PSGP grant for port security: what FEMA funds, who qualifies, what Tec-Tel does

1. What PSGP is

The Port Security Grant Program is FEMA's principal funding source for protecting ports and federally regulated maritime facilities from terrorism. It supports a risk-based set of capabilities: maritime domain awareness, port-wide security risk management, and the ability to maintain and reestablish security operations so a port can recover after an incident. FEMA administers the program in coordination with the U.S. Coast Guard, whose Captain of the Port has a defined role in the process.

Fiscal Year 2025 appropriated $90 million nationally, awarded on a risk basis so the highest-risk ports and facilities receive the largest allocations. PSGP sits inside the same Homeland Security grant framework as the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, and it carries the same federal procurement rules, including NDAA Section 889. What sets PSGP apart is eligibility: for-profit facility operators can apply, which is uncommon among security grants that are otherwise limited to nonprofits or public agencies.

Source: DHS/FEMA FY2025 PSGP Notice of Funding Opportunity and fact sheet; FEMA Port Security Grant Program. Confirm the active appropriation against the current NOFO before budgeting.

2. What PSGP funds

PSGP funds the layered security a port or facility needs to meet its security plan. The categories below reflect what the program has funded historically and what reviewers expect to see tied to a documented vulnerability. From FY2021 through FY2024, three project types drew 59 percent of awards: response vessels at $88.2 million, surveillance cameras at $76.1 million, and cybersecurity at $64.0 million.

• Surveillance cameras and video management. Fixed and PTZ IP cameras at gates, perimeters, waterside approaches, cargo yards, and restricted areas, feeding a central video management system. Surveillance cameras drew $76.1 million across FY2021 to FY2024 and ranked among the three largest PSGP project categories, so reviewers know the cost type well. Federal grant dollars require NDAA Section 889-compliant gear (Public Law 115-232; FAR 52.204-25).
• Access control and credentialing. Card and TWIC-reader access at gates, restricted-area doors, and operations buildings, with door-position monitoring and visitor management. PSGP funds access systems that enforce the facility security plan and the AMSP, including credential validation aligned with Transportation Worker Identification Credential requirements where they apply.
• Intrusion detection and perimeter security. Fence-line intrusion detection, video analytics for restricted-area and waterside intrusion, radar and sensor integration, and alarm management routed to the facility security officer or a monitoring center. PSGP treats these as maritime-domain-awareness and physical-security costs tied to the vulnerabilities the security assessment documents.
• Cybersecurity. Network segmentation, monitoring, and hardening for the operational-technology and physical-security systems a port runs. Cybersecurity drew $64.0 million across FY2021 to FY2024 and is a standing PSGP priority, reflecting how port operational systems increasingly share the network with the camera and access systems beside them.
• Communications and command integration. Interoperable radio, mass notification, and command-and-control integration that lets a facility coordinate with the Captain of the Port, port partners, and local responders during an incident. PSGP funds communications equipment that supports the coordinated security posture an AMSP requires.
• Physical hardening and response capability. Barriers, gates, lighting, and other physical hardening at vehicle and vessel approach points, plus response and recovery capability that helps a port maintain or reestablish security operations after a disruption. The program funds resilience, not only deterrence, so a complete application names recovery capability alongside the front-line hardware.

Source: FEMA PSGP allowable-cost guidance (Preparedness Grants Manual); GAO-25-107587 (FY2021-FY2024 award-category totals). Allowable categories and any caps shift cycle to cycle. Confirm against the active NOFO before final budget submission.

3. The award amounts and the match

PSGP does not use a single per-site cap like NSGP. Awards track risk and project scope, and historically per-facility awards have ranged from roughly $10,000 to several million dollars. The cost-share rule is where PSGP differs sharply from the nonprofit grant programs, and it is the number that surprises private operators most. The match depends on who you are.

• Public-sector and nonprofit recipients: 25 percent non-federal match. The grant covers 75 percent; the recipient funds the rest.
• Private-sector applicants: 50 percent non-federal match. Most commercial terminal and facility operators fall here, so a $1 million project means $500,000 of non-federal budget.

Three categories are exempt from the match entirely: awards of $25,000 or less, training for public-safety personnel, and projects the Captain of the Port certifies as having port-wide benefit. That last exemption is worth pursuing where a project genuinely serves more than one facility, because COTP certification can move a private operator's project off the 50 percent match.

The match is real budget, not a formality. Build it into the project plan at the application stage. PSGP also reimburses against documented receipts after the work is done, which means the recipient fronts cash and recovers it later. Cash-flow planning belongs in the application phase.

Source: DHS/FEMA FY2025 PSGP fact sheet (cost-share and exemption terms); GAO-25-107587 (award-category figures). Figures reset each cycle; confirm against the active NOFO.

4. Who is eligible

Eligibility tracks one test: is the applicant subject to an Area Maritime Security Plan under 46 U.S.C. 70103(b)? Entities that meet that test can apply. In practice that covers four groups, plus a simple practical test.

• Port authorities. Public and quasi-public port authorities that own or operate facilities inside an Area Maritime Security Plan. They are among the most common PSGP applicants and often apply on behalf of multiple tenant facilities.
• Facility and terminal operators. Owners and operators of facilities regulated under the Maritime Transportation Security Act, including cargo terminals and marine facilities with a Coast Guard-approved facility security plan. For-profit operators are eligible, which sets PSGP apart from most security grants.
• Vessel operators. Owners and operators of U.S.-inspected passenger vessels as defined under MTSA, where the vessel falls within the area maritime security framework.
• State, local, and territorial agencies. Government agencies that provide layered security protection to federally regulated facilities in accordance with an AMSP or a facility or vessel security plan, including port police and maritime law enforcement.
• The practical test. If your facility has a Coast Guard-approved facility security plan and falls inside an Area Maritime Security Plan under 46 U.S.C. 70103(b), you are in scope. The application then has to show the requested equipment closes a documented gap in that plan.

