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Title 34 — NavyRelease 119-73

§40501 Program authorized

Title 34 › Subtitle Subtitle IV— - Criminal Records and Information › Chapter CHAPTER 405— - REPORTING OF UNIDENTIFIED AND MISSING PERSONS › § 40501

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Attorney General can give grants to help improve how missing people and unidentified bodies — including migrants — are moved, tested, identified, and reported. Grants can go to states and local governments; accredited, publicly funded CODIS forensic labs that show they will use the money for DNA testing and for uploading family DNA samples (including from foreign nationals) into CODIS, following CODIS rules and the privacy protections in section 40502(c); medical examiner offices; accredited public toxicology and crime labs; publicly funded university forensic anthropology labs; and nonprofits that work with state or county forensic offices to enter data into CODIS or the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs).

Full Legal Text

Title 34, §40501

Navy — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The Attorney General may award grants to eligible entities described in paragraph (2) to enable the eligible entities to improve the transportation, processing, identification, and reporting of missing persons and unidentified remains, including migrants.
(2)Eligible entities described in this paragraph are the following:
(A)States and units of local government.
(B)Accredited, publicly funded, Combined DNA Index System (commonly known as “CODIS”) forensic laboratories, which demonstrate the grant funds will be used for DNA typing and uploading biological family DNA reference samples, including samples from foreign nationals, into CODIS, subject to the protocols for inclusion of such forensic DNA profiles into CODIS, and the privacy protections required under section 40502(c) of this title.
(C)Medical examiners offices.
(D)Accredited, publicly funded toxicology laboratories.
(E)Accredited, publicly funded crime laboratories.
(F)Publicly funded university forensic anthropology laboratories.
(G)Nonprofit organizations that have working collaborative agreements with State and county forensic offices, including medical examiners, coroners, and justices of the peace, for entry of data into CODIS or the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (commonly known as “NamUs”), or both.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 40501, Pub. L. 106–177, title II, § 202, Mar. 10, 2000, 114 Stat. 36, authorized Attorney General to provide grant awards to States to enable States to improve the reporting of unidentified and missing persons, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 116–277, § 2(a)(1), Dec. 31, 2020, 134 Stat. 3368. Such section was formerly classified to section 14661 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as section 40501.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Short Title

For

Short Title

of title II of Pub. L. 106–177, which is classified to this chapter, as “Jennifer’s Law”, see section 201 of Pub. L. 106–177, set out as a

Short Title

of 2000 Act note under section 10101 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

34 U.S.C. § 40501

Title 34 — Navy

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73