OVW Fiscal Year 2026 Electronic Service Protection Order Court Pilot Program

The Office on Violence Against Women is a component of the U.S. Department of Justice and administers Violence Against Women Act grants designed to prevent and respond to domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The Electronic Service Protection Order Court Pilot supports state and Tribal court efforts to develop and implement programs for properly and legally serving protection orders through electronic communication methods. The program is authorized by 34 U.S.C. 10462a and has Assistance Listing Number 16.062. OVW expects to make two grants from a total funding pool of 3,000,000 dollars, with anticipated awards of up to 1,500,000 dollars each and a 60-month award period starting October 1, 2026. Program funds must be used to develop and implement a program for properly and legally serving protection orders through electronic communication methods. The program is intended to modernize the service process, make service more effective and efficient, improve victim safety, and make protection orders enforceable as quickly as possible. Funded projects must develop best practices for electronic service, ensure compliance with due process requirements and other procedures required by law or a court, and implement technology needed to operate the program, including technology that can verify and track receipt of a protection order by the intended party. Recipients must participate in a planning period of up to 24 months, submit an implementation plan report during the first two years, and submit two implementation reports addressing viability, cost, service statistics, challenges, technology, legal and due process issues, best practices, and recommendations for broader implementation. Budgets may contain only reasonable, allocable, necessary, and allowable project costs and must set aside at least 10,000 dollars on the Travel line for training and technical assistance. No cost sharing or matching contribution is required. Eligible applicants are state or Tribal courts that are part of a multidisciplinary partnership. For a state court applicant, the applicant may be a state or territory, a unit of local government, or a state, territorial, or local court system. For a Tribal court, the applicant generally should be the federally recognized Tribe or Tribal government unless the Tribe permits its court system to apply for federal funding without going through the Tribal government. Each application must establish formal partnerships with four required participants: a state, Tribal, or local law enforcement agency; a victim service provider or state or Tribal domestic violence coalition; at least one state or Tribal court judge with expertise in domestic violence and issuing protective orders; and the department or departments containing at least two individuals with expertise in the design and management of court case management technology and systems integration. Recipients must make substantial efforts during the first award year to develop or expand partnerships with the remaining entities and individuals identified in the governing statute. OVW will consider only one application per organization for the same service area. Application submission occurs in two steps. Applicants must complete the SF-424 in Grants.gov by October 6, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time and submit the full application in JustGrants by October 8, 2026, at 4:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Required application materials include the SF-424, Standard Applicant Information, Proposal Narrative, Budget, and Letters of Commitment from each of the four required partners. Applicants also complete a Pre-award Risk Assessment and disclosures, assurances, and certifications. Additional application components include the certification regarding out-of-scope activities, FY 2026 ESPOC Summary Data Sheet, and Confidentiality Notice Form. An Indirect Cost Rate Agreement must be submitted if the budget includes indirect costs. The Proposal Narrative must use the designated template, be no longer than 10 single-spaced pages, use a font no smaller than 11 point, have one-inch margins and correctly numbered pages, and be written in plain language. The Proposal Narrative is evaluated through three sections. Purpose of the Project is weighted at 20 percent and addresses the reason for applying, project goals and objectives, communities served, current protection-order service processes and challenges, and rates of successful service and enforcement during the past three calendar years. What Will Be Done is weighted at 35 percent and must describe activities and responsibilities, victim safety and offender accountability, outcomes and tracking, accessibility, and a 60-month timeline that includes a planning period of up to 24 months. Who Will Implement the Project is weighted at 20 percent and addresses project personnel and required partners, their roles and qualifications, coordination and collaboration, and first-year partnership expansion. The required Budget is weighted at 25 percent. OVW may also give priority consideration to qualifying projects addressing specified public-safety priorities, including certain human trafficking and transnational crime efforts and projects dedicated to direct victim services or criminal justice responses, particularly in small towns and rural, remote, and Tribal communities. Priority consideration does not guarantee funding. The NOFO was released August 19, 2026, and a pre-application question and answer session is scheduled for September 2, 2026. Applicants are instructed to begin SAM.gov registration or renewal at least 30 days before the application deadlines. The Grants.gov submission deadline is October 6, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, followed by the JustGrants full application deadline on October 8, 2026, at 4:59 p.m. Eastern Time. OVW anticipates notifying applicants by December 31, 2026. The expected award period is 60 months beginning October 1, 2026. The NOFO does not state that this opportunity recurs annually or on another regular schedule. Program questions may be directed to OVW.ElectronicService@usdoj.gov or 202-307-6026. JustGrants technical assistance is available at OVW.JustGrantsSupport@usdoj.gov or 866-655-4482, and Grants.gov assistance is available at support@grants.gov or 800-518-4726.

Follow the required Proposal Narrative template and formatting because noncompliance may reduce the score or ranking. Address Purpose of the Project weighted at 20 percent, What Will Be Done weighted at 35 percent, Who Will Implement the Project weighted at 20 percent, and Budget weighted at 25 percent. Provide the required 60-month timeline with a planning period of up to 24 months. Document all four required formal partnerships and plans to expand partnerships during the first year. Include available statistics on current service challenges and successful service and enforcement rates for the past three calendar years. Keep the 60-month request at or below 1500000 and reserve at least 10000 for training and technical assistance travel. If seeking priority consideration, identify the applicable priority and explain how the project advances it.