Grants / Department of Justice / Bureau of Justice Assistance

O-BJA-2023-171578: BJA FY 23 Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program

Closed Closed April 18, 2023 Opportunity O-BJA-2023-171578 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: BJA FY 2026 Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program (O-BJA-2026-172716). Status: Closes December 2, 2026 (25 days left). It is in our archive of Bureau of Justice Assistance notices from 2023.

• Award ceiling$1.0 million
• Expected awards10
• Cost sharingNot required
• Funding typeGrant

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to state and local governments.

• State governments
• County governments
• City or township governments
• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

Accredited, publicly funded, Combined DNA Index System (commonly known as “CODIS”) forensic laboratoriesMedical examiner officesAccredited, publicly funded toxicology laboratoriesAccredited, publicly funded crime laboratoriesPublicly funded university forensic anthropology laboratoriesNonprofit organizations that have working collaborative agreements with state and county forensic offices — including medical examiners, coroners, and justices of the peace — for entry of data into CODIS or NamUs or bothA state university with an anthropology department, with a forensic tract with labs, would qualify as an eligible applicant under the statutory authority for the MUHR Program, assuming that the applicant also meets all of the other eligibility requirements outlined in the solicitation.

More grants for state and local governments.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program awards averaged $669,929; this notice allows up to $1.0 million per award.
• Most of the program's money (70% over five years) went to state and local governments.
• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

OJP is committed to advancing work that promotes civil rights and racial equity, increases access to justice, supports crime victims and individuals impacted by the justice system, strengthens community safety and protects the public from crime and evolving threats, and builds trust between law enforcement and the community. With this solicitation, BJA seeks applicants for funding to enable eligible entities to improve the reporting, transportation, processing, and identification of missing persons and unidentified human remains, including migrants. Applicants should develop a collaborative approach and partner with other entities/agencies to cover both unidentified and missing persons in their jurisdiction, if applicable. This collaborative approach and partnership will help ensure that the applicant is able to address the overall goals, objectives, and deliverables for the Purpose Area under which they are applying. It is acceptable for an applicant to propose only working unidentified OR missing cases (with the provision of a brief explanation and justification) if doing both is not feasible. For Purpose Area 3 (Services to Assist Small, Rural, and/or Tribal Entities), BJA is seeking to award one applicant that will be able to provide services to assist small, rural, and/or tribal entities on a national scale. If an applicant seeks to assist these groups at the state and local levels only, then they should apply under Purpose Area 1 (Statewide Agencies) or Purpose Area 2 (Counties and/or Units of Local Government).NOTE: The "Eligibility" list on the cover page is based on overall program eligibility as defined in the statutory authority (legislation). Eligible applicants will decide what Purpose Area(s) to apply under based on their service capabilities and adhering to the goals, objectives, and deliverables for those Purpose Areas. Proposals are expected to clearly identify the purpose area to which they are applying. If applicants are requesting funds from multiple purpose areas, a separate proposal must be submitted for each purpose area to which they are applying. Successful Grant Application ExamplesSamples of previous and successful applications under both Purpose Area 1: Statewide Agencies and Purpose Area 2: Counties and/or Units of Local Government can be found at Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program | Funding | Bureau of Justice Assistance (ojp.gov).

Category: Law, Justice and Legal Services.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, O-BJA-2026-172716, which is open now.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.