Source: DHS/FEMA FY2025 PSGP NOFO; 46 U.S.C. 70103(b); Maritime Transportation Security Act. Applicants must also clear standard federal grant conditions and SAM.gov registration. Confirm eligibility specifics against the active NOFO before structuring the application.

5. The application cycle

PSGP runs on an annual rhythm anchored to the Notice of Funding Opportunity. The FY2025 cycle is a useful reference: FEMA published the NOFO, applications closed in the FEMA GO system at 5 p.m. ET on August 15, 2025, and awards followed on a risk-based review. Cycle dates move each year.

• NOFO publication. FEMA releases the Notice of Funding Opportunity with allowable-cost guidance, the cost-share terms, and evaluation criteria. Read it the week it lands.
• Application window. Applications are built and submitted in FEMA GO. The security assessment, the project narrative, and vendor documentation should be complete before submission.
• Review and award. FEMA reviews on a risk basis in coordination with the Coast Guard. Awards post after review.
• Period of performance. Procurement, install, and commissioning run across the months that follow, typically six to twelve for a single facility.
• Reimbursement. Documented receipts release federal reimbursement against the awarded amount.

Read the active PSGP page at fema.gov for the exact current-cycle deadline before you build a timeline. SAM.gov and FEMA GO registration take time, so start the registration steps well before the window closes.

6. What Tec-Tel does on a PSGP project

Tec-Tel produces the security-design and documentation a complete PSGP application needs, and then installs the system if the award lands. That is four deliverables, each tied to the program's allowable-cost categories and to the facility security plan the Coast Guard already reviews.

• Facility security assessment. A walking assessment with your facility security officer and operations lead. We document existing camera, access, and intrusion posture, identify gaps against PSGP allowable categories and the AMSP, and mark up a site plan with photographs and a vulnerability matrix. Output: a written assessment your application can cite directly.
• Threat-aligned technology recommendation. Each line item in the bill of materials references the vulnerability it addresses and the allowable-cost category. A camera position because the assessment names a specific approach; access control at a gate because the security plan names credential enforcement. Reviewers weigh whether each request maps to a documented gap.
• NDAA-compliant vendor selection. Federal grant money requires NDAA Section 889-compliant gear. We hold the compliant subset of camera, access, and intrusion vendors on file, each with the manufacturer's own 889 self-certification attached to the bill of materials. Hikvision, Dahua, Hytera, Huawei, ZTE, and their rebrands are excluded by default.
• Signed vendor scope and pricing. A scope and pricing letter on Tec-Tel letterhead, valid through the review cycle, confirming the install timeline, NDAA compliance, and our 15-year nationwide integrator track record. Pricing holds so the awarded budget matches the install cost when funds release.

What Tec-Tel does not do. We do not write the program narrative, we do not sign as the applicant, and we do not replace your grant consultant or your facility security officer. Grant writing is the applicant's job. Our job is the security-side design and documentation that scores well alongside the narrative, and the install itself once the award lands. Keeping the applicant's voice and the vendor's documentation distinct reads stronger to a federal reviewer.

7. NDAA Section 889 implications

PSGP awards are federal grant dollars, which puts every funded install under NDAA Section 889. The statute prohibits federal grantees from using or procuring covered telecommunications and video surveillance equipment from Hikvision, Dahua, Hytera, Huawei, ZTE, and their subsidiaries. The rule covers any system where the equipment is a substantial component, regardless of when it was installed. Ports are a common place to find covered cameras, because budget-driven purchases over the past decade frequently landed on Hikvision and Dahua OEM gear, sometimes rebranded.

The verification path runs three steps. First, walk the existing bill of materials and pull the real manufacturer and model off every camera and recorder, not the sticker on the dome. Second, match each model against the FCC Covered List and the manufacturer's own NDAA Section 889 self-certification. Third, document the result. If covered equipment is in the stack, build a phased rip-and-replace plan with budget and timeline before federal funds release.

Source: Public Law 115-232, Section 889; FAR 52.204-25. The full statutory text and FAR clause are linked from our compliance reference.

For the deeper compliance walkthrough, see our NDAA Section 889 explainer. For the full NDAA-filtered vendor matrix, see the compliance quick reference.

8. PSGP next to the other federal security grants

PSGP is one of several federal security-funding paths, and the right one depends entirely on the facility type. The distinctions matter when you scope a project.

• PSGP (this program). FEMA. Ports and MTSA-regulated maritime facilities, including for-profit operators. Risk-based awards from roughly $10,000 to several million, with a 25 percent public or 50 percent private match. Funds cameras, access, intrusion, cybersecurity, communications, and hardening.
• NSGP. FEMA. At-risk 501(c)(3) nonprofits, including faith-based and community organizations. Up to $200,000 per site, threat-narrative driven. See our NSGP grant security installs guide.
• SVPP. DOJ COPS Office. K-12 schools through government applicants. Up to 75 percent and $500,000 federal share over three years. See our SVPP school violence prevention page.

For the full directory of programs we design and document to, with funding and eligibility for each, see the security grant programs hub. For the port-side vertical, see ports and terminals security.

Last updated: 2026-06-05. We refresh this page when the FEMA PSGP Notice of Funding Opportunity publishes, when cost-share or eligibility terms change, or when NDAA enforcement guidance shifts. Program figures cited reflect the FY2025 cycle and the FY2021-FY2024 award data; confirm current-cycle caps, deadlines, and allowable costs at fema.gov.