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Title 7: SNAP Page 17 Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Employees’ Manual Chapter B: Application Processing Processing Standards Revised January 30, 2026 Approving an Initial Application Processing Standards Legal reference: 7 CFR 273.2(g) Regulations require that applications be processed within a certain amount of time. Calculate this length of time from the date the household files an application. The first day of the processing period is the first calendar day after the date the application is filed. All households eligible under emergency processing timeframes must have an EBT card and access to their SNAP benefits within seven calendar days of the date of their application. Allow two days for mail delivery when determining what date you must make system entries in order for the household to get benefits within seven calendar days. See Emergency Service. All other eligible households must have an EBT card and access to their SNAP benefits within 30 days of the date of their application. Allow two days for mail delivery when determining what date you must make system entries in order for the household to get their benefits within 30 calendar days. Households applying for recertification also have different processing time limits. See 7-G for more information on these policies. The following sections describe the requirements for:  Approving an initial application  Denying an initial application  Dealing with delays in processing an application Approving an Initial Application Legal reference: 7 CFR 273.2(g)(1), 274.2(b) Issue form 470-0485, 470-0486, or 470-0486(S), Notice of Decision, when approving an application. The notice must:  State the amount of the allotment for the month of application and the current month.  Indicate the amount of the allotment for the rest of the certification period.  State the beginning and ending dates of the certification period.  Contain information on how benefits were calculated.  Inform the household that the amount of SNAP will vary if changes are anticipated at the time of certification. If a household is ineligible for the month of application but eligible for following months, the notice must explain why. The notice must give the same information if benefits are approved for the month of application but denied for the next month. The notice must also include an explanation of the household’s appeal rights, the telephone number of the local office, and if possible, the name of the person to contact for more information.