FPDS Query Library
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Department Id

Code identifying the department-level agency associated with the contracting office that issued the award. It is a coded identifier, not a text description, and is used to represent the parent department for the contracting office.

Family: Award
Category: Purchaser Information
Data Type: identifier_or_code
Semantic Type: identifier
Mapping: flattened_fpds_xml_field
AI Confidence: high

Variable Overview

FPDS Query Variable
content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentID
Title
Department Id
FPDS Path
award/purchaserInformation/contractingOfficeAgencyID/departmentID
Description
Code identifying the department-level agency associated with the contracting office that issued the award. It is a coded identifier, not a text description, and is used to represent the parent department for the contracting office.
Business Meaning
This field supports agency-level reporting, aggregation, and oversight by tying an award to the department responsible for the contracting office. Analysts use it to group obligations by cabinet-level or department-level organization, compare activity across departments, and reconcile office-level awards to higher-level agency structures.
Example Value
8900
Observed Non-Null Count
111,509,019

FPDS Compare

FPDS Query Variable
content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentID
FPDS XML Path
award/purchaserInformation/contractingOfficeAgencyID/departmentID
Mapping Type
flattened_fpds_xml_field
Comparison Summary
FPDS Query flattens the original nested FPDS XML path 'award/purchaserInformation/contractingOfficeAgencyID/departmentID' into the SQL-ready variable 'content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentID'.

Use Cases

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

Common Usage

  • Group awards by parent department
  • Join to agency reference or lookup tables
  • Filter awards for a specific department code

Common Mistakes

  • Assuming the value is a department name instead of a code
  • Using it interchangeably with contracting office or bureau identifiers

Query Guidance

Use this field in WHERE, GROUP BY, and JOIN clauses as a coded key. For readable output, join to a reference table that maps departmentID to the department name, and normalize data types or padding before comparing values.

SQL Examples

Preview values

SELECT
    content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentID AS department_id
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentID IS NOT NULL
LIMIT 25

Top values

SELECT
    content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentID AS value,
    count() AS record_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentID 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.