Meeting expedited service criteria does not mean that the household is eligible for benefits. A household may be ineligible for benefits because it did not meet other requirements.
Whenever possible, the CAO must complete an interview for households that submit an application in person and meet expedited service criteria. At this interview, the CAO must verify identity, determine eligibility and take the necessary steps to issue an EBT ACCESS card (if the applicant does not have one) while the individual is in the office.
If an application is dropped off or submitted online, by mail or fax and includes a telephone number, the CAO must attempt to contact the household that day. If the CAO reaches the applicant, it must conduct the telephone interview and process the application within the 5-day expedited service time frame. The CAO must determine eligibility by day 4 to meet the 5-day expedited service time frame.
The first day of this count is the calendar day after the filing date.
This interview serves as the application interview for ongoing SNAP benefits
The CAO must inform the applicant interviewed by telephone that he or she can come to the CAO to get an EBT card or ask the applicant if they would like the card locally mailed to them. Only issue an EBT card if he or she does not already have one.
Refer to the Desk Guide in Appendix B for additional clarification/guidance on the expedited interview process.
The CAO must always verify the identity of the applicant. This is the only proof needed to get expedited benefits.
NOTE: There are no exceptions to this rule.
A reasonable effort must be made to verify other eligibility factors, but only if doing so will not delay benefits. The applicant must provide all postponed verification before the second month's benefits.
Remote Identity Proofing (RIDP) verification of identity for SNAP, PFS18856506 (Published March 20, 2018)
If the applicant cannot provide documents to prove identity, the CAO must verify it through at least one collateral contact. In some situations, the CAO may require additional contacts. The CAO must help the applicant verify identity and document those efforts in the case record.
Examples:
The CAO contacts a landlord or someone named by the applicant, but that individual cannot verify the applicant’s identity. This single contact is enough, as long as the CAO records the effort in the case record.
The CAO calls a collateral contact, but there is no answer or the line is busy. This single attempt is not enough to be considered a "reasonable effort," and the CAO must make more attempts.
When an applicant mails the application form or leaves it at the local office, the CAO must try to call the applicant to verify his or her identity. If the CAO cannot reach the applicant by phone, it:
Must check DHS records for proof of identity. If the household:
Receives other benefits from DHS, identity is deemed verified and does not need to be re-verified.
Received benefits from DHS in the past, identity does not have to be re-verified.
Applied for DHS benefits in the past and submitted verification of identity with that application, the CAO does not need to request additional verification.
May use Social Security Administration (SSA) data if the applicant is unknown to DHS. SSA has established an interface to verify the citizenship and identity of individuals declaring U.S. citizenship. If there is a positive match for U.S. citizenship, MCI and CIS will update with an electronic verification code (V) and a source code for SSA (S).
There is no quality control error on an expedited issuance case if the decision to provide expedited service is correct based on information written on the application and in the case record and identity is properly verified.
If the CAO cannot verify identity, the CAO must not authorize benefits until it receives verification. The CAO must not reject the application, but it must follow normal rules for processing applications, including the requirement to schedule a second interview. See Chapter 504.
If the applicant provides verification of identity within 30 days of the filing date and is found eligible, the CAO must authorize benefits on the same day that identity is verified or on the following work day.
If the household fails to comply by the 30th day, the CAO must deny the application. See Chapter 504 for information on processing delays beyond 30 days.
A reasonable effort must be made to verify other eligibility factors, but only if doing so will not delay benefits. The applicant must provide all postponed verification before the second month's benefits.
There is no quality control error on an expedited issuance case if the decision to provide expedited service is correct based on information written on the application and in the case record and identity is properly verified.
Households must provide a Social Security Number (SSN) for each member or apply for an SSN before the first full month of benefits following authorization of expedited SNAP benefits.
The CAO must refer a household to the local Social Security Administration Office (SSA) if a member does not have or cannot verify an SSN. (See Supplemental Handbook, Chapter 950.) This applies to any household member who does not have or cannot verify an SSN. The CAO must not delay benefits.
NOTE: If the applicant cannot provide an SSN within the time frame, see the good cause rules in Supplemental Handbook, Chapter 950.
