The award will be presented on October 19 at a Kennedy Center ceremony, reported Variety Online.
The comedy award, in its 17th year, will again feature a format of video clips embellished with light roasting from a parade of comics and other celebs at the concert Hall.
The talent lineup will be announced later.
"Like Mark Twain, Jay Leno has offered us a lifetime's worth of humorous commentary on American daily life," said Kennedy Center chairman David M Rubenstein.
"For both men, no one was too high or too low to escape their wit, and we are all the better for it," Center added.