BJS FY 2026 National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) Training and Technical Assistance
Closed Posted
- Opportunity number
- O-BJS-2026-172689
- Agency
-
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Office of Justice Programs, Department of Justice
- Applications due
- Award size
- Up to $1,500,000
Opportunity facts
- Assistance listings
- Funding instrument
- Cooperative Agreement
- Category
-
- Information and Statistics
- Eligible applicants
-
- 501(c)(3) Nonprofits
- Non-501(c)(3) Nonprofits
- Higher Education Inst. (Private)
- For Profit Organizations
- Higher Education Inst. (Public)
- Points of contact
-
- Steven W. Perry askbjs@usdoj.gov (202) 307-0765
- Full announcement
Opportunity details come from Grants.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The Bureau of Justice Statistics is soliciting applications for one cooperative agreement to provide training and technical assistance under the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP), with an application due date of September 28, 2026. The award ceiling is $1.5 million for an 18-month project period beginning no earlier than October 1, 2026, and no later than January 1, 2027. No cost sharing is required.
Eligible applicants include public and private institutions of higher education, 501(c)(3) nonprofits, non-501(c)(3) nonprofits, and for-profit organizations. The program provides direct technical assistance to states, territories, and tribal jurisdictions to ensure criminal history record systems conform to FBI standards, utilize appropriate technologies, and maintain privacy and confidentiality standards. Required deliverables include virtual or on-site technical assistance visits, telephone and web support, at least two virtual workshops on criminal record management issues, and data collection through biennial surveys of state record repositories.
The proposal narrative must address need, project goals and objectives, project design and implementation, and organizational capabilities and competencies. Evaluation criteria are weighted as follows: 5 percent need, 15 percent goals and objectives, 35 percent design and implementation, 30 percent capabilities, and 15 percent budget. Applicants must demonstrate significant expertise in criminal history records, NICS processes, the Interstate Identification Index (III), court systems, integration planning, and privacy policy implementation.
The program supports activities under NCHIP, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP), and portions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. Award notification is anticipated December 1, 2026. The submission process requires SF-424 completion and Grants.gov submission by September 28, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET, followed by full application submission to JustGrants by October 5, 2026 at 8:59 PM ET. CFDA 16.554.
Synopsis
This program will continue to support activities under the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP), the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP), and portions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (Pub. L. 117-159) in fiscal year (FY) 2024. Direct technical assistance is provided to states, territories, and tribal jurisdictions to ensure that records systems are developed and managed to conform to FBI standards, ensure jurisdictions are using the most appropriate technologies, and adhere to the highest standards of practice with respect to privacy and confidentiality. This program also routinely collects and evaluates performance measures to assess the level of improvement of state and national records holdings, as well as information sharing and exchanges. BJS has supported the NCHIP TTA program since 1995. This program furthers the DOJ's mission to reduce violent crime and address gun violence by improving the accuracy, utility, and interstate accessibility of criminal-history and related records in support of national record systems and their use for name- and fingerprint-based criminal history background checks.
Files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| PKG00294009.pdf |
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