Eligibility Determination

Benefit Issuance

Application After the 15th [63-503.16]

New applicant households that are eligible and apply for benefits AFTER the 15th of the month, must have benefits issued to them for both the initial month and the subsequent month at the same time.

This provision applies to formerly certified households when there is a break in benefits of at least one month.
Households that reapply after a break in benefits of less than one month are not entitled to an early issuance of the second month's benefits.

Note: It is important to inform applicants verbally that they will receive two months of initial CalFresh benefits when applying after the 15th of the month to help ensure applicant’s understanding.

Inter-County/Inter-State Moves

Receiving County

Follow the instructions below when a household certified in the previous month in another state applies for benefits in this county with less than a one month break in certification. The household must have been terminated at the end of the previous month by another state.

Process the application as an initial application.
1. The household may be eligible for expedited services.
Assist the household to obtain any missing verification which the previous state failed to provide.
1. Contact the prior state by phone, or email to get the missing verification.
2. If sufficient information is received from a third party to determine eligibility, document on the Maintain Case Comments window the contact person's name, title, phone number, county or state and what missing verification was obtained.
Compute the budget prospectively. Prorate benefits, if there is a break in benefits of one day or more.

Note: For information on how to process an Inter-County Transfer, refer to Inter-County Transfer.

Application Processing For Displaced Households Due To California Disasters and Replacement Benefits Due to Household Misfortune

Displaced Households and Replacement Benefits

Assistance For Displaced Households (HHs)

New applicants or continuing HHs that have been Displaced by California disasters, but no Presidential Declaration has been granted can request services under displaced services.

Note: Only D-CalFresh requires a Presidential Declaration with IA. Information on D-CalFresh is located in Disaster Issuance Procedures.

Replacement Benefits For a Continuing HH

Continuing HHs can request CalFresh Replacement Benefits when the HH experiences food loss due to a general HH misfortune or a disaster.

Important: See Available Emergency Assistance for the required process and information regarding Assistance for Displaced HHs and Replacement Benefits.