Byrne JAG Program: Eligibility, Allowed Uses, and Reporting

The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, commonly called the Byrne JAG program, is the main channel for federal criminal justice funding to state and local governments, with a top-line appropriation of $964 million for fiscal year 2026. The Bureau of Justice Assistance administers it under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, distributing money by formula to states and qualifying local jurisdictions for a broad menu of law enforcement, court, corrections, prevention, and victim service uses.

How the Money Is Split

Byrne JAG uses a two-stage statutory formula. The national total is first divided among states and territories on a 50/50 blend: half by each state’s share of the national population, half by each state’s share of reported violent crime over the most recent three-year period. Every state is guaranteed at least 0.25 percent of the total, so smaller and lower-crime states still receive a meaningful allocation.¹

Once a state’s number is set, 60 percent goes to the state government and 40 percent flows to local governments within the state. The local pool is subdivided by each jurisdiction’s share of the state’s three-year violent crime average. The full appropriation does not reach the formula, though: set-asides for specific initiatives bring the formula-distributed portion of the FY2026 total to roughly $346 million.²

Who Is Eligible

States and State Administering Agencies

Each state designates a State Administering Agency to run its share of the program. The SAA files the statewide application, distributes pass-through funds to local governments, and monitors subrecipient compliance. Because the state controls 60 percent of the allocation, the SAA has real discretion over which criminal justice priorities get funded, within the authorized purpose areas.³

Local Governments and the $10,000 Floor

Cities, counties, and townships that the Census Bureau recognizes as general-purpose local governments can qualify for direct awards. If a jurisdiction’s formula-calculated share reaches $10,000 or more, the Bureau of Justice Assistance sends the money directly. Jurisdictions below that floor do not apply on their own; their share rolls into the state allocation, and they seek funding through the SAA instead.⁴

States are also required to pass through additional funds beyond the automatic 40 percent local share. The U.S. Census Bureau sets a Variable Pass-Through rate each year that determines how much of the state’s 60 percent must move down to localities, and states also pass through the shares of jurisdictions that fell below the $10,000 direct-award floor. The Variable Pass-Through requirement does not apply to the District of Columbia or U.S. territories.⁵

Disparate Jurisdictions

When the split between a county and the cities inside it becomes lopsided, the statute treats them as a “disparate” group that must file a joint application. That happens most often when a city qualifies for a direct award but the county does not, even though the county runs prosecution, jails, and other shared services. It is also triggered when a single municipality’s award exceeds 150 percent of its county’s award, or when combined municipal awards exceed 400 percent of the county’s award.⁴

Members of a disparate group have to agree on how to divide the joint allocation, pick one jurisdiction to act as fiscal agent, and sign a Memorandum of Understanding covering the split and each jurisdiction’s planned uses. Without a completed MOU by the deadline, the Bureau of Justice Assistance withholds funds until it is filed.⁴

What the Funds Can Pay For

The statute authorizes spending across a wide set of categories: law enforcement, prosecution and courts, prevention and education, corrections and community corrections, drug treatment and enforcement, planning and technology improvement, and crime victim and witness services. Later amendments added mental health programs and crisis intervention teams, specialized court proceedings (mental health courts, drug courts, veterans courts, and extreme risk protection order programs), unmanned aircraft systems for public safety, and counter-UAS systems.⁶

The flexibility is real. A county can put its allocation into body cameras one year and drug court staffing the next. What matters is that spending fits an authorized category and matches the program narrative in the application.

Prohibited and Restricted Purchases

Certain expenditures are blocked outright or need extra approval. Byrne JAG funds cannot buy security equipment for nongovernmental organizations unless those organizations work in criminal justice or public safety. Luxury items, real estate, and construction (other than jails or prisons) are also off-limits unless the Attorney General certifies in writing that extraordinary circumstances make the purchase essential to public safety.³

Vehicles, vessels, and aircraft are restricted. Standard police cruisers, police boats, and police helicopters used for routine patrol are allowed. Pickups, SUVs, motorcycles, and other vehicles need a written waiver from the Department of Justice. Drones are not prohibited but require prior written approval from the Bureau of Justice Assistance before purchase.⁷

Non-Supplanting and the 10 Percent Cap

Every applicant certifies that the money will supplement state or local spending, not replace it. A city cannot lay off officers paid from its own budget and rehire them with federal funds. Administrative costs, including any interest earned on the funds, are capped at 10 percent of the total award, and that ceiling covers both direct and indirect administrative expense, so jurisdictions with overhead rates need to watch the math.⁴

What Applying Requires

Before touching the application, a jurisdiction needs a current System for Award Management registration and a valid Unique Entity Identifier. The legal name on the application has to match the SAM record exactly. Lapsed registrations are a common source of delay.⁴

The core of the application is a program narrative describing what the jurisdiction plans to do with the funds and how the project addresses local needs, paired with a budget detail worksheet itemizing every anticipated expense. Vague narratives can hold up approval. The Bureau of Justice Assistance provides templates for both.

