HRA Recertification Form Online: Deadline, Interview, and Submission

The HRA recertification form is the “Mail-in Recertification/Eligibility Questionnaire” that the New York City Human Resources Administration sends you roughly two months before your Cash Assistance or SNAP certification period ends. To keep your benefits, you fill it out, gather proof of your household, income, housing costs, and resources, submit everything through the Access HRA portal, by mail, or in person, and then complete a phone interview — all before the deadline printed on your notice.¹

When the Form Arrives and How to Access It

HRA mails the recertification packet to your address on file about two months before the end of your certification period. Depending on your case type, recertification comes up at least once a year and sometimes every six months. The packet contains the questionnaire, a list of documents you need to provide, and the deadline by which everything must reach HRA.¹

You don’t have to use the paper form. Log into the Access HRA portal at nyc.gov/accesshra and the online version pre-fills your existing case information, so you only need to update what has changed.² The Access HRA mobile app does the same thing and lets you upload photos of documents directly from your phone.³

The Deadline That Controls Everything

Submit your signed recertification by the 15th of the last month of your certification period. If it arrives after the 15th, your benefits may be interrupted even if HRA eventually approves you. Benefits stop entirely if you have not submitted the signed form, completed the interview, and returned any missing verification by the last day of your current certification period.⁴

What to Put on the Form

New York regulations require HRA to verify your identity, where you live, who is in your household, your housing costs, your income, and your savings or other resources at every recertification.⁵ The questionnaire walks through each of these with specific fields. Gather your paperwork before you sit down with the form.

Household

List every person living with you, along with their names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. Report any change since your last certification: a new baby, someone who moved out, a new roommate. Household size affects both your grant amount and the income limits that apply to your case.

Income

Report gross monthly income from every source, including wages, self-employment, Social Security or SSI, child support received, unemployment, and pensions. If anyone in the household has a job, submit the last four pay stubs or other proof of gross earnings and hours worked in the previous 30 days, even if wages haven’t changed.¹ For non-wage income, include award letters or benefit statements. Check your numbers against your pay stubs and bank records before submitting; if what you report doesn’t match state employment databases, your case will be delayed or denied.

Expenses

HRA uses your expenses to calculate net income, which determines the SNAP dollar amount. Document the following:

Housing costs: monthly rent, mortgage, or property taxes, backed up by your lease, a rent receipt, or a mortgage statement.
Utilities: heating, electric, and phone. New York applies a standard utility allowance in SNAP calculations, but you still need to show you pay these separately from rent.
Dependent care: childcare or care for a disabled household member that you pay while working or in training.
Child support you pay under a court order to someone outside the household.
Medical costs for elderly or disabled household members: out-of-pocket expenses above $35 per month that insurance doesn’t cover.⁶

Resources

The form asks about checking and savings balances, cash on hand, stocks, and vehicles. Most New York SNAP households aren’t subject to an asset test under broad-based categorical eligibility, but households where all members are sanctioned or have been found guilty of an intentional program violation face a $3,000 resource limit ($4,500 if a member is elderly or disabled). Cash Assistance limits are $2,500 for applicant households, $3,750 if a member is 60 or older, and $10,000 for households already receiving benefits. Include photocopies of bank statements or car titles when the form asks for proof.¹

How to Submit It

Access HRA portal at nyc.gov/accesshra. Update your information, upload scanned or photographed documents, and you’ll get an immediate confirmation that the submission reached the system.²
Access HRA mobile app. Take photos of your supporting documents and attach them to your pending case.³
Mail to the address printed on your recertification notice. Certified mail gives you a tracking number that serves as proof of when you sent it.
In person at an HRA Benefits Access Center. Locations and hours are at nyc.gov/hra.⁷

The Phone Interview

After you submit the form, you must complete a telephone interview before HRA will process your renewal. For Cash Assistance, call the On Demand line at 929-273-1872 any weekday between 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM once you’ve submitted your recertification.⁸ For SNAP, call 718-SNAP-NOW (718-762-7669) on or after the start date listed in your packet, and only after you’ve submitted the signed form.⁹ Both lines let you start the interview yourself instead of waiting to be scheduled.

Keep your submitted paperwork nearby. The caseworker will go through your questionnaire answers, ask follow-up questions about income and expenses, and tell you if anything else is needed. If they request more verification, you have 10 days from the date of the interview to provide it.⁴

Complete the interview at least 10 days before your certification period ends to guarantee no gap in benefits.⁴ If you miss a scheduled interview or never call to start one, HRA must send you a Notice of Missed Interview. If you don’t reschedule, HRA will propose to discontinue your benefits with a 10-day written notice.¹⁰

After You Submit

Once your documents are verified and the interview is done, HRA issues a written decision. If you submitted by the 15th of the last month and are found eligible, HRA must issue the decision before your current certification period expires, with no gap in benefits.⁴ The notice arrives by mail and also appears in your Access HRA account. It shows your new benefit amount and certification period, or explains why benefits are being reduced or denied.

If you disagree with the decision, you can request a Fair Hearing through the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. You have 60 days from the date of the notice to file.¹¹ If you request the hearing before the effective date of the reduction or cutoff and ask for aid continuing, your benefits stay at the current level until the hearing is decided.

Work Requirements Can Still Cost You Benefits

Filing the form on time won’t help if you’re subject to a work rule and haven’t met it. If you receive SNAP, are between 18 and 54, able to work, and have no dependents, you fall into the able-bodied adult without dependents category. To keep SNAP beyond three months in any three-year period, you must work, volunteer, or participate in an approved training program for at least 80 hours per month.¹² If you’re exempt because of a disability, pregnancy, caring for a child, or participating in a substance abuse program, make sure the caseworker notes it during your interview so it’s in your case file.

Cash Assistance has its own participation requirements, usually job search, training, or workfare assignments. Use the recertification interview to confirm that HRA’s record of your work activity matches what you’re actually doing.

1
NYC Human Resources Administration. Mail-in Recertification/Eligibility Questionnaire
2
NYC Human Resources Administration. ACCESS HRA User Guide
3
NYC Human Resources Administration. ACCESS HRA Mobile
4
NYC Human Resources Administration. SNAP Recertification Frequently Asked Questions
5
Legal Information Institute. 18 NYCRR 351.20 – Determination of Continuing Eligibility
6
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Medical Expenses Handbook
7
NYC Human Resources Administration. Benefits Access Centers (BAC)
8
NYC Human Resources Administration. CA Interview Instructions
9
NYC.gov. SNAP On Demand Telephone Recertification
10
Legal Information Institute. 18 NYCRR 351.22 – Action To Be Taken Upon Failure To Appear at Face-to-Face Interviews
11
NYC311. Public Benefit Fair Hearing
12
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements