[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 4]
[Revised as of January 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR273.14]

[Page 745-747]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
    CHAPTER II--FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 
PART 273_CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 273.14  Recertification.

    (a) General. No household may participate beyond the expiration of 
the certification period assigned in accordance with Sec. 273.10(f) 
without a determination of eligibility for a new period. The State 
agency must establish procedures for notifying households of expiration 
dates, providing application forms, scheduling interviews, and 
recertifying eligible households prior to the expiration of 
certification periods. Households must apply for recertification and 
comply with interview and verification requirements.
    (b) Recertification process. (1) Notice of expiration. (i) The State 
agency shall provide households certified for one month or certified in 
the second month of a two-month certification period a notice of 
expiration (NOE) at the time of certification. The State agency shall 
provide other households the NOE before the first day of the last month 
of the certification period, but not before the first day of the next-
to-the-last month. Jointly processed PA and GA households need not 
receive a separate food stamp notice if they are recertified for food 
stamps at the same time as their PA or GA redetermination.
    (ii) Each State agency shall develop a NOE. The NOE must contain the 
following:
    (A) The date the certification period expires;
    (B) The date by which a household must submit an application for 
recertification in order to receive uninterrupted benefits;
    (C) The consequences of failure to apply for recertification in a 
timely manner;
    (D) Notice of the right to receive an application form upon request 
and to have it accepted as long as it contains a signature and a legible 
name and address;
    (E) Information on alternative submission methods available to 
households which cannot come into the certification office or do not 
have an authorized representative and how to exercise these options;
    (F) The address of the office where the application must be filed;
    (G) The household's right to request a fair hearing if the 
recertification is denied or if the household objects to the benefit 
issuance;
    (H) Notice that any household consisting only of Supplemental 
Security Income (SSI) applicants or recipients is entitled to apply for 
food stamp recertification at an office of the Social Security 
Administration;
    (I) Notice that failure to attend an interview may result in delay 
or denial of benefits; and
    (J) Notice that the household is responsible for rescheduling a 
missed interview and for providing required verification information.
    (iii) To expedite the recertification process, State agencies are 
encouraged to send a recertification form, an interview appointment 
letter that allows for either in-person or telephone interviews, and a 
statement of needed verification required by Sec. 273.2(c)(5) with the 
NOE.
    (2) Application. The State agency must develop an application to be 
used

[[Page 746]]

by households when applying for recertification. It may be the same as 
the initial application, a simplified version, a monthly reporting form, 
or other method such as annotating changes on the initial application 
form. A new household signature and date is required at the time of 
application for recertification. The recertification process can only be 
used for those households which apply for recertification prior to the 
end of their current certification period, except for delayed 
applications as specified in paragraph (e)(3) of this section. The 
process, at a minimum, must elicit from the household sufficient 
information that, when added to information already contained in the 
casefile, will ensure an accurate determination of eligibility and 
benefits. The State agency must notify the applicant of information 
which is specified in Sec. 273.2(b)(2), and provide the household with 
a notice of required verification as specified in Sec. 273.2(c)(5).
    (3) Interview. As part of the recertification process, the State 
agency must conduct a face-to-face interview with a member of the 
household or its authorized representative at least once every 12 months 
for households certified for 12 months or less. The provisions of Sec. 
273.2(e) also apply to interviews for recertification. The State agency 
may choose not to interview the household at interim recertifications 
within the 12-month period. The requirement for a face-to-face interview 
once every 12 months may be waived in accordance with Sec. 273.2(e)(2).
    (ii) If a household receives PA/GA and will be recertified for food 
stamps more than once in a 12-month period, the State agency may choose 
to conduct a face-to-face interview with that household only once during 
that period. At any other recertification during that year period, the 
State agency may interview the household by telephone, conduct a home 
visit, or recertify the household by mail.
    (iii) State agencies shall schedule interviews so that the household 
has at least 10 days after the interview in which to provide 
verification before the certification period expires. If a household 
misses its scheduled interview, the State agency shall send the 
household a Notice of Missed Interview that may be combined with the 
notice of denial. If a household misses its scheduled interview and 
requests another interview, the State agency shall schedule a second 
interview.
    (4) Verification. Information provided by the household shall be 
verified in accordance with Sec. 273.2(f)(8)(i). The State agency shall 
provide the household a notice of required verification as provided in 
Sec. 273.2(c)(5) and notify the household of the date by which the 
verification requirements must be satisfied. The household must be 
allowed a minimum of 10 days to provide required verification 
information. Any household whose eligibility is not determined by the 
end of its current certification period due to the time period allowed 
for submitting any missing verification shall receive an opportunity to 
participate, if eligible, within 5 working days after the household 
submits the missing verification and benefits cannot be prorated.
    (c) Timely application for recertification. (1) Households reporting 
required changes in circumstances that are certified for one month or 
certified in the second month of a two-month certification period shall 
have 15 days from the date the NOE is received to file a timely 
application for recertification.
    (2) Other households reporting required changes in circumstances 
that submit applications by the 15th day of the last month of the 
certification period shall be considered to have made a timely 
application for recertification.
    (3) For monthly reporting households, the filing deadline shall be 
either the 15th of the last month of the certification period or the 
normal date for filing a monthly report, at the State agency's option. 
The option chosen must be uniformly applied to the State agency's entire 
monthly reporting caseload.
    (4) For households consisting only of SSI applicants or recipients 
who apply for food stamp recertification at SSA offices in accordance 
with Sec. 273.2(k)(1), an application shall be considered filed for 
normal processing purposes when the signed application is received by 
the SSA.