The CAO must postpone enrollment in employment activities if enrollment cannot be completed within the required time frame for issuing expedited benefits.
A household is not eligible for benefits, including expedited benefits, during any period when the household is disqualified because the principal wage earner does not meet work requirements or quits a job voluntarily.
If a household applies during the last month of a sanction period, expedited requirements apply to the first month of eligibility after the sanction period.
The CAO must count only liquid resources when determining entitlement to expedited service. It must count both liquid and nonliquid resources when determining eligibility for ongoing benefits.
7 CFR § 273.2(i)(1) and 7 CFR § 273.8(c)
The household must give resource information (not verification) about its resources on the application or during the interview.
If resource information is not included on a mailed application, the CAO must call the household immediately. If the CAO cannot reach the household by phone, the CAO must mail a PA 1599 on the day it receives the application, so that tthe household can respond within the expedited time frame.
NOTE: The CAO must make every effort to get the information in time to meet the expedited time frame for issuing SNAP benefits and must deny the application if the household does not provide the information by the 30th day.
The CAO must record in the case record all efforts to assist the household.
EXCEPTION: Resource information is not required if the CAO determines that the household is ineligible for expedited SNAP benefits based on reported income. The CAO should answer “No” to questions 3 and 7 on the expedited SNAP questions page (CAPXFS) so the PA 1599 is not sent to the household.
EXAMPLE: Mr. and Mrs. Sanders submit an application by mail for SNAP for themselves and one child. Monthly gross income reported on the PA 600 is $900. The Sanders’ monthly shelter expenses are $600. The applicants did not answer the resource questions and they cannot be reached by telephone to get the needed information. Since the household is ineligible for expedited SNAP based on income, the CAO answers “no” to questions 3 and 7 on CAPXFS which triggers a PA 163, notifying the Sanders that they do not qualify for expedited SNAP. The CAO sends a PA 253 to schedule an interview for ongoing SNAP benefits.
All income requirements apply, including deeming the income of ineligible household members.
While past income may predict future income, the CAO must count only income that the household reasonably expects to get. The CAO must not count income for which the receipt date or amount is uncertain.
7 CFR § 273.10(c)(1)
For joint cash assistance and SNAP applications, the CAO must count the cash benefit only if it will definitely be received during the month of application. Since cash authorizations are available the next day on EBT, the CAO must count all cash benefits authorized on or before the next to the last day of the month. The CAO must determine the cash authorization within the expedited time frames to count it in the expedited SNAP calculation.
Example: The CAO receives an application for cash assistance and SNAP benefits on March 10. The household meets the criteria for expedited service and provides all verification and information on the 10th. The interview for cash assistance is scheduled for March 16. Since eligibility for cash is not yet certain, the CAO does not count the cash benefit as income.
If the household will definitely receive a cash assistance benefit in the application month, it may still be entitled to expedited service if total income including the cash assistance benefit is less than $150.
The household must give income information on the application or during the interview before the CAO can determine whether the household is eligible for expedited benefits.
To determine entitlement, the CAO must use actual income received or expected to be received in the month. To determine benefit amount, the CAO must follow procedures outlined in Section 567.2.
If income information is not included on a mailed application, the CAO must call the household immediately. If the CAO cannot reach the household by phone, the CAO must mail a PA 1599 form on the day it receives the application so that the household can respond within the expedited time frame.
7 CFR § 273.2(i)(1) and 7 CFR § 273.9(b)
The CAO must make every effort to get the information in time to meet the expedited time frame and must deny the application if the household does not provide the information by the 30th day.
The CAO must record in the case record all efforts to assist the household.
If the client has utility costs, the CAO must use the appropriate standard utility allowance (SUA) when deciding whether the household is entitled to expedited service. (See Section 560.831.)
It is not an overpayment if the CAO later verifies that income or resources in the application month were above expedited or ongoing eligibility limits or should have resulted in a lower benefit amount unless the household misrepresented information on the application or during the interview.
7 CFR § 273.2(i)(4)
It is not an overpayment if the household gets a cash assistance benefit that the CAO did not expect when figuring out the amount of the expedited allotment.
Updated March 28, 2024, replacing March 20, 2018