LIHEAP Explained: Who Qualifies and How to Apply for Help

LIHEAP is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and delivered by states, territories and tribes. Each state submits a plan, runs its own application process and sets its own income limits, benefit amounts and application dates, inside the framework in federal law. That is why the experience differs from one state to the next.

Benefits are grants that help with heating or cooling bills and with energy emergencies. Congress sets the funding each year, and the amount a state can spend affects how many households it can help and when it closes applications. Apply early in the season, and ask your state office when funds run out.

The statute sets the outer limits for a state's rules.

• Income. A household qualifies if its income does not exceed the greater of 150 percent of the state poverty level or 60 percent of state median income. A state may not exclude a household solely on income if it is below 110 percent of the poverty level.
• Benefits that qualify a household. A household with a member who receives TANF, SSI, SNAP benefits or certain veterans payments can qualify without the income test.
• Priority. States must do outreach to households with elderly or disabled members and to households with high energy burdens, and must give the highest level of help to the lowest incomes and highest energy costs or needs.

Source: 42 U.S.C. 8624, LIHEAP state plans and eligibility, and the HHS ASPE, 2026 poverty guidelines, read October 10, 2026. The table shows one federal reference point. Your state may set a lower limit, or a higher one using 60 percent of state median income. It is not a promise of eligibility.

• Heating assistance for the main heating fuel, whether electricity, gas, oil, propane or wood, in most states.
• Cooling assistance in states that offer it, which usually means help with summer electric bills.
• Energy crisis help when a shutoff is near or fuel is nearly out. Federal law requires each grantee to reserve funds for crises.
• Weatherization in some states, either through LIHEAP or through the separate Weatherization Assistance Program.

1. Find your office. Use the table below, or call the hotline at 1-866-674-6327, open weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern time.
2. Ask who takes applications. Many states use local Community Action Agencies or county offices.
3. Ask about dates. Heating help often opens in the fall, and cooling help in the spring or summer. Some states open earlier for older adults.
4. Gather documents. See the list below.
5. Ask about crisis help if you have a shutoff notice.

• Your latest electric bill, with the account number, and any shutoff notice.
• Photo identification for the person on the account.
• Proof of income for everyone in the household, usually for the last 30 days. Each agency sets its own rule.
• Social Security numbers, or proof of status, where the program asks.
• A recent bill for your main heating fuel, if it is not electricity.

Once a household applies for crisis help and is eligible, the grantee must provide some form of assistance that resolves the energy crisis within 48 hours, or within 18 hours if the household is in a life-threatening situation. Federal law does not define life-threatening, so states do, and the clocks do not apply after a natural disaster. See emergency bill assistance.

Source: U.S. HHS, Administration for Children and Families: LIHEAP state and territory contact listing, read October 10, 2026. Where the listing shows no public line, use the state website or call 2-1-1.

• It does not promise help to everyone who applies. Funds are limited, and states set priorities.
• It does not pay every dollar of a bill. Benefit amounts vary by income, household size, fuel and region.
• It does not replace a payment plan. Ask your utility for one while your application is processed. See payment plans.