Bureau of Justice Assistance · Department of Justice
BJA FY 2026 DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR)—Formula Grants Program
Key facts
- Deadline
- Due Oct 29, 2026 · 23 days left
- Award size
- Up to $3.5M
- Cost share / match
- Not required
- Who can apply
- City or town government, County government, Other (see eligibility), State government, Special district (utility, fire, etc.), Public college or university
- Where
- Anywhere in the U.S., including Tennessee
How this fits you
- Available in Tennessee (nationwide program)
- No cost share required
- Tennessee recipients since 2023: 3
Tell us who you are to see whether you're eligible.
Read the official notice View on Grants.gov
About this grant
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.
Eligibility (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.
Who in Tennessee has won this program
3 awards to Tennessee recipients in 1 county since federal FY2023. Largest shown:
| Recipient | Where | Amount | FY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee Bureau Of Investigation | Nashville, Davidson County | $2M | 2025 |
| Tennessee Bureau Of Investigation | Nashville, Davidson County | $470K | 2021 |
| Nashville & Davidson County, Metropolitan Government Of | Nashville, Davidson County | $244K | 2025 |
Source: USAspending.gov. Past awards show who this program funds; they don't guarantee future awards.
About the program (16.036)
Comprehensive Forensic DNA Analysis Grant Program — Cold Cases
How applications are judged
Criteria for selecting proposals is determined as part of the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO).
Matching requirements
This program has no statutory formula.
Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.
MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.
Examples of funded projects
Not Applicable.