BJA FY 2026 Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program
This program funds efforts to improve reporting, transportation, forensic processing, and identification in missing persons and unidentified human remains cases for eligible public safety and forensic entities.
RESTRICTED TO: STATE LOCAL GOV
⚑ Eligibility is limited to specific local government and publicly funded forensic/medical examiner entities; public universities are not listed as eligible applicants. · Focus is operational public safety/forensic casework, not research. · May involve cases involving migrants as authorized by Public Law 116-277.
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 25 weak | funds applied research; deep-tech content |
| IPPRA | 15 none | university cannot apply directly (ineligible) |
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 15 none | university cannot apply directly (ineligible) |
Description
This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the BJA FY 2026 Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program. This opportunity supports efforts to improve reporting, transportation, forensic processing, and identification of missing persons (MP) and unidentified human remains (UHR) cases, including those involving migrants as authorized by Public Law 116-277. This program increases public safety by providing resources to locate and identify missing persons and unidentified human remains in the United States.
Eligibility
Other units of local government (towns, boroughs, parishes, villages, or other general purpose political subdivisions of a state); Accredited, publicly funded, CODIS forensic laboratories; Medical examiner offices; Accredited, publicly funded toxicology laboratories; Accredited, publicly funded crime laboratories
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: Bureau of Justice Assistance <OJP.ResponseCenter@usdoj.gov>
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
Proposal shell · Federal (generic) conventions SEE A FEDERAL EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — Federal (generic)'s document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.