SPECIAL DEPOSIT FUND ACCOUNTS - 18420

(Revised: 05/2022)

The Special Deposit Fund (SDF) is a trust fund in the State Treasury. This fund provides a depository for money received in trust for specific purposes by an agency/department but for which no other fund has been created. See Government Code Sections 16370–16375.

Establishing an SDF Account

Agencies/Departments may establish an account in the SDF by submitting a request to the Department of Finance, Fiscal Systems and Consulting Unit (FSCU), as outlined in SAM Section 7040.  Agencies/Departments will include the following documents with the request:

1. A cover letter that contains a justification to establish the account.
2. A completed Request to State Controller to Establish or Amend Special Deposit Fund Account form, AUD 10, with a period of availability not to exceed five years.

FSCU will forward approved requests to the State Controller’s Office, State Accounting and Reporting Division (SARD), and notify the requesting agency/department. SARD will assign an account number to the approved SDF account and send a copy of the AUD 10 containing the account number information to the agency/department.

If the money to be deposited in the SDF account is a gift, the agency/department must obtain approval to accept the gift before requesting the SDF account, unless it is statutorily exempted from Finance approval. SAM Section 8634 provides the procedure for the acceptance of gifts.

Extending the Availability Period of an SDF Account

If there is a need to extend the period of availability of an SDF account, agencies/departments will follow the procedure outlined in SAM Section 7040 to obtain approval from FSCU, and submit the following documents at least 45 days before the account is set to expire:

1. A cover letter that includes a justification for the extension request.
2. A completed AUD 10 with a period of availability not to exceed five years from the current expiration date.

FSCU will forward the approved extension requests to SARD and notify the agency/department. After the account has been extended, SARD will send a copy of the approved AUD 10 with the account number information to the requesting agency/department.

Early Termination of an SDF Account

Each agency/department is responsible for notifying SARD when an account in the SDF can be terminated before its expiration date. The notification letter must include the following information:

1. Account title
2. Account number
3. Reason for the termination

Agencies/Departments will submit the original letter to SARD and a copy to FSCU.