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SNAP denied, reduced or stopped: how to ask for a fair hearing

Apply & renew18 min readBy Editorial team

Your rights when SNAP is denied, cut or closed: reading the notice, the 90-day hearing deadline, keeping benefits during an appeal, preparing your case, free legal aid.

A row of beige cluster mailboxes on posts beside a sidewalk on a sunny street with palm trees and parked cars

If your state denies your SNAP application, lowers your benefits or closes your case, you have a right to a fair hearing. That is a review by an impartial hearing officer who did not make the decision. You can ask by phone, in person or in writing, and you have 90 days from the action to ask. If you ask within the period your notice gives (at least 10 days, usually ending when the cut or closure takes effect), your benefits stay at the old amount until the hearing decision, as long as your certification period has not ended. The state must hold the hearing and send a decision within 60 days of your request. These rules come from the federal regulation every state follows, 7 CFR 273.15, and 7 CFR 273.13 on notices. Both were checked in their eCFR versions up to date as of October 14, 2026.

This site is independent. It cannot file a hearing request for you or see your case. Only your state agency or its hearing office can. The contact details for your state are on your notice and on your state page, listed under all states.

Your rights at a glance

Question Federal rule
What you can appeal Any state action that affects your SNAP, including a denial, a lower amount, a closed case, a delay, or a refusal to restore lost benefits
Deadline to ask 90 days from the action. You can dispute your benefit level at any time during your certification period
How to ask Any clear statement, oral or written, that you want to appeal. No special form is required
Keep your benefits Ask within the notice period (at least 10 days) and before your certification period ends
Notice of the hearing date At least 10 days ahead, in writing
Decision Within 60 days of your request (state-level hearing). Up to 30 more days if you postpone
Winning Benefits increased within 10 days of the decision; lost benefits restored for up to 12 months
Losing Benefits you kept during the appeal may become an overpayment claim
Help You can bring a lawyer, advocate, relative or friend; you get free copies of your case file

Sources: 7 CFR 273.15(c), (g), (h), (k), (l), (p) and (s); 7 CFR 273.13(a); 7 CFR 273.17.

Step 1: Read the notice and find three dates

Every decision must come in writing. What the notice must contain depends on the action.

A denial of your application. The state must send a notice of eligibility or denial no later than 30 days after you applied. A denial notice must explain the basis for the denial, your right to a fair hearing, the phone number of the SNAP office, and if possible a person to contact. If free legal help is available in your area, the notice must say so (7 CFR 273.10(g)(1)(ii)).

A cut or closure during your certification period. Before the state lowers or stops your benefits, it must send a “notice of adverse action.” The notice must give at least 10 days from the date it was mailed to the date the change takes effect. It must explain, in plain language, the proposed action and the reason, your right to a hearing, the office phone number, that you can keep your benefits during an appeal, and that you may have to repay benefits you get while waiting if you lose (7 CFR 273.13(a)).

On either notice, mark three dates:

  1. The mailing date (often printed near the top).
  2. The effective date: when the cut or closure starts. To keep your benefits, your hearing request must reach the agency within the period the notice gives, which usually ends on this date. If the notice period ends on a weekend or holiday, a request received the next day counts as on time (273.13(a)(1)).
  3. Your 90-day deadline for asking for a hearing at all. Federal rules say you can appeal any action “which occurred in the prior 90 days” (273.15(g)). States word the starting point differently: Texas, for example, counts 90 days from the effective date of the action (Texas Works Handbook B-1020). The safe habit is to count from the mailing date.

When a notice is not required

The state does not have to send you an individual notice of adverse action in some cases listed in 273.13(b). They include a mass change that affects many households at once (for example, the yearly federal adjustment of allotments, deductions and income standards, or a cost-of-living raise in Social Security or SSI, listed in 7 CFR 273.12(e)), the death of every household member, a move out of the area, a change you were told about in advance at certification, and your own request to close your case (in writing or in person with a caseworker). You can still ask for a hearing on most of these.

A mass change has a narrower appeal. Your benefits are put back to the old amount during an appeal only if you claim your own benefits were figured wrong, or that federal law or rules were misapplied (273.15(k)(1)).

Step 2: Decide whether a hearing is the right tool

Some problems are fixed faster another way. Look at the reason on the notice.

