Grant Alert: BJS FY25 National Criminal History Improvement Program

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), within the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), last week announced the FY25 Consolidated National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP). FY25 consolidates NCHIP, NCHIP Supplemental, and NARIP grants into a single application.  This funding opportunity provides substantial resources for states, courts, and federally recognized tribal governments to strengthen criminal history records and support national background check systems.

Total Available Funding: $135 million
Anticipated Award Ceiling: $2.41 million
Anticipated Period of Performance: 36 months
No Cost Sharing/Match Requirement 
Deadline:

• February 24, 2026 – SF-424 submission via Grants.gov
• March 3, 2026 – Full application submission via the JustGrants website

Why This Grant Matters — and Why Early Preparation Is Critical

The FY25 NCHIP solicitation places a strong emphasis on measurable improvements to criminal history data that directly support public safety and gun violence reduction. Applications must demonstrate not only technical need, but also readiness — i.e., clear scope, defensible budgets, realistic timelines, and alignment with DOJ and BJS priorities.

Because NCHIP applications are evaluated against detailed merit review criteria and must meet basic minimum requirements before peer review, many successful applicants engage technical and grant support experts well before submission deadlines to reduce risk and strengthen scoring.

Grant Overview

Through NCHIP and related funding streams consolidated in this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), BJS funds projects that improve the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, and interstate accessibility of criminal history and related records. These records support national systems such as the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), the Interstate Identification Index (III), the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), and the Next Generation Identification (NGI) system.

Applicants must submit one consolidated application and clearly describe how proposed projects will reduce violent crime, enhance firearm background checks, and improve national record quality.

NCHIP Grants FY 2025

Who Can Apply

Eligible applicants include:

• State governments, including designated NCHIP agencies and state courts
• Federally recognized Native American tribal governments

Up to two applications may be submitted per state (one from the designated NCHIP agency and one from the state court), provided eligibility requirements are met.

Funding Priorities and Allowable Project Areas

BJS invites applications that directly address one or more of the following areas:

• Automation and completeness of criminal history records (including arrest-to-disposition linkage)
• Full participation in NICS, including mental health and domestic violence prohibitor reporting
• Participation in the III and National Fingerprint File (NFF)
• Automation and reporting of relevant juvenile records
• Record sealing and expungement automation

Allowable activities include court disposition automation, system integrations using National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) standards, disposition backlog reduction, dashboards and data quality analysis, Livescan and biometric modernization, and expungement workflow automation

What BJS Reviewers Will Evaluate

Applications that meet basic minimum requirements are evaluated based on:

• Clear definition of the problem or data gap
• Strength of project design and implementation approach
• Administrative and technical capacity
• Completeness and cost-effectiveness of the budget
• Plan for collecting required performance measures

Successful applications clearly connect current record gaps to specific, fundable activities and measurable national outcomes, supported by realistic timelines and defensible cost estimates.

Are You Ready to Apply for FY25 NCHIP?

Before starting your application, consider whether you can confidently answer the following:

• Do we know the percentage of arrests linked to final dispositions and available through III?
• Can we quantify gaps in NICS, NCIC, or mental health prohibitor reporting?
• Have we documented progress — or challenges — from prior NCHIP, NICS Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP), or related funding?
• Do we have realistic scopes, timelines, and budgets for automation or integration projects?
• Can we demonstrate alignment with DOJ priorities, such as combating violent crime?

If any of these answers are unclear, addressing them early can significantly strengthen your application.

How Mission Critical Partners Can Help

Mission Critical Partners supports agencies throughout the NCHIP application lifecycle, including:

• Description of need: Identifying and documenting gaps in criminal history and related records
• Project goals and objectives: Aligning outcomes with BJS goals and DOJ priorities
• Project design and implementation: Developing fundable scopes, timelines, and quantitative measurements
• Capabilities and competencies: Demonstrating technical readiness and partner roles
• Budget development: Creating detailed, allowable, and defensible cost estimates aligned with proposed activities

Our team helps ensure your application is complete, compliant, and competitive, while remaining realistic for a 36-month period of performance.

Examples of NCHIP-Eligible Projects That MCP Supports

MCP regularly assists agencies with NCHIP-aligned projects such as:

• Criminal history disposition backfill and backlog reduction
• Court disposition automation and elimination of paper-based processes
• System procurements — e.g., Computerized Criminal history (CCH) system, message switch, Automated Biometric Information System (ABIS), Livescan, Sex Offender Registry (SOR), Court Case Management
• Requirements development, business case analysis, and current-state assessments
• Systems integration across courts, prosecutors, law enforcement, and corrections
• Data dashboards and analytics to assess arrest-to-disposition completeness

If your agency is considering applying for FY25 NCHIP, now is the time to start. Contact Mission Critical Partners to discuss readiness, priority projects, and how we can help you build a complete, competitive application that aligns with BJS and DOJ expectations—well ahead of the deadline. We bring proven grant language, accurate cost models, and experience supporting justice agencies in more than 40 states.