The National 911 Grant Program is a federal matching grant, jointly administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, that helps state, tribal, and territorial governments move their 911 centers from legacy analog systems to Next Generation 911 (NG911). The federal share covers up to 60 percent of a project’s cost; the applicant has to fund the remaining 40 percent or more from non-federal sources.1National 911 Program. Federal Funding for 911 Grants go to governments, not to individual Public Safety Answering Points, and applicants have to certify that they haven’t diverted 911 fees to unrelated purposes.
Who Can Apply
Funding flows to state governments, tribal organizations, and territorial governments, which then distribute money to the 911 centers within their jurisdictions.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 942 – Coordination of 9-1-1, E9-1-1, and Next Generation 9-1-1 Implementation A state applicant has to meet four conditions:
- It has coordinated its application with the 911 centers located within its jurisdiction.
- It has designated a single officer or governmental body as its 911 coordinator. That person doesn’t need legal authority over 911 operations; the role is a central point of contact.
- It has an established plan for coordination and implementation of 911, E911, and NG911 services.
- It has integrated the telecommunications services involved in delivering 911.
Tribal organizations that aren’t state governments have to meet the coordination, planning, and integration requirements themselves, and the state where they’re located has to have a designated 911 coordinator in place.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 942 – Coordination of 9-1-1, E9-1-1, and Next Generation 9-1-1 Implementation
The 40 Percent Match Requirement
The federal share of any funded project can’t exceed 60 percent of total cost. The applicant identifies the non-federal sources that will cover the rest, and those sources have to comply with the Uniform Administrative Requirements at 2 CFR 200.306, which governs what counts as an eligible match, including in-kind contributions.3Federal Register. 911 Grant Program
A $5 million NG911 upgrade, for instance, would draw no more than $3 million in federal funds; the applicant has to line up at least $2 million from state, local, or other non-federal sources before award. Applications that can’t show the match in the project budget won’t receive funding.
One narrow exception: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have the match waived for grant amounts up to $200,000. Above that threshold, the standard 40 percent match applies.3Federal Register. 911 Grant Program
The Non-Diversion Certification
This is where applicants most often get disqualified. Every applicant has to certify that no designated 911 charges within its jurisdiction have been spent on anything other than 911 purposes during the 180 days before the application date, and that certification has to hold going forward through the entire period the grant funds remain available.4eCFR. 47 CFR 400.4 – Application Requirements
“Designated 911 charges” means any tax, fee, or charge a state or local government imposes and presents to the public as dedicated to 911 service. If some of that surcharge revenue goes to the general fund or to an unrelated program, that’s diversion.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 942 – Coordination of 9-1-1, E9-1-1, and Next Generation 9-1-1 Implementation
A recipient that knowingly submits false or inaccurate certification information faces three consequences: immediate ineligibility for the current grant, mandatory return of any funds already awarded during the period the certification was invalid, and permanent ineligibility for future grants under the program.5eCFR. 47 CFR Part 400 – 911 Grant Program Recipients also report to the FCC on how 911 fees are collected and spent; failing to submit that information can produce a finding that the grant conditions haven’t been met, or FCC enforcement action.6Federal Communications Commission. 911 Fee Reports
How to Apply
The application runs in two steps, both through Grants.gov.7Grants.gov. 911 Grant Program
In the first step, the applicant identifies its designated 911 coordinator and submits a signed certification confirming compliance with the non-diversion requirement and the other statutory conditions. After that review, NTIA and NHTSA publish preliminary funding allocations for each qualifying state or tribal organization on Grants.gov.
In the second step, eligible applicants submit a full application packet by the deadline the agencies set. That packet has to include a detailed project budget showing each proposed activity, evidence that each activity meets the eligible-use requirements, and identification of the non-federal funding sources that will carry at least 40 percent of the cost. The packet also needs a scope of work tying the project to NG911 implementation goals.
Grant rounds don’t run on a fixed annual schedule because funding depends on congressional appropriations and spectrum auction proceeds. Application windows are announced through Notices of Funding Opportunity on Grants.gov, and applicants should also monitor 911.gov.
What the Money Can Pay For
The statute authorizes grants for three broad categories: implementing and operating NG911 services, building the IP backbone networks and software needed to connect emergency response organizations, and training public safety personnel.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 942 – Coordination of 9-1-1, E9-1-1, and Next Generation 9-1-1 Implementation Within those categories, eligible spending typically includes:
- Hardware and software for the transition from analog to IP-based call handling, including servers, routers, and call-processing platforms.
- Upgraded call-taker workstations and consoles that support multimedia communications.
- Geographic Information System data and mapping tools for caller location accuracy and call routing.
- Training for call-takers, dispatchers, first responders, and other personnel in the emergency response chain.
- Cybersecurity assessments to identify vulnerabilities in the new IP-based networks.
- Planning and engineering studies that inform the migration strategy from legacy systems.
Each line item has to show that it directly supports the transition to or operation of NG911. Routine operational costs that would exist regardless of the technology upgrade aren’t eligible, and funds can’t be redirected to non-911 purposes after award.
Reporting and Compliance After Award
Recipients file quarterly financial reports with NHTSA within 30 days after the end of each fiscal quarter that grant funds are available, plus annual performance reports within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year.5eCFR. 47 CFR Part 400 – 911 Grant Program Missing those deadlines can jeopardize continued access to the funds.
The non-diversion certification isn’t a one-time event either. Recipients recertify annually, within 30 days after the end of each fiscal year that grant funds remain available, that no 911 charges within their jurisdiction have been diverted.5eCFR. 47 CFR Part 400 – 911 Grant Program A state that starts diverting fees mid-project risks losing grant money it has already received.
Recipients that spend $1,000,000 or more in total federal awards during a fiscal year have to undergo a single audit under the OMB Uniform Guidance. That threshold rose from $750,000 for audit periods beginning on or after October 1, 2024.8Office of Inspector General. Single Audits FAQs Most 911 grant recipients hit this threshold.
Technical Standards Grant Projects Have to Meet
Funded projects have to align with recognized technical standards so new NG911 systems can talk to each other across jurisdictions. The central framework is the NENA i3 standard, developed by the National Emergency Number Association, which defines the architecture for an IP-based emergency services network handling voice, text, images, and video.9National Emergency Number Association. NENA i3 Standard for Next Generation 9-1-1 The standard specifies how system components connect and exchange data, so a text-to-911 message from one county can be routed or transferred to an adjacent county without losing information.
Grant recipients are also expected to build redundancy in and to take cybersecurity seriously, since IP-based networks introduce risks that analog systems didn’t face. CISA recommends that 911 centers use the NIST Cybersecurity Framework as a baseline for risk assessments, though no specific NIST tier is formally mandated for grant recipients.10Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Two Things Every 911 Center Should Do To Improve Cybersecurity Project designs that skip interoperability standards or cybersecurity planning are unlikely to be funded; reviewers look for alignment with NENA i3 as evidence that the proposed system will work as part of a national network rather than as an isolated upgrade.