Upon receiving a LIHEAP application, the CAO must take the following actions:
Date-stamp the application and all attached documentation and verification on the date it is received. The date-stamp must be legible and located on the first page. It must include the month, the day and the year.
NOTE: Applications received via email, fax, and uploaded as a document to their myCOMPASS account must be date-stamped.
Applications that are mailed, faxed, emailed, or submitted to the CAO's drop-box during business hours are considered received on the same day. If an application is placed in an after-hour mailbox, faxed, or emailed after business hours, it is considered received the following business day.
Applications submitted through COMPASS are considered received on the date it was submitted, no matter the time of day, with the exception of non-business days. Applications submitted on non-business days are considered received on the following business day.
Applications submitted as an uploaded document through COMPASS should be considered accepted on the date the application can be seen in imaging.
Example: An application is uploaded into COMPASS on Thursday, November 7th and available in imaging the same date. The CAO does not review the image and see the application until Tuesday, November 12th. The application should be date-stamped for November 7th.
Keep the application in a secure location until it is registered in e-CIS.
Register the application in e-CIS within two days of the date stamp. Register bar-coded applications using the bar-code scanner. If the bar code cannot be scanned, manually enter the application into e-CIS.
Review the application to determine if it is complete. An application is considered to be complete when it has all the following:
Name, address and signature
All household members have Social Security numbers (SSNs). Applicants are not required to provide copies of Social Security cards, because e-CIS will verify the number with the Social Security Administration.
NOTE: Every household member must have a SSN unless the member is less than a year old or is an undocumented immigrant. An undocumented immigrant is ineligible for LIHEAP. If the applicant does not have or refuses to provide a SSN, the applicant must complete section 2 of the HSEA-1 certification or sign an Energy Assistance Affidavit (HSEA 4).
Required verification provided as described in Chapter 678, Verification
Review IEVS Exchanges 1, 2, 3 and 6.
Process the application and send the applicant written notice of the decision on eligibility within 30 days of the date-stamp on the application.
If the application is incomplete, provide the client with a system-generated Incomplete Notice within 10 work days after receiving the application.
Allow 15 days after the date of the notice for the client to return requested information. If the information is not returned on time, reject the application.
NOTE: If the Incomplete Notice is sent later than 10 work days after receiving the application, the applicant still has 15 days after the date of the notice to provide missing information.
The CAO may reject the application on the 16th day if the verification requested is not received. The CAO does not need to wait until the 30th day from the date of application to reject. If the applicant sends the requested verification within 60 days from the date of the original application, use that application to process. After 60 days a new application is needed.
Complete case notes in a detailed, factual and objective manner.
Narrate eligibility criteria, if they were met, and explain how they were met.
Narrate unexplained or questionable information such as living arrangements, zero income or why the fuel bill is in someone else’s name.
Include collateral contacts and requests made for additional information.
Updated August 15, 2025, replacing August 23, 2024