[[Page 747]]

    (d) Timely processing. (1) Households that were certified for one 
month or certified for two months in the second month of the 
certification period and have met all required application procedures 
shall be notified of their eligibility or ineligibility. Eligible 
households shall be provided an opportunity to receive benefits no later 
than 30 calendar days after the date the household received its last 
allotment.
    (2) Other households that have met all application requirements 
shall be notified of their eligibility or ineligibility by the end of 
their current certification period. In addition, the State agency shall 
provide households that are determined eligible an opportunity to 
participate by the household's normal issuance cycle in the month 
following the end of its current certification period.
    (e) Delayed processing. (1) If an eligible household files an 
application before the end of the certification period but the 
recertification process cannot be completed within 30 days after the 
date of application because of State agency fault, the State agency must 
continue to process the case and provide a full month's allotment for 
the first month of the new certification period. The State agency shall 
determine cause for any delay in processing a recertification 
application in accordance with the provisions of Sec. 273.3(h)(1).
    (2) If a household files an application before the end of the 
certification period, but fails to take a required action, the State 
agency may deny the case at that time, at the end of the certification 
period, or at the end of 30 days. Notwithstanding the State's right to 
issue a denial prior to the end of the certification period, the 
household has 30 days after the end of the certification period to 
complete the process and have its application be treated as an 
application for recertification. If the household takes the required 
action before the end of the certification period, the State agency must 
reopen the case and provide a full month's benefits for the initial 
month of the new certification period. If the household takes the 
required action after the end of the certification period but within 30 
days after the end of the certification period, the State agency shall 
reopen the case and provide benefits retroactive to the date the 
household takes the required action. The State agency shall determine 
cause for any delay in processing a recertification application in 
accordance with the provisions of Sec. 273.3(h)(1).
    (3) If a household files an application within 30 days after the end 
of the certification period, the application shall be considered an 
application for recertification; however, benefits must be prorated in 
accordance with Sec. 273.10(a). If a household's application for 
recertification is delayed beyond the first of the month of what would 
have been its new certification period through the fault of the State 
agency, the household's benefits for the new certification period shall 
be prorated based on the date of the new application, and the State 
agency shall provide restored benefits to the household back to the date 
the household's certification period should have begun had the State 
agency not erred and the household been able to apply timely.
    (f) Expedited service. A State agency is not required to apply the 
expedited service provisions of Sec. 273.2(i) at recertification if the 
household applies for recertification before the end of its current 
certification period.

[Amdt. 364, 61 FR 54318, Oct. 17, 1996, as amended by Amdt. 388, 65 FR 
70210, Nov. 21, 2000]