The U.S. government is in the process of approving its annual budget for fiscal year 2026 (FY26), to go into effect on October 1, 2025. Delays in the budget approval process might lead to a temporary, partial government shutdown that could extend past the JWST Cycle 5 proposals submission deadline on October 15, 2025. In the event of a shutdown, STScI will extend the proposal submission deadline for affected scientists. Affected scientists include:

• Principal Investigators (PIs) and co-Principal Investigators (co-PIs) of proposals who are unable to undertake research while the government is partially shutdown
• Students working directly under the supervision of a scientist affected by the partial government shutdown
• PIs whose proposals rely heavily on contributions using resources affected by the shutdown (e.g., computing resources)

Proposers who anticipate needing an extension should submit a proposal place holder on APT by close of business (5 pm U.S. Eastern Time) on September 30. The submission should include at least a title, instruments they plan to use, a draft of the abstract, a list of co-Is and keywords, and an estimate of the total charged time. This information will allow STScI to integrate those proposals into the review process, including panel and assignments. 

Proposers must also submit a Help Desk ticket to the Science Policy Division explaining how the proposal is impacted and including the proposal APT submission ID before 5pm U.S. Eastern Time on September 30. 

Proposal submission extensions if a shutdown occurs will be:

• One week from the October 15 deadline if the shutdown lasts a week or less
• Two weeks from the day the shutdown ends if the shutdown lasts more than a week

Check the Call for Proposals Late Breaking News section for this and other information relevant to JWST users.