The completed application must go to the jurisdiction’s governing body, or an organization designated by that body, for review at least 30 days before it is filed federally. It must also be made available for public comment by residents and community organizations to the extent local law allows. The chief executive certifies that both steps happened. If the 30-day review is not finished by the application deadline, the jurisdiction can still apply, but funding is withheld until the certification is filed.⁸

The chief executive who signs is the mayor, county executive, city manager, or equivalent official with ultimate executive authority, not the chief legal officer. The certification confirms legal authority to apply, compliance with the non-supplanting rule, and completion of the governing body review. A separate certification signed by a principal legal officer is required only when a jurisdiction plans to use funds for extreme risk protection order programs.⁹

In some fiscal years the Department of Justice has also required applicants to certify compliance with 8 U.S.C. § 1373, which bars state and local governments from restricting the sharing of immigration-related information with federal authorities. Whether that condition attaches to a given year’s award depends on the solicitation.¹⁰

Filing, Award, and Reporting

The application moves through two federal platforms. Applicants submit the SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance) and SF-LLL (Disclosure of Lobbying Activities) through Grants.gov, and that submission then migrates to JustGrants, where the program narrative, budget worksheet, and remaining attachments are uploaded to finish the application.¹¹

Award notifications typically arrive around late September, with the grant period starting October 1. Awards of $25,000 or more carry a four-year period of performance. Smaller awards under $25,000 have a two-year period, but extensions to four years are approved automatically on request.¹²

Recipients file semi-annual performance reports against the goals in the program narrative and quarterly financial reports on the SF-425 (Federal Financial Report). A missed deadline is not a paperwork nuisance: the Bureau of Justice Assistance suspends the payment account and blocks drawdowns until the delinquent report is filed.⁴

Audits and Records

Federal rules require recipients and subrecipients to keep grant-related records for at least three years after the final financial report is filed. If litigation, an audit finding, or a claim arises inside that window, records must be kept until the matter is resolved. Property and equipment bought with grant funds have their own three-year clock that starts when the jurisdiction disposes of the item.¹³

Any non-federal entity that spends $1,000,000 or more in federal awards during a fiscal year has to undergo a Single Audit. The threshold applies to all federal spending, not just Byrne JAG, so most jurisdictions receiving multiple federal grants already handle this each year.¹⁴

How Jurisdictions Lose Byrne JAG Money

Several federal laws tie compliance obligations to Byrne JAG funding, and failure triggers automatic reductions:

Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA): a state that fails to substantially implement SORNA loses 10 percent of its allocation for that fiscal year.¹⁵
Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA): if the governor does not certify full compliance with PREA standards, the state loses 5 percent.⁴
Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA): a state that fails DCRA reporting requirements can lose up to 10 percent.⁴

The reductions stack. A state out of compliance with both SORNA and PREA loses 15 percent before a dollar is distributed. The Bureau of Justice Assistance also withholds funds when required statewide strategic plans, annual reports, or DCRA implementation plans are missing or incomplete, and late reports from individual recipients trigger immediate payment suspensions until the filing catches up.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 34 USC 10156 – Formula
2
Congress.gov. The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 34 USC Subtitle I, Chapter 101, Subchapter V, Part A – Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program
4
Bureau of Justice Assistance. Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program – Frequently Asked Questions
5
Bureau of Justice Assistance. JAG Pass-Through Information
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 34 USC 10152 – Description
7
Bureau of Justice Assistance. Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program Prohibited Equipment Guidance
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 34 USC 10153 – Applications
9
Bureau of Justice Assistance. Certifications and Assurances by the Chief Executive of the Applicant Unit of Local Government
10
United States Department of Justice. Justice Department Sends Letters to 29 Jurisdictions Regarding Their Compliance with 8 USC 1373
11
Department of Justice. How to Apply in Grants.gov
12
Bureau of Justice Assistance. Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program Fact Sheet
13
eCFR. 2 CFR 200.334 – Record Retention Requirements
14
eCFR. 2 CFR 200.501 – Audit Requirements
15
SMART Office. Byrne JAG Grant Reductions Under SORNA