OpenOpportunity O-BJA-2026-172759

BJA FY26 Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement - Formula Grants Program

Bureau of Justice Assistance · Department of Justice

At a glance

BJA FY26 Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement - Formula Grants Program is an open federal grant opportunity from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (Department of Justice). Applications are due October 30, 2026. Individual awards are listed as up to $23.8M. Applicant types listed as eligible include state governments. Cost sharing is not required. It is funded under Assistance Listing 16.742 (Paul Coverdell Forensic Sciences Improvement Grant Program).

Summary assembled from the official notice's fields. The official notice governs.

Key facts

Sep 21, 2026Posted
Oct 30, 2026Application deadlinenext date

Posted: Sep 21, 2026
Close date: Oct 30, 2026
Award floor: Not specified
Award ceiling: $23,757,080
Est. total funding: Not specified
Expected awards: Not specified
Cost sharing: Not required
Funding instrument: Grant
Opportunity category: Mandatory

Who can apply

State governments

Also named in the notice's eligibility text

County governments
City or township governments

Matched from the wording above by GrantsJunction — confirm in the full announcement.

Can your organization apply?

A quick check against the listed applicant types — other requirements in the notice still apply.

Based on the published notice. Review the official notice for complete eligibility requirements.

What it funds

Official synopsis as published by the agency, formatted for readability.

Under the Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvements Grant Program, state administering agencies (SAAs) may be eligible and apply for both formula and competitive funds. This NOFO is ONLY for formula funds. An applicant seeking to apply for Coverdell competitive funds (consistent with 34 U.S.C. § 10563(a)(2)) that are available to eligible states and units of local government would need to apply separately under BJA’s FY 2026 Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement—Competitive Grants Program NOFO.

How to apply

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Read the full announcement (NOFO)Eligibility, evaluation criteria, page limits and required attachments are in the full notice on Grants.gov. Open ↗
Confirm eligibility and fitCheck your organization type above; no cost sharing is required.
Register (or renew) in SAM.gov and get a UEIFree. New registrations can take several weeks; registrations must be renewed every year. Open ↗
Set up Grants.gov accessCreate a Grants.gov account and make sure someone has the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) role. Open ↗
Open the application packageUse opportunity number O-BJA-2026-172759 on Grants.gov (Grants.gov Workspace). Open ↗
Prepare narrative, budget and attachmentsFollow the notice's format exactly — page limits and required forms are common reasons applications are rejected.
Ask the agency contact any questions earlyBureau of Justice Assistance · OJP.ResponseCenter@usdoj.gov Open ↗
Submit before October 30, 2026Submit a few days early and keep your Grants.gov confirmation and validation emails.

Assistance Listing

What is an ALN?

16.742Paul Coverdell Forensic Sciences Improvement Grant ProgramProgram →

Reported obligations under ALN 16.742

Historical data · not a prediction

FY24

$29.5M

FY25

—

FY26

— est.

Source: SAM.gov Assistance Listing 16.742. Program-wide totals, not awards from this specific opportunity.

Who was funded under ALN 16.742

Historical data · not a prediction

Since October 1, 2023, 264 grant awards had funding actions under Paul Coverdell Forensic Sciences Improvement Grant Program, with 283 sub-awards passed on to other organizations. These are program-wide awards, not awards from this specific notice.

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT$2.13M
OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES$2.03M
TEXAS OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR$1.77M
KANSAS BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION$1M
STATE POLICE OREGON DEPARTMENT$813K

Recipients, states, recent awards and sub-awards →Source: USAspending.gov.

Agency contact (as published)

Bureau of Justice Assistance
OJP.ResponseCenter@usdoj.gov
202-514-9354

Quick answers

When is the deadline for “BJA FY26 Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement - Formula Grants Program”?

According to the official notice, applications are due October 30, 2026. Confirm the deadline and submission time on Grants.gov before applying.

Who is eligible to apply for “BJA FY26 Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement - Formula Grants Program”?

The official notice names these applicant types as eligible: State governments. Additional restrictions may apply; review the full notice.

How much funding is available through “BJA FY26 Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement - Formula Grants Program”?

Per the notice, individual awards are listed as up to $23.8m.

How do I apply for “BJA FY26 Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement - Formula Grants Program”?

Applications are submitted through the official source, not through GrantsJunction. Open the official notice on Grants.gov (opportunity O-BJA-2026-172759), and review the full announcement and application package. Organizations applying through Grants.gov generally need an active SAM.gov registration and a Grants.gov account, which can take several weeks to set up.

Matched on shared Assistance Listings, agency, categories and eligible applicant types.

OpenALN 16.742