Bureau of Justice Assistance · Department of Justice

BJA FY 2026 Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal Assistance

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In short: Bureau of Justice Assistance gives grants of up to $600,000.

Deadline: Due Nov 6, 2026 · 28 days left
Award size: Up to $600K
Match ?: Not required · Work out your budget and match
Who can apply: Set by the official notice: see Who can apply below
Where: Anywhere in the U.S., including Tennessee

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Before you apply: federal grants require an active SAM.gov registration (Unique Entity ID) and a Grants.gov account. The deadline is in 28 days. If your registration isn't already active, it may not be ready in time, so check it today. Get-ready checklist

How this fits you

Only tribes or Native American / Native Hawaiian organizations can apply

Tell us who you are to see whether you're eligible.

About this grant

This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the BJA FY 2026 Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal Assistance Program. This opportunity will support legal assistance to eligible tribal members, federally recognized Indian tribes, and tribal justice systems that provide legal aid and indigent defense services to tribal communities located in rural and remote regions throughout the United States where legal services are sparse. This NOFO will also support specialized training and technical assistance (TTA) to grantees for the development, enrichment, and enhancement of tribal courts and justice system operations. This includes tribal and state joint jurisdiction; veterans’ clinics and legal assistance for Native American veterans; Missing Murdered and Indigenous People; Violence Against Women Act; Tribal Law and Order Act; and Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction.

Who can apply, from the official notice

Categories 1 and 2: Non-profit entities, as defined under section 501(c)(3) of title 26, which provide legal assistance services for Indian tribes, members of Indian tribes, or tribal justice systems pursuant to federal poverty guidelines.; Category 3: national or regional membership organizations and associations whose membership consists of judicial system personnel within tribal justice systems.

Official notice: https://simpler.grants.gov/opportunity/c7372863-40b9-4de6-979e-5ad17135e6b2 · Printed from grantme.click/grants/883e5af6-b6c0-4a7a-a76c-176ce95a8545

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Your schedule, working back from the deadline

Oct9
Check that your SAM.gov registration is active (or start it now)
Grants.gov: allow up to 10 business days for SAM registration, weeks or months if information isn't verified. It must be renewed every year. Grants.gov
Oct16
Ask partners for letters of support or commitment
Suggested: partners need about three weeks to write and sign letters.
Oct30
Finish a complete draft for a final review
Suggested: leave about a week for someone else to read the draft.
Nov4
Submit
Grants.gov: submit at least 24–48 hours before the deadline: uploads fail, systems slow down, errors need fixing. Grants.gov blog
Nov6
Deadline
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See how others wrote it

The agency posted this example. Read them for structure and level of detail. Don't copy their words: funders treat copied text as plagiarism, and requirements change from year to year, so follow the current notice.

Any OJP grant (sample for a rural police department) Sample budgets
A sample budget summary and budget narrative. Not a full application · Link checked Oct 7, 2026

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About the federal program

Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal Assistance Grants, Training and Technical Assistance, also called “Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal Assistance”
Program number 16.815 (the federal Assistance Listing number) · U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs · Project grant

How applications are judged

In each year's official notice: read this year's.

Match

None required (federal program listing).

This program on SAM.gov

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Key facts