Process for Applying to

COPS Office Solicitations

Step 1. Register with SAM database/Confirm SAM number (the Unique Entity ID (UEI) will be from

SAM) 

System of Award Management (SAM) registration and renewal can take as long as 10 business days to

complete.

If you do not have an Employer Identification Number (EIN), the process can take up to five weeks. 

SAM registration procedures can be accessed at www.sam.gov. 

The person registering with SAM will be the designated SAM E-Business Point of Contact, who can assign

the people who submit applications for the organization (your Authorized Organization

Representatives). You must review your SAM registration once a year.

Step 2. Acquire an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) and a Grants.gov username and

password.

Complete the AOR profile on Grants.gov and create a username and password. An applicant entity’s 

unique entity identifier (obtained through SAM.gov) must be used to complete this step. For more

information about the registration process for organizations and other entities, visit the Grants.gov

registration page. Individuals registering with Grants.gov may visit the Applicant Registration page. 

Step 3. Acquire confirmation for the AOR from the E-Business Point of Contact (E-Biz POC).

The SAM E-Biz POC at the applicant organization must log into Grants.gov to confirm the applicant

organization’s AOR. The E-Biz POC will need the Marketing Partner Identification Number (MPIN)

password obtained when registering with SAM to complete this step. Note that an organization can

have more than one AOR.

Step 4. Search for the funding opportunity on Grants.gov.

Search using the Assistance Listing title and the funding opportunity number from the solicitation.

Step 5. Access Funding Opportunity and Application Package from Grants.gov.

Select “Apply for Grants” under the “Applicants” column. Enter your email address to be notified of any

changes to the opportunity package before the closing date. Click the Workspace icon to use Grants.gov

Workspace.
Process for Applying to FY22

COPS Office Solicitations Page 2 

Step 6. Complete and Submit the SF-424 and SF-LLL via Grants.gov.

Within 48 hours after submitting the SF-424 and SF-LLL, the applicant should receive two notifications

from Grants.gov. The first will confirm the receipt of the SF-424 and SF-LLL. The second will state

whether the SF-424 and SF-LLL has been validated and successfully submitted, or whether it has been

rejected due to errors, with an explanation. It is possible to first receive a message indicating that the

application is received, and then receive a rejection notice a few minutes or hours later. Submitting the

SF-424 and the SF-LLL well ahead of the Grants.gov deadline provides time to correct the problem(s)

that caused the rejection.

Important: DOJ urges each applicant to submit the SF-424 and the SF-LLL at least 72 hours prior to the

Grants.gov due date, to allow time to receive validation messages or rejection notifications from

Grants.gov, and to correct in a timely fashion any problems that may have caused a rejection

notification. Verify the application deadline (date and time) in the solicitation.

New Entity without a JustGrants Account

Step 7. Register the Entity Administrator (E-Biz POC) and the Application Submitter with DOJ’s Justice

Grants System (JustGrants).

Within 24 hours of JustGrants receiving an application from Grants.gov, the user submitting the

application in Grants.gov and SAM E-Biz POC will receive an email to register for a JustGrants account.

The email is from DOJ’s secure user management system (DIAMD) and will include instructions on how

to create an account.

To ensure that you receive these emails and that they are not flagged as spam, we recommend adding

DIAMD-NoReply@usdoj.gov to the trusted sender list in your email settings. 

The E-Biz POC at the applicant organization serves as the Entity Administrator and must log in to

JustGrants to confirm the entity’s profile, add users, and assign the two required Authorized

Representatives (Law Enforcement Executive/Program Official and Government Executive/Financial

Official). The Authorized Representatives are officials who have ultimate and final responsibility for all

programmatic and financial decisions for your agency, as the legal recipient. For guidance on who should

be your Authorized Representatives, please see below:

• For law enforcement agencies, COPS Office awards require that both the top law enforcement

executive (e.g., chief of police, sheriff, or equivalent) and the top government executive (e.g.,

mayor, board chairman, or equivalent) sign the application, and (if awarded funding) accept the

Award Package. The top law enforcement executive must be assigned the role of Authorized

Representative 1 and the top government executive must be assigned the role of Authorized

Representative 2 in Just Grants.
Process for Applying to FY22

COPS Office Solicitations Page 3 

• For non–law enforcement agencies (institutions of higher education, school districts, private

organizations, etc.), COPS Office awards require that both the programmatic official (e.g., executive

director, chief executive officer, or equivalent) and financial official (e.g., chief financial officer,

treasurer, or equivalent) sign the application, and (if awarded funding) accept the Award Package.

