FPDS Query Library
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Approved Date

Timestamp showing when the award transaction was approved in FPDS. It records the approval moment for the specific transaction, not the contract award date itself.

Family: Award
Category: General
Data Type: string
Semantic Type: attribute
Mapping: flattened_fpds_xml_field
AI Confidence: high

Variable Overview

FPDS Query Variable
content__award__transactionInformation__approvedDate
Title
Approved Date
FPDS Path
award/transactionInformation/approvedDate
Description
Timestamp showing when the award transaction was approved in FPDS. It records the approval moment for the specific transaction, not the contract award date itself.
Business Meaning
This field helps analysts establish the sequence and timing of procurement actions, especially for workflow analysis, processing latency, and reconciliation of transaction events. It is useful for distinguishing when an action was approved versus when it was obligated, posted, or otherwise finalized in the record.
Example Value
2011-09-23 13:22:15
Observed Non-Null Count
82,242,841

FPDS Compare

FPDS Query Variable
content__award__transactionInformation__approvedDate
FPDS XML Path
award/transactionInformation/approvedDate
Mapping Type
flattened_fpds_xml_field
Comparison Summary
FPDS Query flattens the original nested FPDS XML path 'award/transactionInformation/approvedDate' into the SQL-ready variable 'content__award__transactionInformation__approvedDate'.

Use Cases

  • Dictionary lookup and field explanation
  • SQL filtering and grouping
  • Analytical reporting and reusable query building

Common Usage

  • Ordering transaction events within an award record
  • Measuring approval-to-posting or approval-to-obligation timing
  • Filtering transactions by approval window

Common Mistakes

  • Using it as the award date or contract effective date
  • Comparing values without normalizing date-time format and time zone assumptions

Query Guidance

Parse the string as a timestamp and filter or group on the approved datetime, not just the calendar date, when precision matters. Use it in ORDER BY, WHERE, and window functions to sequence transactions and calculate elapsed time between approval and other award milestones.

SQL Examples

Preview values

SELECT
    content__award__transactionInformation__approvedDate AS approved_date
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__award__transactionInformation__approvedDate IS NOT NULL
LIMIT 25

Top values

SELECT
    content__award__transactionInformation__approvedDate AS value,
    count() AS record_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__award__transactionInformation__approvedDate IS NOT NULL
GROUP BY value
ORDER BY record_count DESC
LIMIT 25

Each dictionary item includes SQL-ready examples generated alongside the variable metadata, allowing immediate use in FPDS Query for filtering, aggregation, and analysis.