DOJ Revises Justice Manual on FCA Enforcement and Agency Guidance
Justice Department changes announced September 18, 2026 reshape False Claims Act enforcement standards and the role of agency guidance, a signal defense counsel and compliance teams should test their playbooks against.
On September 18, 2026, the Department of Justice announced two revisions to the Justice Manual directed at False Claims Act enforcement, according to a McGuireWoods alert. One revision reinstates and expands DOJ policy bearing on FCA enforcement; the second clarifies the limits on the Department's use of agency guidance in False Claims Act matters. The full text of the revised provisions was not reproduced in the reporting reviewed here, so the precise scope of the reinstated policy language is not yet confirmed.
The practical significance runs well beyond qui tam defendants. FCA reach extends to federal contractors, healthcare providers and pharma manufacturers, grantees, and any company touching federal funds, and DOJ Manual language can shape referral practice, settlement posture, and the weight given to non-binding agency materials in establishing a violation. For defense counsel, the clarification on agency guidance bears directly on what a government entity can and cannot do to shortcut FCA falsity theories built on informal guidance; for corporate clients, it is a prompt to reassess internal reporting channels, investigation triggers and disclosure escalation before agency guidance hardens into enforcement assumptions.
Watch for DOJ's publication of the amended Manual sections, plus subsequent case law and state analogues that test whether enforcement practice actually shifts.