As an applicant using Grants.gov, it’s crucial you manage your Grants.gov and Login.gov passwords effectively. In this blog post, we provide tips and advice on keeping your account secure, using and resetting your passwords, and using your password to log into the Grants.gov mobile application and website.
Grants.gov Applicants Sign in at Login.gov
Once you link your Login.gov account to your Grants.gov account, you only need to maintain one set of credentials (for Login.gov) to log into the Grants.gov website. However, to use the Grants.gov mobile application, you will need your username and password for your Grants.gov account.
To improve user security, as well as comply with Executive Order 14028, Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity, Login.gov is used by over 60 applications at 17 federal agencies and allows users to access multiple government websites, including Grants.gov, with a single username and password.
Password Requirements
Your passwords should be unique to each of your accounts. Don’t reuse passwords! Using the same password for many accounts is unsafe since it makes identity and data theft easier. Instead, create passwords that are easy to remember but hard to guess.
Your Login.gov password must be at least 12 characters. There are no other restrictions. You can even use more than one word with spaces to get to 12 characters. Try using a phrase or a series of words that only you recognize. A highly effective method is to use a passphrase you create as a long, memorable, and strong password. Research by the National Institute of Standards and Technology shows that passphrases longer than 15 characters with multiple words are more secure than short, complex passwords with letters, special characters, and numbers. Try something like SpringIsFinallyHere!SummerWillFollow or PizzaSauceExperiment9CompleteLetsEat.
On the other hand, the password you choose for Grants.gov must meet the following password requirements.
- Must contain at least eight (8) characters
- Must contain at least one (1) uppercase letter (A-Z)
- Must contain one (1) lowercase letter (a-z)
- Must contain at least one (1) number (0-9)
- Must contain one (1) special character (e.g. ! @ # $ % ^ & *)
- Cannot be the same as the previous six (6) passwords
- Cannot contain dictionary words, names, or your username
- Cannot contain common password sequences (e.g., 1234, !@#$%)
Forgot Your Password?
If you forget your Login.gov password, go to Login.gov, select the Forgot Your Password link at the bottom of the page, and follow the prompts.
If you want to use the Grants.gov Mobile App, but forgot your Grants.gov password, log in to Grants.gov using your Login.gov password and go to My Account > Change Password. Note that once your Grants.gov account is linked with Login.gov, you’ll only need your Grants.gov password when you use the Grants.gov Mobile App.
Once your Grants.gov account is linked with Login.gov, the only time you’ll need your Grants.gov password is when you use the Grants.gov mobile application.
If you haven’t linked your Grants.gov account to Login.gov and need to reset your Grants.gov password but don’t have access to the same email account used when you created the Grants.gov account, contact the Grants.gov Help Desk at support@grants.gov. Why? If you don’t have access to that email account, you won’t be able to receive a temporary code for resetting the Grants.gov password. The Help Desk can assist.
For More Information
These articles in Grants.gov Online Help have details and instructions that will help you manage your password:
Grants.gov Community Blog 