Reason on the notice What usually works first Hearing still available?
Missed interview, application denied on day 30 Call to reschedule. If you missed the interview and never contacted the office, the denial comes on day 30 and you must file a new application (7 CFR 273.2(g)(3)) Yes
Missing papers (“failure to provide verification”) Send the papers. If the state denied you on day 30 for this, and you send what was asked within 60 days of the date you applied, it must reopen the case without a new application (273.2(h)(2)) Yes
The state was late If the delay was the agency’s fault, the state must not deny you for it (273.2(h)(3)) Yes
Income or household facts are wrong Send proof and ask for a correction; ask for a hearing at the same time to protect the deadline Yes
Renewal not finished Finish the renewal; see SNAP recertification Yes, but continued benefits stop when the certification period ends
Time limit or work rule Check the exemptions in SNAP work requirements and give proof of any that apply Yes
Denial of 7-day expedited service Ask for an “agency conference,” which must be scheduled within 2 working days unless you ask for a later date (273.15(d)) Yes; the conference does not replace or delay the hearing

You do not have to choose. You can send the missing paper and ask for a hearing on the same day. If the office fixes the problem, you can withdraw the hearing request in writing. A hearing request is never dismissed just because the office says the problem is solved. Federal rules allow dismissal only if the request is late, you do not show up without good cause, or you withdraw it (273.15(j)).

Step 3: Ask for the hearing

Any clear request counts. Federal rules define a hearing request as “a clear expression, oral or written” that you want to appeal or present your case to a higher authority. The state may ask you to clarify which action you are appealing. It must not limit or interfere with your request, and if you ask by phone, the agency must start the process for you (273.15(h), (i)(1)). Texas’s handbook, for example, tells staff they may not stop anyone from filing, even when they think the request is late; only the hearings officer decides timeliness and good cause (Texas Works Handbook B-1020).

Where to send it. Use the address, phone number or online form on your notice. In most states you can ask the local office that sent the notice, or the state hearing office directly. Some examples from official pages, checked October 16, 2026:

State How to ask (official page)
California Online, by phone to the State Hearings Division at 1-800-743-8525, or in writing on the back of the Notice of Action, to the county or the CDSS State Hearings Division (CDSS hearing requests)
Florida Online form, email [email protected], phone 1-850-488-1429, or mail to the DCF Appeal Hearings Section in Tallahassee (DCF)
Illinois Online in your ABE account, or tell your Family Community Resource Center; for SNAP-only appeals, staff complete form IL444-0103 from your spoken request (IDHS manual WAG 01-07-02)
New York Online form, or phone 1-800-342-3334; in New York City, emergency requests only at 1-800-205-0110 (OTDA)
Ohio Call or write your county agency, or mail the state hearing request form that comes with your notice to the Bureau of State Hearings (PO Box 182825, Columbus, OH 43218-2825) or fax it to 1-614-728-9574. The Bureau’s 1-866-635-3748 line is for choosing a telephone hearing and for continued-benefit questions. To keep benefits, ask within 15 days of receiving the notice (ODJFS form JFS 04059)
Pennsylvania Appeal to the DHS office that took the action; an administrative law judge hears it, by phone or in person as you prefer (DHS)
Texas Orally or in writing, within 90 days of the effective date (Texas Works Handbook B-1020)

What to include. Your name, case number, address and phone; the notice date; the action you disagree with; one or two sentences on why; and, if you want them, the words “I want my benefits to continue.” California’s page asks for the county that took the action and the programs involved. Keep a copy. If you ask by phone, write down the date, time and name of the person who took the request.

Ask for expedited handling if you are moving. The state must speed up hearings for households, such as migrant farmworkers, that will leave the area before a normal decision (273.15(i)(2)).

Step 4: Keep your benefits during the appeal

The rule is in 273.15(k). If you ask for a hearing within the period given in the notice of adverse action and your certification period has not ended, the state must keep paying you at the amount you got before the notice. You do not have to use special words. The hearing request form must have a place to say whether you want continued benefits, and if you do not clearly turn them down, the state must assume you want them.

Once restored, benefits can be cut before the decision only if:

  • your certification period ends (you can reapply and get a new decision);
  • the hearing officer decides in writing at the hearing that the only issue is federal law, and your claim on it is invalid;
  • a new change happens and you do not appeal the new notice;
  • a mass change happens; or
  • you withdrew the request orally and did not reinstate it in time.

The state must tell you in writing if it reduces or stops benefits while the hearing is pending.

