Introduction

This guide was updated in November 2024.

Welcome to the Public Financial Disclosure Guide, a web-based set of guidance for completing and reviewing the Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 278e) and the supplemental Periodic Transaction Report (OGE Form 278-T).

Transparency is a critical part of government ethics, and Congress has determined that the citizens should know their leaders’ financial interests. To facilitate such transparency, Congress enacted the financial disclosure provisions of the Ethics in Government Act. The Act imposes detailed requirements for public financial disclosure by senior United States Government officials. The OGE Form 278e and the OGE Form 278-T are financial disclosure reports that request only as much information as the Act requires a filer to disclose.

To assist you with completing or reviewing a report, the Public Financial Disclosure Guide offers helpful instructions, illustrations of sample language, definitions, and answers to frequently asked questions in plain language. We have attempted to keep our instructions clear and concise without compromising detail and accuracy.

Feedback

This guide is an evolving document, which we plan to update over time. We encourage feedback and invite you to send your comments, suggestions, corrections, or submissions to contactOGE@oge.gov.

Additional Questions

If you are a filer and have additional financial disclosure questions that are not answered in this guide, please contact an ethics official at your agency. If you are an agency ethics official, please direct additional financial disclosure questions to your OGE desk officer.

Disclaimer

This guide was updated in November 2024.

OGE has made updates only to the web-based version of the Guide. Appendix C details all substantive changes to the Guide. OGE will announce future updates to the Guide by listserv message unless the change in guidance would require a Legal Advisory. 

Please note that OGE is phasing out the PDF version of the Guide and the PDF has not been updated.

Do not rely on statements in this guide for investment advice. This guide is intended solely for general informational purposes. This guide supersedes earlier OGE training publications, but applicable statutes and regulations are the final authorities.

In addition, although the use of the sample language provided in this guide promotes a degree of consistency in reporting common items, OGE recognizes that there may be other ways of reporting particular interests.