Grants / Department of Justice / Bureau of Justice Assistance

BJA FY26 DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR)—Competitive Grants Program

Open Closes November 3, 2026 (3 days left) Opportunity O-BJA-2026-172680

• Award ceiling$4.9 million
• Award floornot stated
• Expected awardsnot stated
• Total fundingnot stated
• Cost sharingNot required
• Funding typeGrant

Key dates

Add the deadline to your calendar

Who can apply

This opportunity is open to state and local governments.

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

Other units of local government: For the purposes of this notice of funding opportunity, other units of local government include towns, boroughs, parishes, villages, or other general purpose political subdivisions of a state.

More grants for state and local governments.

Is this a realistic fit?

• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the BJA FY 2026 DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR) — Competitive Grants Program. This opportunity will increase capacity of states and units of local government with existing crime laboratories to process DNA samples for entry into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). The purpose of the CEBR Competitive Program is to maximize the effective utilization of DNA technology to strengthen evidence-based criminal justice responses. The priorities of the CEBR Competitive Program are (1) to use DNA technology to increase the capacity and/or efficiency of publicly funded forensic DNA laboratories to conduct analysis of DNA samples for entry into CODIS and (2) implementing Rapid DNA in the booking station(s) in eligible jurisdictions. The program is designed to fairly and efficiently prioritize jurisdictions facing operational challenges by considering key performance measures reported by publicly funded forensic DNA laboratories. This program is for Competitive funding only. The BJA FY 2026 DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR) — Formula Grants Program for formula funding will post at a later date. Eligible agencies may apply for both Competitive and Formula CEBR Funding.

Category: Law, Justice and Legal Services.

How to apply

1. Read the full notice and attachments on Grants.gov and the agency's announcement. The notice is the official source for deadlines and requirements.
2. Make sure your organization has an active SAM.gov registration and Unique Entity ID; registration can take several weeks.
3. Register on Grants.gov and submit through Workspace before the deadline and time given in the notice. Our application guide walks through each step.

Questions go to Bureau of Justice Assistance, OJP.ResponseCenter@usdoj.gov, 202-514-9354.

Open the official notice