BJA FY 2026 Upholding the Rule of Law and Preventing Wrongful Convictions Program

Source-based overview

This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the BJA FY 2026 Upholding the Rule of Law and Preventing Wrongful Convictions Program. This opportunity strengthens the capacity of wrongful conviction review (WCR) entities and their criminal justice and victims’ services partners to more effectively and efficiently identify, assess, and manage post-conviction claims of innocence. Additionally, it aims to enhance public safety by preventing future errors, identifying actual perpetrators of crimes, and delivering justice to victims. The official record contains the controlling eligibility, budget, attachment and submission requirements for opportunity O-BJA-2026-172726.

Eligibility

Eligible applicant types listed by the agency: Special district governments; City or township governments; State governments; County governments; Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education; Private institutions of higher education; Public and State controlled institutions of higher education; Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized); Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments); Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education; Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification). Applicants must also satisfy every programme-specific condition in the official notice.

Funding and benefits

Award ceiling: USD 600,000

Themes and supported activities

This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the BJA FY 2026 Upholding the Rule of Law and Preventing Wrongful Convictions Program. This opportunity strengthens the capacity of wrongful conviction review (WCR) entities and their criminal justice and victims’ services partners to more effectively and efficiently identify, assess, and manage post-conviction claims of innocence. Additionally, it aims to enhance public safety by preventing future errors, identifying actual perpetrators of crimes, and delivering justice to victims.

Opportunity number: O-BJA-2026-172726

Deadline and timeline

Applications close 2026-11-02: Applications close 2026-11-02: Nov 2, 2026.

Applicants should confirm the exact deadline time, time zone, required documents, portal steps and any institutional approvals on the official call page before submitting.

How to apply

Open the official Grants.gov record, review the full notice and attachments, and use the application package or agency route stated there.

Before applying, check eligibility rules, budgets, attachments, page limits, partner requirements, cost-share conditions and whether the opportunity uses an expression of interest, full proposal, registration or nomination stage.