Assigning Certification Periods

Definite time periods are established within which households are eligible to receive benefits. This is the certification period. At the end of the certification period, benefits will be terminated without the right to a pretermination hearing for any household that fails, without good cause, to timely comply with its responsibilities for recertification. (A) Conformance with Cyclical Months. Certification periods shall conform to cyclical months. At initial application, the first month in the certification period is generally the month of application, even if the household's eligibility is not determined until a subsequent month. (B) Length of Certification Periods. The certification period shall not exceed 12 months, except that a certification period may last up to 24 or more months if all adult household members are elderly or disabled and meet the requirements of 106 CMR 361.210: Elderly or Disabled Individuals. The Department must have at least one contact with each certified household every 12 months, unless contact is waived by FNS/USDA.