Program Description

LSC’s Basic Field Grants provide funding for the delivery of high-quality civil legal services to low-income people throughout the U.S. and U.S. territories through full-service grants.

Overview

We provide Basic Field Grants through a competitive bidding process and award funding for up to three years to eligible legal aid organizations, qualified attorneys, and entities as a means of improving access to justice for low-income people throughout the U.S. and U.S. territories.

We accept applications for specified service areas, which typically consist of several counties and cities in a state or an entire state. The list of service areas up for competition changes every year.

We cannot accept applications for portions of the specified service areas. We seek to fund legal aid organizations that provide a full range of legal services throughout each service area, consistent with the LSC Act and appropriations laws.

LSC Service Areas

Service areas are geographic regions determined by LSC.

View Service Areas

Service Areas in Competition

In accordance with LSC's multi-year funding policy, only service areas that are in competition, not renewal, are open to applicants for funding opportunities.

View 2025 Service Areas

Eligibility Requirements

To apply for a Basic Field Grant, you must be a

current recipient
nonprofit organization that has, as a purpose, the provision of legal help to eligible clients
private attorney or group of attorneys or law firms (either as a non-incorporated body or as a nonprofit)
state or local government
sub-state regional planning or coordination agency that is composed of sub-state areas whose governing boards are controlled by locally elected officials

We cannot accept applications that plan to provide less than the full range of legal aid to eligible clients in a service area unless you demonstrate that you will be part of a delivery system that provides a full range of legal aid in the service area. Your grant application, in its totality, must meet this threshold requirement to be considered qualified. The major categories of cases typically undertaken on behalf of low-income clients include:

Consumer/Finance
Family
Housing
Education
Income Maintenance
Employment
Health

We Evaluate Applicants Based On:

LSC Act
Laws, Regulations, and Guidance
LSC Performance Criteria
ABA Standards for the Provision of Civil Legal Aid

Congress enacted the LSC Act in 1974 to establish the ��˶��. The official version appears in the with annotations and historical notes.

View the Act

Federal laws and regulations govern LSC's distribution of government funds and its grantees' use of LSC grant funds.

View the Regulations

LSC's Performance Criteria incorporate LSC's grant oversight experience with the ABA Standards for the Provision of Civil Legal Aid.

View the Performance Criteria

ABA Standards provide guidance on effective legal aid work.

Reporting, Compliance Requirements & Applicable Law

All grants and grant recipients are subject to all the requirements of the ��˶�� Act of 1974, as amended, and any applicable appropriations acts, laws, rules, regulations, policies, guidelines, instructions, and other directives. These provisions contain restrictions on the activities of those who receive our funds and may affect the eligibility of potential applicants. If you are awarded the Basic Field Grant, you will be required to comply with all requirements contained therein.