Your state may give you more than 10 days. The federal minimum is 10 days from the mailing date, and the notice states your deadline. Ohio, for example, gives 15 days from the day you receive the notice (JFS 04059).

Missed the notice period? If you show good cause for asking late, the state must reinstate benefits at the old level (273.15(k)(1)). If you reported the change yourself on a signed form and the state sent the notice as late as your issuance date, you keep the same rights, and the state must restore the old amount within 5 working days of your hearing request (273.13(a)(3)).

Continued benefits do not apply to denied applications. If you never had benefits, there is nothing to continue. If you win, the lost benefits are paid back (Step 7).

Worked example: the cost of keeping benefits and losing

This example uses made-up amounts to show the arithmetic.

A household receives $400 a month. A notice mailed October 20, 2026 says benefits drop to $250 from November 1, 2026. The household asks for a hearing on October 28, before the effective date, and keeps getting $400 in November and December. The hearing decision in late December upholds the cut.

  • Extra benefits received while waiting: ($400 - $250) x 2 months = $300.
  • The state sets up a claim for that $300 (273.15(k)(1)). If the state sets the claim up as an inadvertent household error or an agency error claim, monthly repayment taken from benefits is limited to the greater of $10 or 10% of the monthly allotment, unless you agree to more (7 CFR 273.18(g)). Here 10% of $250 is $25, so repayment from benefits is $25 a month for 12 months.

If the household had waived continued benefits, it would owe nothing but would have had $300 less food money during the appeal. If it wins, nothing is owed and the $400 continues. Decide with the facts of your case. A legal aid office can tell you how strong your appeal looks.

Step 5: Prepare your case

See your file. You have the right to examine all documents and records the state will use, before and during the hearing. On request, the state must give you a free copy of the parts of your case file that matter to the hearing. Information kept from you cannot be used against you at the hearing (273.15(p)(1)). The state must also give you, free, the materials you need to decide whether to ask for a hearing (273.15(i)(1)).

Build a short timeline. Dates you applied, interviews, documents sent (with how you sent them), calls, and notices received. Bring copies of pay stubs, rent receipts, utility bills, medical bills, letters from doctors or employers, and fax or upload confirmations.

Find the rule. The notice should cite the rule the state used. Read it. Common federal ones: income and deductions (7 CFR 273.9), reporting (7 CFR 273.12), recertification (7 CFR 273.14). Your state’s own manual applies too. Each state must publish written hearing procedures and make them available to anyone who asks (273.15(i)(3)).

Bring people. You can present the case yourself or have it presented by a lawyer or another person. You can bring witnesses and friends or relatives (273.15(o), (p)).

Ask for an interpreter if you need one. Where a state must provide bilingual staff or interpreters for your language, it must explain the hearing procedures to you in that language (273.15(i)(1)).

Step 6: The hearing

Notice. You get written notice at least 10 days before the hearing, unless you ask for a faster date. It must give the name, address and phone number of the person to call if you cannot attend; explain that your request will be dismissed if you do not appear without good cause; include the hearing procedures; and tell you that you can look at the case file in advance (273.15(l)).

Format. Hearings are often held by phone. Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Hearings and Appeals, for example, says most recipient cases are handled by phone, and the method, phone or in person, is the appellant’s preference (PA DHS). If you want to be in the room, ask when you request the hearing.

Who decides. The hearing officer cannot have a personal stake, cannot have been involved in the decision, and cannot be the supervisor of the worker who made it (273.15(m)). A worker from the agency attends to explain the decision.

What you can do. Present your case without undue interference, question the agency’s witnesses and evidence, and submit your own evidence (273.15(p)).

Postponing. You are entitled to postpone once you have a date, for up to 30 days. The decision deadline moves by the same number of days. A 10-day postponement makes the deadline 70 days from your request (273.15(c)(4)).

Before the date. An agency conference can also settle a dispute informally. The hearing still goes ahead unless you withdraw your request in writing (273.15(d)(1)). If your state accepts spoken withdrawals, it must confirm in writing within 10 days and give you 10 days to reinstate the hearing (273.15(j)(2)).

Step 7: The decision

Timing. For a state-level hearing, the hearing must be held and you must be notified of the decision within 60 days of your request (273.15(c)(1)). If you ask on November 1, 2026, the deadline is December 31, 2026. A few states first hold local hearings. Those must be decided within 45 days, and you can appeal a local decision to the state level within 15 days of its mailing date (273.15(c)(2), (q)(4)).

