PLC-22319-604, Revised Furloughed Government Employee Applications (Published October 27, 2025 Revised November 14, 2025)
PLA-21056-604, Revised When to Request a Household Composition Form for a Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Application (Revised October 27, 2023, Published August 25, 2022)
Anyone who wants to apply for Cash or Crisis benefits for themselves or on behalf of another person may ask for an application from the local CAO. The CAO must help an applicant fill it out, if necessary. Assistance should be offered over the phone if the CAO is closed to the public.
Only one (HSEA-1) is needed for a household. Individuals living in the common residence at the time the applicant signs the HSEA-1 must be listed on the application form.
Instructions for completing the HSEA-1 are on the form.
The CAO must accept any HSEA-1 that contains the name, address and signature of the applicant.
NOTE: If an application is unsigned but contains the name and address of the applicant, it must be accepted and held pending the return of the certification page.
The CAO must not accept a paper HSEA-1 that is for the incorrect program year. It is not considered a valid application and should not be entered into e-CIS. The CAO must provide the applicant with the current application.
If information on the application cannot be read, the CAO must try to contact the applicant or send a system-generated Incomplete Notice.
If a person completes a HSEA-1 for Cash or Crisis, is approved for either, and later requests Crisis benefits, a new application is not needed unless the address has changed or someone new has joined the household.
The CAO must review the income of all members to determine if the household still qualifies for LIHEAP. If the gross income exceeds the limit, the Crisis application must be rejected.
NOTE: A newborn child of a known household member does not necessitate a new application.
Individuals may apply at the CAO in the county where they live. Applications also may be taken at an agency designated by DHS to provide application access, such as community agencies, area agencies on aging, or contracted partners.
Every person has the right to apply and to receive a written notice of eligibility. A person may apply for themselves or on behalf of someone else.
A system-generated LIHEAP application (HSEA-1) or postcard (HSEA-54) is mailed to people who received LIHEAP benefits during the past heating season.
Postcards are mailed to those who received LIHEAP benefits in the last LIHEAP season and either applied using COMPASS or have a myCOMPASS account. The postcards provide them with a unique COMPASS registration number that, along with the social security number of the payment name, will let them apply on COMPASS or myCOMPASS PA. The registration number can only be used to submit one application.
NOTE: Postcard recipients who do not wish to apply for LIHEAP on COMPASS can receive a paper application at any time. A paper application can be obtained from either the LIHEAP Helpline at 1-866-857-7095 or their CAO. The household’s bar-code number must be written on the application when it is provided to the applicant. This bar-code number, found on the mailing lists in DocuShare, will be used to register the completed application when it is received.
DHS mails a bar-coded application to those who received LIHEAP benefits in the last LIHEAP season. Bar-coded applications are scanned to prepopulate e-CIS with the household’s demographic information. A postage-paid business reply envelope with the CAO return address is included with the mail-in application.
Pre-season mailings are divided into three equal phases. Households are included in each phase depending on their approved program request date from the previous program year. For example, Phase I sends pre-season applications to the households that applied earliest last season.
In an effort to make LIHEAP benefits available to all eligible commonwealth citizens, DHS offers a variety of ways to apply:
Electronically: Households can apply through COMPASS or uploaded an application as a document through their COMPASS account at http://www.compass.dhs.pa.gov. Households can also e-mail an application to DHS. These applications are processed the same as paper applications.
By mail: (HSEA-1) forms can be mailed to the CAO.
In person: People may apply at the CAO in the county where they live or may apply at agencies designated by DHS. If the office is closed to the public, people can request to have an application mailed to them, which they can then mail back to the CAO when completed or drop off in the drop box.
By fax: LIHEAP applications may be accepted by fax unless there is a reason to believe there may be fraud or misrepresentation. The need to make a determination regarding fraud and misrepresentation should be handled on a case-by-case basis.
By phone (Crisis only): Households who have been determined eligible for Cash or Crisis within the program year and have not had a change of address or had someone new join the household may call the CAO in the county where they live, Customer Service Center, or LIHEAP Helpline to request Crisis benefits.
The applicant must sign the (HSEA-1) or COMPASS application as a condition of eligibility for LIHEAP.
If a person who is required to sign the application form refuses to sign, that person is ineligible for LIHEAP benefits.
If a person fails to sign the application, it must be held pending the return of the certification page. Within 10 days after receiving the unsigned application, the CAO must send an Incomplete Notice that includes a new certification page. If the client does not return the signed certification page within 15 days of the date of the written notice, the CAO must reject the application.
NOTE: If a person signs the LIHEAP application in the wrong place, the application still is considered valid. LIHEAP workers should not send an Incomplete Notice requesting that the client sign the certification if a signature appears somewhere on the application, such as in the Voter Registration section. LIHEAP workers should send an Incomplete Notice requesting that the client sign the certification if no signature appears anywhere on the LIHEAP application, or if any other verification is required for processing.
A faxed or scanned signature page is acceptable for both paper and COMPASS applications.
People applying for LIHEAP, including registered COMPASS Community Partners who submit applications on behalf of their clients, have the option to e-sign the application for any benefit available through COMPASS. This is an acceptable signature.
When a party submits an application on behalf of an applicant, the applicant must acknowledge their rights and responsibilities by signing the application, an HSEA-4, or an affidavit giving the party permission to act on their behalf.
Applicants have 30 days to submit a COMPASS signature page.
The initials of the person who e-signed and the date of the submission must be displayed within the signature block on the COMPASS signature page.
CAPWEB displays an “E” behind the print status for all e-signature applications, the same as it does for COMPASS renewals.
The applicant is still required to submit all verification documents to the CAO. Verification documents can be mailed, emailed, faxed or uploaded through their myCOMPASS Account.
Updated August 15, 2025, replacing August 23, 2024