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Title 7: SNAP Page 2 Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Employees’ Manual Chapter H: Adjustments Restoration of Lost Benefits Revised October 11, 2024 Time Limits for Restoring Benefits Time Limits for Restoring Benefits Legal reference: 7 CFR 273.17 Restore benefits for up to 12 months before whichever of the following occurred first: ▪ A household asks for restoration ▪ The state or county office finds out that a loss has occurred ▪ The household initiated court action When the judicial action is a review of a state agency action, restore benefits up to 12 months before whichever of the following occurred first: ▪ The Department receives a request for restoration ▪ The hearing action was initiated, even if the household did not request restoration ▪ The Department is notified of or discovers the loss How to Restore Benefits Legal reference: 7 CFR 273.17 1. Determine if the household was eligible during each of the months affected by the loss. Ask for additional information from the household if there is not enough information in the case file to determine eligibility for any of the affected months. 2. Decide which month to start with, depending on the situation: ▪ If the household was eligible but received an incorrect amount of SNAP, calculate benefits only for those months that the household was certified. ▪ If benefits were stopped by mistake, start with the first month that benefits were not issued. ▪ If an eligible household’s application was denied by mistake, start with the month of application. If an eligible household filed a timely reapplication that was denied by mistake, start with the month following the expiration of its certification period. ▪ If an eligible household’s application was delayed, use the procedure in 7-B, Processing Standards relating to delays in processing. 3. After deciding which month to start with, calculate the loss for that month and each following month up to: ▪ The month the mistake was corrected, or ▪ The first month the household was found ineligible for SNAP. 4. Calculate the amount of SNAP the household should have received and subtract the amount the household was authorized to receive.