The Application Form
SNAP applicants must file an application, which can be found online or obtained from any SNAP office. Many human service agencies also keep SNAP applications on hand.
SNAP offices are required to mail an application form the same day it is requested.
Anyone has a right to submit an application to any SNAP office in NYS. That office must forward the application to the correct SNAP office, based on the applicant’s county of residence. However, that is not always a smooth process. Therefore, it is best to be clear about a county’s SNAP application procedures and direct applicants to the SNAP office in their county of residence. For a listing of all county SNAP offices, visit OTDA’s website.
New York State has three application forms:
- 2-page simplified SNAP-only application for people 60 and older or those with a disability with no earned income. Known as the Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP), this application is part of a larger effort to increase participation among these vulnerable populations by simplifying the SNAP application/recertification process.
- 6-page simplified SNAP-only application
- 16-page common application form—also known as the joint application—used by anyone who wishes to apply for multiple assistance programs, including:
- SNAP
- Medicaid
- Child care assistance
- Temporary Assistance (TANF)
Reference Documents
Resources
NYS “myBenefits” Screening Tool and “myBenefits” Online SNAP Application
“myBenefits,” an online tool available to all NYS residents, educates and connects individuals and families with an array of benefits, services, and work supports customized to fit their unique circumstances.
Applicants answer a simple set of online questions. Applicant information will stay private and secure.
Currently, myBenefits covers the following benefit programs:
- Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit
- Earned Income Tax Credit
- Health insurance programs for individuals, families, and children
- Healthy New York
- HEAP
- Medicaid
- Noncustodial Parent Tax Credit
- Nutrition Education
- School Meals
- SNAP
- Summer Food Service Program
- Temporary Assistance
- Veteran Affairs
- Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP)
- Wide variety of services for older New Yorkers
- The Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
Programs continue to be added.
“myBenefits” is a portal to the online SNAP Application LDSS E-2921, which mirrors the 16-page common application form and can be used to apply for the following programs:
- Public Assistance (PA)
- SNAP
- Medicaid (MA)
- And other MA and PA services
Individuals can also submit electronic recertifications for the programs listed above.
New York State’s Electronic Signature and Records Act (ESRA) permits and promotes the use of electronic signatures and records by providing that electronic signatures bearing certain features are the legal counterpart of signatures written by hand. In addition, the ESRA authorizes the use of electronic means to create and manage records and establishes that electronic records have the same legal force and effect as non-electronic records.
ESRA defines an “electronic signature” as: “an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to or logically associated with an electronic record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.”
All SNAP Offices outside of NYC must accept and process the E-2921 as they would a paper copy of the LDSS 2921. The E-2921 requires an E-signature for all applications and recertifications prior to submission. While SNAP rules mandate only one signature on the application, usually the head of household, the E-2921 allows up to four household members to electronically sign applications and recertifications.