These two officials must have the ultimate signatory authority to sign contracts on behalf of your

organization. The programmatic official must be assigned the role of Authorized Representative 1 

and the financial official must be assigned the role of Authorized Representative 2 in Just Grants.

Please note that nonexecutive positions (e.g., clerks, trustees) are not acceptable Authorized

Representatives.

The user who submitted the application in Grants.gov serves as the Application Submitter. Within

minutes of completing your JustGrants account registration, the Application Submitter and the E-Biz

POC (Entity Administrator) users will receive an email from JustGrants with a link to the application

started in Grants.gov.

Application Submitters and E-Biz POC Users with a JustGrants Account

Step 8. Review and Invite the Two Required Authorized Representatives in JustGrants

The Entity Administrator will need to log in to JustGrants to review and assign the required two

Authorized Representatives. (Law Enforcement Executive/Program Official and Government

Executive/Financial Official). The Authorized Representatives are officials who have ultimate and final

responsibility for all programmatic and financial decisions for your agency, as the legal recipient. For

guidance on who should be your Authorized Representatives, please see below:

For law enforcement agencies, COPS Office awards require that both the top law enforcement

executive (e.g., chief of police, sheriff, or equivalent) and the top government executive (e.g.,

mayor, board chairman, or equivalent) sign the application, and (if awarded funding) accept the

Award Package. The top law enforcement executive must be assigned the role of Authorized

Representative 1 and the top government executive must be assigned the role of Authorized

Representative 2 in Just Grants. 

• For non–law enforcement agencies (institutions of higher education, school districts, private

organizations, etc.), COPS Office awards require that both the programmatic official (e.g., executive

director, chief executive officer, or equivalent) and financial official (e.g., chief financial officer,

treasurer, or equivalent) sign the application, and (if awarded funding) accept the Award Package.

These two officials must have the ultimate signatory authority to sign contracts on behalf of your

organization. The programmatic official must be assigned the role of Authorized Representative 1 

and the financial official must be assigned the role of Authorized Representative 2 in Just Grants.

Please note that nonexecutive positions (e.g., clerks, trustees) are not acceptable Authorized

Representatives.
Process for Applying to FY22

COPS Office Solicitations Page 4 

If an Authorized Representative needs to be invited, the Entity Administrator will need to invite

the individual to receive a JustGrants account. These actions are required before an application

can be submitted.

Within minutes of being invited to be an Authorized Representative, the individual will receive

an email from DIAMD-NoReply@usdoj.gov with instructions on how to create an account in

DOJ’s secure user management system.

Once the Authorized Representatives receives the email and completes the steps to create an

account, the Authorized Representative will be available in JustGrants.

Review the “JustGrants User Roles Guide” to become familiar with the various JustGrants Entity

User roles.

Step 9. Complete and Submit the JustGrants Application

The Application Submitter will need to complete the application by entering data into web-based forms,

uploading attachments, and accepting assurances and certifications. Before you submit your application,

each section much be completed and free of validation errors. If not, please return to each identified

page using the table of contents on the right side of the page. If any required fields are unanswered,

they will be flagged with warning messages. In this case, answer these required fields. You will not be

able to submit your application until all validation issues are corrected and the application is certified.

The Application Submitter will also need to confirm the required two Authorized Representatives (Law

Enforcement Executive/Program Official and Government Executive/Financial Official).

The Application Submitter will need to select two authorized representatives via dropdown field in the

“Confirm Authorized Representative” section of the application. The dropdown will display all

authorized representatives that have been assigned for your entity (the Application Submission Job Aid

Reference Guide for this step).

If you do not see authorized representatives for your entity in the dropdown field within the “Confirm

Authorized Representative” section of the application, you will need to add and assign the role for each

authorized representative for your entity. Please be aware users will not be visible in JustGrants until

they have successfully logged into JustGrants. If you need assistance adding users and assigning roles for

your entity, please refer to the Entity Management Job Aid Reference Guide. 

Once all sections are completed, the application submitter will submit the application. Upon successful 

submission of an application, the Application Submitter, Entity Administrator, and the two Authorized

Representatives will receive an email from JustGrants confirming submission of the application. The

COPS Office will not accept applications submitted via mail or email.