The full process

Moment 1 of 7

The notice arrives — or doesn't

Kentucky mails a notice about 30 days before your benefits run out. If your address is wrong in the system, the notice never arrives. The clock runs anyway.

Kentucky mails a notice about 30 days before your certification period ends. If the client's address is wrong in kynect, the notice never arrives. The recertification deadline is not extended.

Moment 2 of 7

Know your certification period

Your benefit period is how long your food benefits are approved. When it ends, your benefits stop unless you check in.

Most Kentucky households: 12 months.
Households where everyone is 60 or older or has a disability: 24 months.

Standard certification period in Kentucky: 12 months. Elderly/disabled households (all members aged 60+ or with a qualifying disability): 24 months.

Moment 3 of 7

The interview

To keep your food benefits, you must complete an interview. This is a short phone call or in-person meeting with a case worker. You have at least 10 days after the interview to return your papers.

Recertification requires a completed interview by phone or in person. DCBS must allow at least 10 days after the interview for document submission. If the client misses the interview, the recertification is closed.

Moment 4 of 7

The verification deadline

After your interview, you have to turn in papers that show your income and household. If you filed on time, you have until the last business day of your benefit month to return them.

If the application was filed timely, the household has until the last business day of the certification month to return verification documents. Missing this deadline is the most common reason benefits are terminated at recertification.

Moment 5 of 7

The 30-day recovery window

If your papers were late, your benefits stop on the first of the month. But you may not have to start over.

If you return your papers within 30 days, your case reactivates. You do not have to reapply. Your benefits restart from the day your papers arrive — not from the first of the month.

Benefits stop automatically when the verification deadline is missed. If the household returns documents within 30 days, the case reactivates as an application — no new application is required. Benefits are prorated from the date verification is received.

Two scenarios determine the 30-day window start date:

• Timely application, verification late: window = 30 days after end of certification period.
• Untimely application, verification late: window = 30 days from date of discontinuance.

Moment 6 of 7

State error

Sometimes food benefits are stopped by mistake. A document may have been lost. A deadline may have been recorded wrong. If something feels wrong, it may be wrong.

You do not have to accept a termination you think was incorrect. See Moment 7.

Agency error occurs at a meaningful rate. Review the case record before assuming the termination was correct. Common errors include miscoded interview completion dates, lost fax transmissions, and incorrect address records.

Moment 7 of 7

The Fair Hearing

If you think your food benefits were stopped by mistake, you have the right to ask for a Fair Hearing. At a Fair Hearing, someone new reviews your case. They were not part of the first decision.

You have 90 days from the date on your notice to ask for one. It is free. You can bring someone with you.

The fair hearing window is 90 days from the notice date — not the termination date. A written request is also valid. Clients may reapply and request a hearing simultaneously. For complex cases, contact Stephanie Langguth at Legal Aid of the Bluegrass (Covington).

See how to ask for a Fair Hearing →