# Delinquent Audits, One-Time Extension, Liability for California Department of Education Audit Costs (a) If an audit is not received on or before the required due date and an extension has not been granted, the audit shall be considered delinquent and all apportionments shall be withheld as specified in Section 18056 of this Division. (b) Except for contractors on conditional status, the California Department of Education (CDE) Office of External Audits may grant a contractor a one-time only, thirty (30) calendar day extension of the audit due date provided the inability of the contractor to submit the audit by the due date was beyond the fault and control of the contractor. (c) Contractors shall be liable for all CDE costs incurred in obtaining an independent audit if the contractor fails to produce or submit an acceptable audit. > NOTE: Authority cited: Section 8261, Education Code. Reference: Sections 8261 and 8448, Education Code. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://title5.caqualityearlylearning.org/accounting-and-reporting-requirements/delinquent-audits-one-time-extension-liability-for-california-department-of-education-audit-costs.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.