Background

• SNAP applicants/recipients used to be able to verify reported shelter costs and utilities responsibility simply through their own statement.
• As long as there was nothing questionable about what was reported, shelter costs and utility responsibility were accepted as stated and there was no impact to the SNAP Payment Error Rate if documentation was not present.

New Policy

• As of February 9, 2026, SNAP applicants and recipients will need to provide verification of their shelter costs and utility responsibility for their current residence.
• If current SNAP recipients do not have verification(s) on file, they will need to provide a verification at their next renewal.
• There are several types of documents that households can provide to verify their shelter and utility expenses:
  • Shelter: Rent/mortgage receipt, campground fee receipt, HUD statement, lease agreement, real estate tax receipt or statement, fire insurance bill or receipt, document with taxes and mortgage payment shown, statement from a person sharing the shelter costs
  • Utilities: Utility bill, correspondence from utility company, cancelled check for utilities, statement or receipt for utilities from landlord
• Not providing shelter/utility cost verifications will not cause benefits to close or an application to be rejected.
• SNAP households that do not provide verification of shelter and utility costs will have their SNAP benefits evaluated without the shelter and utility deductions. This could result in a decrease in SNAP benefits.