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SNAP CERTIFICATION MANUAL – SECTION 1000

1300 Process 1 - Determining Residency

SNAP Manual 02/01/20 The first eligibility factor to be considered is residency. A household must reside in Arkansas. Also, there is no requirement for a household to have lived in Arkansas for any length of time or even for a household to intend to reside in Arkansas permanently. Thus, eligible households that move frequently may participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as long as they currently reside in Arkansas and participate in only one state in a given month. A fixed residence is not required. For example, campsites used by homeless individuals or migrant farm workers satisfy residency requirements. Since such households may not have a normal or standard mailing address, and to “reside” does not mean having a mailing address, “General Delivery” may be used as the mailing address. People who are visiting in Arkansas for a brief period for recreational purposes are vacationers. Vacationers do not meet the residency requirements. Students who return to their permanent home during school breaks and elderly retired individuals who spend a portion of the year with relatives are not vacationing and meet residency requirements. Children who spend the summer months with grandparents, other relatives, or friends also meet residency requirements and may participate in the household where they are spending the summer. No individual may participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program more than once in any month unless the individual is a resident of a shelter for battered women and children (SNAP 1840) or the individual is being claimed as a member of one household and actually resides in another if the conditions in SNAP 12226 are met.

1310 Household Does Not Meet Residency Requirements SNAP Manual 02/01/20 If an applicant does not live in Arkansas, the application will be denied, and the household will be advised to apply in its state of residence. Case records are not sent out of the state.  NOTE: If a county office worker establishes through any source that a household has moved from Arkansas to another state, the household’s case must be closed. This policy applies across the board to all SNAP households regardless of the household’s reporting requirements. No advance notice is required. See SNAP 11450 and SNAP 11571. If the worker suspects the household has moved from the State, a request for contact will be sent as instructed in SNAP 12400.