Official title: BJA FY 2026 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program—Local Formula
JAG Local only goes to cities and counties whose formula share this year is $10,000 or more. Smaller shares go to the state, which spends them for you or subawards them. Look up your jurisdiction’s allocation →
Every applicant needs an active registration before submitting. The notice asks you to start by September 1, 2026 and no later than September 9, 2026. That date has passed, so if the registration is missing or lapsed, start today.
Step 1, the , is due October 9, 2026, 11:59 PM ET. It tells BJA an application is coming, and without it the next step is locked.
Step 2 is due October 16, 2026, 8:59 PM ET. This is the narrative, budget and attachments the notice lists.
This is a : the amount is already set, so review confirms the application rather than ranking it.
Your city or county can get this money straight from BJA if it is on this year's JAG allocations list, so check that first. It can pay for staff, equipment, supplies, training and information systems for criminal justice work, and it doesn't go through your state.
The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is committed to advancing work that furthers the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) mission to keep our country safe and secure and uphold the rule of law and protect the rights of American citizens. OJP provides federal leadership, funding, and other critical resources to directly support law enforcement, combat violent crime, protect American children, provide services to American crime victims, and address public safety challenges, including human trafficking and the opioid crisis. This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the BJA FY 2026 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program—Local Formula. This opportunity will provide formula funding to eligible units of local government to, in general, support hiring additional personnel and/or purchase equipment, supplies, contractual support, training, technical assistance, and information systems for criminal justice or civil proceedings, including for any one or more of the eleven program areas. Applicants should check the FY26 JAG allocations to determine if they are eligible to receive direct JAG funding from BJA prior to starting an application: https://bja.ojp.gov/program/jag/allocations.
Other units of local government
For a forensic agency, this means
Eligible units of local government—including county, city, township, and tribal governments—can apply directly for JAG funding to hire personnel, purchase equipment and supplies, fund training, and support criminal justice programs including forensics, law enforcement, prosecution, and related services. Applicants must be listed on the JAG Allocations website for their state and apply directly to BJA through Grants.gov and JustGrants.
Median of 156 past Local awards that mention forensic work under this program, from USAspending.gov: $42K. Each award is set by formula, so yours depends on your jurisdiction’s share, not on this figure.
