An Evidence Response Team (ERT) is a group of highly-trained and well-equipped FBI personnel who specialize in organizing and conducting major evidence recovery operations. They manage the identification, collection, and preservation of evidence at crime scenes. Their services are in great demand by local, state, and foreign law enforcement agencies. ERTs are prepared to respond to major case situations in an efficient fashion to ensure that critical evidence is identified and gathered for forensic analysis. Each of the FBI's fifty-six Field Offices has an ERT, consisting of eight to fifty members. These teams undergo continuous training to develop and maintain their organizational and forensic skills.

ERTs have been involved in many domestic operations, such as the investigation into the explosion of TWA Flight 800, and in international operations, such as the investigation of U.S. Embassy bombings in East Africa. A team composed of personnel from the Cleveland and Washington Field Offices also was deployed to accommodate a UN request for investigative support.

In 1993, the FBI Laboratory's Forensic Science Research and Technology Section (since renamed the Investigative Response Section) established the Evidence Response Team (ERT) Unit. This unit was created to provide guidance to FBI Field Offices in the formation of ERTs. Additionally, the ERT unit provides assistance during ERT operations; helps define ERT responsibilities and budget formulations; provides training and logistical support; and coordinates the establishment of standardized ERT protocol. The ERT Unit also conducts research to identify new equipment and techniques to ensure that ERTs are conducting search warrant executions and crime scene investigations in a safe and efficient manner.