How to Fill Out and Submit the HOPA Age Verification Form

The HOPA age verification form is how a 55-or-older community documents that at least one occupant of your unit meets the age threshold. To complete it, list each occupant’s full name and date of birth, indicate which proof-of-age document you’re providing, attach a copy of that document (or sign the built-in self-certification), and return the form to your property manager or HOA office by the deadline printed on it. Federal law does not prescribe a single official form, so the exact layout varies by community, but the information collected must satisfy 24 CFR 100.307.¹

Why Your Community Is Asking

Communities that restrict occupancy to older residents rely on an exemption from the Fair Housing Act’s familial-status rules. To keep that exemption, at least 80 percent of occupied units must house someone 55 or older, and the community must verify those ages through reliable surveys and affidavits.² Your form is one data point in that survey. If enough households don’t return it, the community risks losing its age-restricted status.

What Goes on the Form

Most forms follow a similar template. Expect fields for:

Unit or address number, which ties your response to a specific dwelling
Full name of each occupant of the unit
Date of birth for each occupant
The type of document you’re providing as proof (driver’s license, passport, signed certification, and so on)
Signature and date, provided by the occupant or another household member authorized to sign

The date of birth is the field that matters most. It must match your supporting document exactly. Check names too. A middle initial that appears on your license but not the form, or a nickname substituted for a legal first name, can flag your submission for follow-up and delay the community’s survey. Fill in the legal name shown on the ID.

Only one occupant per unit needs to be 55 or older for the unit to count. If two people live together and only one qualifies, list both but provide proof of age for the qualifying resident. The form does not require every adult in the household to document their age.

Documents That Count as Proof

Under 24 CFR 100.307(d), any one of the following is sufficient as long as it shows a date of birth or current age:¹

Driver’s license
Birth certificate
Passport
Immigration card
Military identification
Any other official government document, whether state, local, national, or international, of comparable reliability
A signed certification in a lease, application, affidavit, or other document, signed by any household member aged 18 or older, stating that at least one person in the unit is 55 or older

One qualifying document is enough. A manager cannot require a passport when you’ve already handed in a valid driver’s license. Attach a photocopy, not the original. Never mail original vital records.

Using the Self-Certification Instead

If the qualifying resident doesn’t have a current government-issued ID, the last option on that list is the answer. Any household member 18 or older can sign a written certification stating that at least one person in the unit is 55 or older. It does not need to be notarized. It does not need to list a specific date of birth, though including one strengthens the record. It just needs to be signed and clearly state that the age threshold is met.

The community has to accept the certification. It cannot insist on a driver’s license or passport once you’ve provided a valid signed statement. The regulation treats the certification as equally reliable proof.

Submitting the Form

Your community sets the delivery method and deadline. Common options include certified mail to the management office, hand delivery, or upload through a secure resident portal. Whatever the channel, keep a copy of the completed form and the document you attached, along with proof of submission (a certified mail receipt, a portal confirmation, or a date-stamped copy from the front desk).

Deadlines usually fall within the community’s scheduled survey window or within a set period after move-in. If you’re a seasonal resident away when the forms go out, contact the manager to arrange mail or digital submission. A unit can still count toward the 80 percent threshold if the primary occupant is temporarily away but keeps the unit as a primary residence, so don’t assume you’re excluded because you’re out of town on survey day.

If You Don’t Respond

Ignoring the form doesn’t automatically disqualify your unit, but it puts your community in a harder position. Under 24 CFR 100.307(g), if occupants refuse to cooperate, the community can still count the unit toward the 80 percent threshold using independent evidence: a local household census, a prior lease application or earlier survey response on file, or a signed statement from a third party with personal knowledge of the occupant’s age. That third-party statement has to explain the basis for the person’s knowledge and be signed under penalty of perjury.³

The perjury requirement applies to someone else vouching for you, not to your own self-certification. Still, forcing the community down that road creates work for everyone and leaves a thinner paper trail. Returning the form is the cleanest path.

Confidentiality of What You Submit

Once collected, the form and its attachments are confidential legal records. Communities are expected to limit access to staff responsible for fair housing compliance and to store paper originals in locked cabinets or digital copies on encrypted servers.⁴ Age verification does not require a Social Security number or any medical information. If a form asks for either, you can leave those fields blank; they have no bearing on the 80 percent calculation.

Expect to Do This Again

Age verification is not a one-time task. The community must update its records at least once every two years, and the qualifying occupant (or a spouse, family member, or other person in the unit who is 55 or older) has to provide current information at each update.⁴ Many communities run their survey on a fixed calendar, such as every January of even-numbered years. Watch your mail and your resident portal around those windows and respond promptly. A new move-in or a change in who occupies the unit can also trigger an interim verification request, so keep a copy of your most recent ID or certification somewhere easy to find.

1
eCFR. 24 CFR 100.307 – Verification of Occupancy
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3607
3
eCFR. 24 CFR 100.307 – Verification of Occupancy
4
eCFR. 24 CFR Part 100 Subpart E – Housing for Older Persons