National Criminal History Improvement Program

BJS Consolidated NCHIP / NARIP

Backs research teams and institutions for BJS Consolidated NCHIP NARIP in cross-sector innovation.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) Consolidated National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) is a competitive annual grant program that has invested nearly $1.1 billion since its initiation in 1995 — reauthorized under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 — to strengthen the quality, timeliness, and completeness of criminal history records held by states, territories, and federally recognized tribes. The program is now delivered as a consolidated solicitation that combines NCHIP with the NICS Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP) in a single application package, allowing one submission to cover both funding streams. Awards are distributed on a needs-based, competitive methodology rather than by population or formula, meaning all eligible applicants compete on the same basis regardless of jurisdiction size.

The FY25 solicitation (O-BJS-2025-172527), posted January 14, 2026, was restricted to state governments, territorial governments, and federally recognized tribes. For-profit organizations, nonprofits, universities, and individuals are not eligible. The designated state agency identified by the governor administers all grant funding within the state. Funded activities include direct improvements to criminal record systems, integration with FBI national systems including the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), National Protection Order File, and National Sex Offender Registry, improvements to disposition reporting, and submission of mental health records for firearm background checks. Grants.gov deadline was February 24, 2026; JustGrants deadline was March 3, 2026; both have passed.

The FY25 cycle is closed and awards are under review. The FY26 consolidated NCHIP/NARIP solicitation is expected to be posted in late 2026 or early 2027 via the BJS funding portal at bjs.ojp.gov/funding. All states and eligible territories have historically received funding at some point; award amounts for each cycle are published in the PDF solicitation rather than on the web page. Jurisdictions with documented gaps in criminal history record completeness, disposition reporting rates, or NICS mental health record submission rates are positioned most competitively.