IIJA Funding: Eligibility, Application Steps, and Match Rules

IIJA funding refers to the $1.2 trillion the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act authorized for transportation, water, energy, and broadband work across the country, with about $550 billion of that representing new spending above prior baselines.¹ Signed as Public Law 117-58 on November 15, 2021, the law pushes that money out through two channels: automatic formula allocations to states, and competitive grants that eligible organizations apply for through Grants.gov.² The five-year authorization ends September 30, 2026, so if you are considering an application, the window is closing.

The FY2026 Deadline Matters Now

The IIJA’s authorization runs through the end of federal fiscal year 2026.³ Formula funds that states have not yet obligated and discretionary grants that agencies have not yet awarded are still moving, but new competitive rounds under the original authorization are winding down. Treat this as the final cycle for most programs. Agencies will keep disbursing money on awards already made well beyond FY2026, but the runway to compete for new dollars is short.

Where the Money Goes

The $550 billion in new spending is spread across physical infrastructure categories. The largest allocations, from the Joint Economic Committee’s breakdown, are:⁴

Roads and bridges: $110 billion, including a Bridge Formula Program distributing $5.5 billion per year to states and a competitive Bridge Investment Program of nearly $16 billion for larger projects.⁵
Clean energy and power transmission: $73 billion for high-voltage transmission lines, grid modernization, and resilience against extreme weather.
Passenger and freight rail: $66 billion for Amtrak upgrades and freight corridor improvements.
Broadband: $65 billion, with $42.45 billion flowing through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program to connect underserved areas.⁶
Water infrastructure: $55 billion, including $15 billion for lead service line replacement through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and $5 billion for emerging contaminants like PFAS in small or disadvantaged communities.⁷⁸
Resilience and weatherization: $50 billion to protect against droughts, floods, and wildfires.
Public transit: $39 billion, including a Low or No Emission grant program for zero-emission buses.⁹
Airports: $25 billion for terminal renovations and runway improvements.
Environmental remediation: $21 billion for Superfund site cleanup, brownfield revitalization, and orphaned well plugging.¹⁰
Ports and waterways: $17 billion for dredging, dock construction, and inland waterway improvements.
Electric vehicle charging: $7.5 billion, split between a $5 billion formula program (NEVI) building out a national charging network and $2.5 billion in competitive grants.¹¹
Clean school buses: $5 billion through an EPA program helping school districts replace diesel buses with zero-emission alternatives.¹²

Formula Funds vs. Competitive Grants

Money reaches recipients through two very different pipes, and knowing which one applies to your project changes how you plan.

Formula funding is non-competitive. The statute itself assigns each state a share based on factors like population, road mileage, or the number of deficient bridges. States receive these dollars automatically once they meet federal administrative requirements. The Tribal Transportation Program distributes funds among tribes through a similar statutory formula.¹³

Discretionary grants are competitive. Agencies like the Department of Transportation or EPA publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity announcing available money, eligible applicants, and evaluation criteria. Applicants submit proposals, and the agency picks winners based on how well each project meets the program’s goals. Application volume typically exceeds available awards by a wide margin.

You Will Owe a Match

Most IIJA programs do not cover 100% of a project’s cost. For highway projects, the federal government pays 90% of Interstate System work and 80% for other federal-aid projects, leaving the state or local sponsor responsible for the rest.¹⁴ That 10% or 20% match can run into millions on large projects, so budgeting for the non-federal share is one of the first planning steps.

Some programs targeting disadvantaged communities reduce or eliminate the match. The IIJA’s lead service line replacement funding through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund provides 49% of funds as grants or principal forgiveness loans with no required state match.⁷

Who Is Eligible to Apply

Eligibility depends on the specific program, but IIJA funding reaches a wide range of organizations:

State governments, the primary recipients for formula funds and manager of most highway and water utility allocations.
Local governments, including counties, cities, and towns, typically leading discretionary applications for bridges, transit expansions, and community revitalization.
Tribal governments, with direct eligibility across dozens of programs from dedicated tribal transportation formula funds to competitive safety and rural transportation grants.¹⁵
Territorial governments (Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands), which qualify for formula allocations and many competitive programs.
Transit agencies and regional authorities applying for transit-specific grants.
School districts, through the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program.¹²
Private companies in certain categories, particularly EV charging network buildout.
Nonprofit organizations, for specific environmental, broadband, and energy efficiency programs when the project serves a broad public interest.

Every Notice of Funding Opportunity spells out which entity types qualify. Confirm your organization appears on that list before investing time in an application.

How to Apply for IIJA Funding

Register Before You Do Anything Else

Your organization must be registered in the System for Award Management at SAM.gov and hold an active Unique Entity Identifier before an agency can issue you an award.¹⁶ The registration must stay current throughout the life of any award, with annual updates. Initial registration can take several weeks. Last-minute SAM.gov issues are one of the most common reasons organizations miss a deadline, so start early.

