The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration grant programs can help you improve road safety
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) grants help fund initiatives aimed at preventing crashes, fatalities and injures involving large trucks and buses. FMCSA offers two types of grants: discretionary and formula grants. Formula grants are part of FMCSA’s mandatory funding. Discretionary grants, also known as competitive grants, are awarded at the FMCSA’s discretion to qualified organizations that apply.
How does grant funding help?
Federal grants are a way for the government to join forces with local government, non-profits and sometimes businesses and other organizations to make measurable improvements in roadway safety. In 2022, FMCSA awarded more than $128 million in the form of discretionary grant funding. Grant recipients included government agencies and organizations such as state highway patrol and police departments, state driver’s license agencies, not-for-profits, higher education institutions, community colleges and others. Individuals are not eligible.
There are four different discretionary grants offered by FMCSA on an ongoing basis. Each grant has a specific purpose, criteria for applicants and eligibility requirements.
Your organization may be eligible for FMCSA grant funding
FMCSA welcomes organizations involved in CMV safety to apply. See the chart below for an overview and visit FMCSA’s website for more details.
Examples of 3 successful FMCSA grant projects
Here are three examples of projects funded by FMCSA grants.
1) The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators will create training on how to detect and report human trafficking and sanction offenders for State driver’s license agencies. is creating the training videos and materials with help from an FMCSA grant. The AAMVA is a non-profit organization for motor vehicle law enforcement.
2) Displaced workers, including veterans and their family members, are getting trained for a commercial driver’s license (CDL) at little or no cost to them. Many local community colleges and truck driving schools nationwide receive FMCSA grants for projects like these to recruit, enroll and prepare drivers with the knowledge and skills necessary to pass CDL exam. (The drivers themselves aren’t eligible for an FMCSA grant.)
3) The Louisiana Department of Public Safety, Office of Motor Vehicles was awarded $1.4 million to upgrade their technology to better implement the national Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. FMCSA established this database to remove commercial drivers who violate drug and alcohol laws. Other state and local government agencies, special district agencies including U.S. territories and commonwealths and others are eligible for this same grant for similar projects.
Read about other awarded grants in our funding summaries and reports.
Be part of the solution
FMCSA is making a difference through regulations and joint initiatives including truck and bus safety investigations, roadside inspections, education, research and technology. Your organization may already be supporting FMCSA’s mission to improve CMV safety. If so, learn how grant funding could increase our efforts.
Get started now
Organizations are encouraged to start the grant process early. This means researching grants before a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announces when applications can be submitted. Regardless of timing, preparing a compelling grant application can happen year-round. Visit the FMCSA website and grants.gov to get started today.