What the decision must say. It must summarize the facts, give the reasons and the evidence, cite the regulations, and is binding on the state agency (273.15(q)(2)).

If you win. An increase must reach your EBT account within 10 days of the decision. The state may instead wait for your normal deposit date if that falls within 60 days of your request (273.15(c)(1)). Benefits you lost because of the state’s error are restored, going back up to 12 months before the date the state got your request or found the loss. They are restored even if you are no longer eligible. For a wrongly denied application, the loss counts from the month you applied. For a wrongly closed case, from the first month you did not get benefits (273.17(a), (d)).

If you lose. A cut takes effect with your next scheduled deposit (273.15(c)(1)). Benefits you received while waiting become an overpayment claim (273.15(s)(2)). The decision notice must tell you about further appeal rights: judicial review in court after a state-level decision, and a rehearing where your state offers one (273.15(q)(3)). In Ohio, for example, the written decision explains how to ask for an administrative appeal (JFS 04059). Each state sets its own deadlines for these steps, and the decision states them.

You can reapply at any time. A hearing is about a past decision. If your situation has changed, a new application can be faster. See how to apply for SNAP.

Other disputes that use the hearing process

Overpayment claims. If the state says you were overpaid, its first demand letter must state the amount, the type of claim, the months involved, how it was calculated, and your right to a hearing within 90 days (unless the amount was already set at a hearing). It must also say you can sign a repayment agreement and that the state may reduce the claim if you cannot pay. There are three types of claim: intentional program violation, inadvertent household error, and agency error. Agency-error claims are still collected (273.18(a), (b), (e)). A state may also settle part of a claim if your finances show it will not be paid within three years (273.18(e)(7)).

Fraud accusations. An accusation of an intentional program violation goes to a separate “administrative disqualification hearing” under 7 CFR 273.16. You get written notice at least 30 days before it. A finding of a violation disqualifies the person for 12 months the first time, 24 months the second and permanently the third (some court-found violations carry longer penalties). You have the right to remain silent about the charge, and anything you say or sign can be used against you in court. Some states let you sign a waiver of this hearing instead. The waiver form must tell you that signing it leads to disqualification even if you do not admit the facts, and that the rest of the household must repay the claim (273.16(f)). Get legal advice before you sign.

Lost benefits. If the state agrees it owes you benefits but you dispute the amount, or it refuses, you have 90 days from its decision to ask for a hearing (273.17(c)).

Disputed EBT charges. If the state puts a hold on or takes back benefits to correct a store transaction, it must send a notice. See SNAP benefits late or missing for the 10-day hearing rule on those adjustments.

Discrimination. A fair hearing is about your benefits. If you believe you were treated differently because of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age or another protected basis, you can also file a complaint with USDA. Use the online complaint portal or form AD-3027, email [email protected], or call 1-866-632-9992. USDA cannot accept a complaint more than 180 days after the incident unless it grants a waiver (USDA, how to file).

Your denial notice, adverse action notice and hearing notice must tell you about free legal representation where it exists (273.10(g), 273.13(a)(2), 273.15(f), (i)(1)). To find it yourself, the Legal Services Corporation, established by Congress in 1974, lists the civil legal aid organizations it funds by location: 129 groups as of October 16, 2026, covering every state, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories. Legal aid offices often take SNAP cases because the deadlines are short and the rules are written down.

Ask early. Legal aid can help most before the notice period ends, when continued benefits are still possible.

A checklist

  • Find the mailing date, the effective date and the 90-day deadline on your notice.
  • If you want to keep benefits, ask for the hearing before the effective date and say you want benefits to continue.
  • Fix what can be fixed at the same time: send missing papers, reschedule the interview, finish the renewal.
  • Keep a copy or a written record of your request.
  • Ask for a free copy of your case file.
  • Gather proof and a short timeline; line up witnesses.
  • Contact legal aid.
  • Watch for the hearing notice (at least 10 days ahead) and attend, or call the number on it to postpone.
  • Read the decision for the next appeal step and its deadline.

Sources

Written by the Editorial team

StateEBT is researched and written by a small editorial team that reads state SNAP manuals, USDA guidance and agency notices so readers do not have to. We are not a government agency, we do not process applications, and no agency or company pays to be mentioned. About the team

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