Assemble the Core Application

The SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance, is the standard cover sheet for nearly every federal grant. It captures your organization’s legal name, tax identification number, address, and the amount requested.¹⁷ Competitive applications also require:

A project narrative describing the scope of work, technical approach, and expected outcomes. This is where the agency judges whether your project advances program goals.
An itemized budget covering labor, materials, equipment, administrative overhead, and the split between federal and non-federal funds.
Environmental review data. The National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies to assess potential environmental impacts before disbursing funds, so infrastructure applicants must document how construction might affect ecosystems, waterways, or historical sites. Completing the review is generally a condition of receiving funds, not of applying.¹⁸

Submit Through Grants.gov

Most discretionary applications are submitted through Grants.gov. Upload the SF-424, project narrative, budget, and supporting documents into the specific opportunity folder. The portal runs a validation check for missing fields and formatting errors before accepting the submission. Once uploaded, you receive a unique tracking number. Save it. That number is your only way to check the application’s status in the federal system. Agency review then takes months before a formal award letter goes out to successful applicants.¹⁹

Help for Smaller Communities

Smaller cities and rural communities without dedicated grant-writing staff can get free help. The Department of Transportation’s Thriving Communities Program provides planning, technical assistance, and capacity-building support specifically designed to help under-resourced communities develop competitive applications and deliver projects.²⁰

What You Take On When You Win

An IIJA award is the start of a compliance relationship, not the end of paperwork. The obligations flow down to subrecipients and subcontractors, and the lead recipient is responsible for the whole chain.

Buy America Sourcing

Section 70914 of the IIJA, the Build America, Buy America Act, requires that all iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials used in a federally funded infrastructure project be produced in the United States.²¹ This applies to every new award and to funding modifications on existing awards made after May 14, 2022.

Three waiver categories exist when domestic sourcing is not feasible. An agency head may waive the requirement if domestic products are not available in sufficient quantity or quality, if using domestic materials would raise project cost by more than 25%, or if a waiver is otherwise in the public interest.²² A waiver request needs a detailed written justification and a certification of good-faith effort to find domestic suppliers. Before filing, check whether your agency has already issued a general applicability waiver covering your materials.

Davis-Bacon Wages

All IIJA-funded construction projects must pay laborers and mechanics at least the prevailing wage for similar work in the project’s locality, as determined by the Department of Labor.²³ Section 41101 of the IIJA extends this to virtually every construction, alteration, or repair project funded by the law.²⁴

In practice, that means keeping detailed hour and wage records, submitting certified payrolls weekly, and filing semiannual compliance reports. Workers must be paid at least weekly. Bona fide apprentices in registered programs may be paid below the prevailing rate; everyone else receives the full amount including fringe benefits. These requirements must be written into every subcontract.

Financial Reporting and Audits

Recipients file the SF-425 Federal Financial Report at least annually, with each report due within 90 days after the end of the calendar quarter in which the budget period ends. The final financial report is due within 120 days after the award’s competitive segment closes.²⁵

Any organization spending $1,000,000 or more in federal awards during a fiscal year must undergo a Single Audit, an independent examination of both financial statements and federal program compliance.²⁶ Recipients below that threshold are exempt from the audit but must keep records available for federal review.

All financial records, supporting documents, and programmatic records must be retained for three years from the date you submit your final financial report.²⁷ If litigation, an audit, or a claim is pending when the three-year clock would expire, keep the records until it is resolved. Property and equipment bought with federal funds carry a separate three-year retention period that starts after final disposition of the asset.

The Justice40 Scoring Edge

Many IIJA grant programs incorporate the Justice40 Initiative, a White House directive requiring that 40% of the overall benefits from federal investments in climate, clean energy, and sustainable transportation flow to disadvantaged communities.²⁸ Applications that demonstrate benefits to historically overburdened or underinvested communities often receive scoring advantages, and some programs reduce or eliminate cost-share for disadvantaged community applicants.

Agencies use a federal screening tool to identify which census tracts qualify as disadvantaged based on pollution burden, poverty rates, and infrastructure deficits. If your project is located in or serves one of these communities, flagging that alignment in your narrative can meaningfully improve your competitive position.

1
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) / Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)
2
Congress.gov. Public Law 117-58 – Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
3
Federal Highway Administration. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)
4
Joint Economic Committee. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Economic Benefits Fact Sheet
5
Congressional Research Service. Highway Bridges: Conditions, Funding Programs, and Issues for Congress
6
Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Commerce. Broadband
7
US EPA. Identifying Funding Sources for Lead Service Line Replacement
8
US EPA. Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities Grant (SDC)
9
Federal Transit Administration. Low or No Emission Grant Program – 5339(c)
10
U.S. Department of the Interior. Orphaned Wells
11
US Department of Transportation. Federal Funding Programs
12
US EPA. Clean School Bus Program
13
Federal Highway Administration. Tribal Transportation Program
14
Federal Highway Administration. Federal Share
15
US Department of Transportation. Fact Sheet: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Will Deliver for Tribal Nations
16
eCFR. 2 CFR Part 25 – Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management
17
Grants.gov. Application for Federal Assistance SF-424
18
Bureau of Justice Assistance. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Guidance
19
Office of Justice Programs. Funding Tips: What To Expect After Applying in Grants.gov
20
US Department of Transportation. Thriving Communities Program
21
Department of Energy. Build America, Buy America
22
Department of Energy. Build America, Buy America Act Provisions
23
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 40 USC 3142 – Rate of Wages for Laborers and Mechanics
24
Department of Energy. Davis-Bacon Act Requirements for Recipients of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Funding
25
National Institutes of Health. Federal Financial Report (FFR)
26
eCFR. 2 CFR 200.501 – Audit Requirements
27
eCFR. 2 CFR 200.334 – Record Retention Requirements
28
The White House. M-21-28 – Justice40 Initiative Guidance