": "Two-letter state codes of the recipient's location, e.g. TX.",
"items": {
"type": "string"
}
},
"placeOfPerformanceStates": {
"title": "Place-of-performance states",
"type": "array",
"description": "Two-letter state codes where the work is performed.",
"items": {
"type": "string"
}
},
"timePeriodStart": {
"title": "Awarded on/after",
"type": "string",
"description": "Only awards with an action date on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD). Defaults to 365 days ago."
},
"timePeriodEnd": {
"title": "Awarded on/before",
"type": "string",
"description": "Only awards with an action date on or before this date (YYYY-MM-DD). Defaults to today."
},
"minAwardAmount": {
"title": "Minimum award amount (USD)",
"type": "integer",
"description": "Only awards at or above this dollar amount."
},
"maxAwardAmount": {
"title": "Maximum award amount (USD)",
"type": "integer",
"description": "Only awards at or below this dollar amount."
},
"includeRecipientAddress": {
"title": "Include recipient mailing address",
"type": "boolean",
"description": "Enrich every award with the recipient's mailing address and business categories (one extra API call per award — slower).",
"default": false
},
"includeRawData": {
"title": "Include raw award record",
"type": "boolean",
"description": "Attach the complete raw USAspending search result to every record under raw.",
"default": false
},
"maxResults": {
"title": "Max results",
"minimum": 1,
"maximum": 100000,
"type": "integer",
"description": "Maximum number of award records to return. You are only charged for records actually returned.",
"default": 500
}
}
},
"runsResponseSchema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"data": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"id": {
"type": "string"
},
"actId": {
"type": "string"
},
"userId": {
"type": "string"
},
"startedAt": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time",
"example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
},
"finishedAt": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time",
"example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
},
"status": {
"type": "string",
"example": "READY"
},
"meta": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"origin": {
"type": "string",
"example": "API"
},
"userAgent": {
"type": "string"
}
}
},
"stats": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"inputBodyLen": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 2000
},
"rebootCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"restartCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"resurrectCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"computeUnits": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
},
"options": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"build": {
"type": "string",
"example": "latest"
},
"timeoutSecs": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 300
},
"memoryMbytes": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 1024
},
"diskMbytes": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 2048
}
}
},
"buildId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultDatasetId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultRequestQueueId": {
"type": "string"
},
"buildNumber": {
"type": "string",
"example": "1.0.0"
},
"containerUrl": {
"type": "string"
},
"usage": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 1
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_SERPS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
},
"usageTotalUsd": {
"type": "number",
"example": 0.00005
},
"usageUsd": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
"type": "number",
"example": 0.00005
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_SERPS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
```