On Sept. 18, 2026, DOJ announced two significant revisions to the Justice Manual that aim to reshape False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement. The first revision reinstates and expands DOJ’s 2017 policy limiting the use of sub-regulatory guidance documents in enforcement actions by restricting the government’s ability to treat agency guidance as binding legal authority. The second revision strengthens DOJ’s approach to dismissing qui tam actions filed by private relators, directing attorneys to assess whether dismissal is warranted in every declined case.
Together, these changes signal a more disciplined enforcement posture, suggesting that DOJ intends to pursue fraud cases grounded in clear legal obligations while more actively culling meritless whistleblower suits.
Read on to learn more about the revisions and what they mean for federal contractors, healthcare entities, and federal funding recipients and defendants in qui tam cases.