Official title: BJA FY26 Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement - Formula Grants Program
It applies to BJA for this money on your state’s behalf and passes it on to state and local agencies. Pick your state below to see who it is.
Their deadline comes before the federal one, often by weeks, and each state runs its own process. Contact them now.
You don’t submit anything to BJA yourself. Money reaches local agencies through the state, as a , once the state’s award is made.
Select your state to see its FY2026 Coverdell Formula estimate and the agency that applies for it.
Your state's administering agency applies for formula funds that flow down to your lab through your state's own process. Contact your state forensic science improvement coordinator early, since state deadlines typically come before the federal deadline. This is different from competitive funds, which labs apply for directly to the federal government.
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.
For a forensic agency, this means
State governments apply through their state administering agency (SAA) to improve forensic science and medical examiner/coroner services, including eliminating evidence backlogs, training personnel, and addressing emerging forensic science issues. No cost sharing is required.
Median of 159 past formula awards under this program, from USAspending.gov: $313K. Each award is set by formula, so yours depends on your jurisdiction’s share, not on this figure.
