FILING AN APPLICATION

A. Regardless of what type of application system is used, the local office must provide a means for applicants to immediately begin the application process. The household shall be advised it may file an incomplete application form if the form contains a name, address, and is signed by a responsible household member or the household's authorized representative. Signatures include handwritten signatures, electronic signature techniques, recorded telephonic signatures, or documented gestured signatures. A valid handwritten signature includes a designation of an X. Local offices shall accept applications for SNAP during normal business hours and shall not be restricted to a certain day or time of day. The household shall be advised that it need not be interviewed before filing an application. The local office shall inform applicants that receiving SNAP will have no bearing on any other program's time limits that may apply to the household. B. Persons who request information for SNAP must be advised of expedited service provisions and encouraged to apply so that eligibility processing can begin. County local offices shall encourage the filing of an application form on the same day the household or its representative contacts the local office in person or by telephone and expresses interest in obtaining SNAP, or indicates the household is without food or the means to obtain food. C. Local offices shall make application forms readily accessible to applicant households, as well as to groups and organizations, and shall also provide an application form to anyone who requests the form. If a household contacting the local office by telephone does not wish to come to the appropriate office to file the application that same day and instead prefers receiving an application through the mail, the local office shall mail an application form to the household on the same day the telephone request is received. An application shall also be mailed on the same day a written request for SNAP is received. Application forms shall be made available in Spanish, or other appropriate languages for use in those counties where it has been determined in conjunction with the State local office that there are a significant number of households without an adult member fluent in English. D. The state or local office shall annotate the application form by recording the date the form was received. All valid applications which are paper, transmitted by fax or other electronic transmissions, are acceptable. When an application is submitted through such means outside of business hours, the application filing date shall be recorded as the next business day. E. Households must file applications by submitting the forms in person, through an authorized representative, by fax or other electronic transmission, by mail, or by completing an online electronic application. The local office must inform the applicant that they can obtain a copy of their application and provide the household with a copy of their completed application upon the request of the client. A copy of a completed application can be a copy of the information provided by the client that was used or will be used to determine a household’s eligibility and benefit allotment. At the option of the household, this may be provided in an electronic format. F. Applications are valid for a period of sixty (60) calendar days or until eligibility has been determined, whichever is sooner. Once eligibility has been determined, households must submit a new application if the household: 1. Failed to attend an interview in the first thirty (30) days of the application, or 2. Was determined ineligible due to household circumstances. G. Local offices shall record in the automated system racial and ethnic data provided by an applicant household. The purpose of obtaining this information is not to affect the eligibility or the level of benefits, but rather to ensure that SNAP benefits are distributed without regard to race, color, or national origin. In those instances when the information is not provided voluntarily by the household on the application form, the local office shall use alternative means of collecting the ethnic and racial data on households, such as by observation during the interview. Under no circumstance should an eligibility technician challenge or change a self-declaration made by a household member.