Open for applications

BJA FY 2026 DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR)—Formula Grants Program

Bureau of Justice Assistance · Opportunity number O-BJA-2026-172718

13 days left (deadline Oct 29, 2026)

Details summarized from the official notice as of Oct 15, 2026. Always confirm eligibility, deadlines and requirements in the official notice before applying.

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Key facts

Opportunity number	O-BJA-2026-172718
Agency	Bureau of Justice Assistance Department of Justice
Assistance listing (ALN, formerly CFDA)	16.036
Posted	Sep 21, 2026
Deadline	Oct 29, 2026
Award ceiling	$3,500,000
Expected number of awards	140
Cost sharing or matching required	No
Funding type	Grant
Category	Law justice and legal services
Last updated here	Oct 15, 2026

Summary from the notice

This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the BJA FY 2026 DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR)—Formula Grants Program. This opportunity will support states and units of local government with existing crime laboratories that conduct DNA analysis to process, and/or to increase the capacity to process, more DNA samples for entry into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), thereby helping to reduce the number of forensic DNA and DNA database samples awaiting analysis and/or to prevent a backlog of forensic and database DNA samples.

Who can apply

The official notice lists these applicant types as eligible:

City or township governments
County governments
Others named in the notice (see the eligibility text)
State governments
Special district governments
Public and state colleges and universities

Who should take a closer look

Colleges and universities
State governments
Local governments

Not listed as eligible

Small businesses
Nonprofits
Tribal governments and organizations
Larger for-profit companies
Individuals

Unless the eligibility text in the notice names you, this opportunity is probably not for you.

Eligibility details from the notice

Other Units of Local Government: For the purposes of this NOFO, “other units of local government” include towns, boroughs, parishes, villages, or other general purpose political subdivisions of a state.

Registrations you will likely need

Most applications submitted through Grants.gov need the following. Registration can take several weeks, so start early. The notice lists the exact requirements.

SAM.gov registration for your organization, which also gives you a Unique Entity ID (UEI). Registration is free.
A Login.gov account, which Grants.gov uses for sign-in.
A Grants.gov applicant registration linked to your organization's UEI.

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Before you apply

Read the full official notice, including the evaluation criteria.
Confirm your organization type and location are eligible.
Check your SAM.gov registration is active.
Note the exact deadline time and time zone in the notice.

BJA FY 2026 DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR)—Formula Grants Program

Key facts

Summary from the notice

Who can apply

Who should take a closer look

Not listed as eligible

Eligibility details from the notice

Registrations you will likely need

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