Cash Assistance in New Hampshire: FANF Eligibility, Limits, and Benefits

Cash assistance in New Hampshire comes mainly through two programs run by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Families with children can receive monthly payments through Financial Assistance to Needy Families (FANF), with a maximum of $1,366 a month for a family of three in 2026.¹ Elderly, disabled, or blind residents can apply for the separate State Supplement Program (SSP).² A third option, Emergency Assistance, covers one-time housing or utility crises. What you actually receive depends on your household size, your income, and which program fits your situation.

How Much FANF Pays by Household Size

State law caps the monthly FANF benefit at 60% of the Federal Poverty Level, adjusted each year with the federal guidelines. For 2026, that works out to:¹³

1 person: $798 per month
2 people: $1,082 per month
3 people: $1,366 per month
4 people: $1,650 per month

Add roughly $284 for each additional person in the household. The same figure is both the income cap and the maximum payment. A household with no countable income gets the full amount; if you have some income, DHHS subtracts your countable income from the maximum and pays the difference.¹

Who Qualifies for FANF

FANF is built around families with children. Your household must include at least one child under 18, and the children generally need to lack adequate parental support because a parent is absent, disabled, or deceased.⁴ Children aged 16 or 17 who aren’t enrolled full-time in school have to take part in the state’s employment program to stay on the case.

Every applicant must live in New Hampshire, be a U.S. citizen or qualified immigrant, and provide a Social Security number.⁵ Qualified immigrant status covers green card holders, refugees, people granted asylum, and certain other categories defined in federal law. Many qualified immigrants have to wait five years after getting that status before they can receive TANF-funded benefits.

Income and Asset Limits

Your household’s net income has to fall below the 60% FPL figure for your family size. A family of three, for example, can’t have more than $1,366 in net monthly income.¹ At the time you apply, your countable assets can’t exceed $1,000. Once you’re on the program, that ceiling rises to $5,000. Countable assets generally include bank accounts and other liquid resources, though not everything you own counts.

Child Support Cooperation

You have to cooperate with the state’s child support enforcement agency as a condition of getting FANF. In practice that means helping DHHS identify and locate the noncustodial parent so the state can pursue support. Child support collected while you’re on benefits is generally kept by the state to offset the cost of your assistance. Refusing to cooperate reduces your benefit, but you can claim good cause if pursuing support would put you or your children at risk.

Work Requirements

Most parents who can work are placed in the New Hampshire Employment Program (NHEP) track within FANF, and participation in work activities becomes a condition of receiving the cash. Required hours depend on the age of your youngest child:⁶

Youngest child is 6 or older: at least 30 hours per week, up to 40 under your employability plan.
Youngest child is between 12 weeks and 5 years old: at least 20 hours per week, with up to 40 possible depending on the plan.

Qualifying activities include regular employment, job search, community work experience, on-the-job training, vocational education, and post-secondary education. Education counts as long as you’re making satisfactory academic progress.⁶ Missing hours without good cause can reduce or end your benefits. There are also tracks within FANF for parents who aren’t subject to work requirements, including families with a temporarily disabled parent and families with only older children; your caseworker assigns you to the right track during eligibility.⁷

The 60-Month Lifetime Limit

FANF carries a 60-month lifetime cap on cash assistance. Every month you receive benefits counts, no matter how large the gaps between periods on the program.⁴ The clock started October 1, 1996; anything before that date doesn’t count.

There’s one notable carve-out. If a relative other than a parent heads the household and leaves themselves out of the benefit calculation, the children’s benefits aren’t subject to the 60-month limit.⁴ That matters for grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives raising children.

Cash Assistance for Elderly, Disabled, or Blind Residents

The State Supplement Program is a separate track for people who are elderly, permanently and totally disabled, or legally blind.⁷ Eligibility and payment amounts depend on your income, your resources, and your living arrangements, with a $1,500 resource limit across all three categories.² SSP doesn’t use a fixed poverty-level ceiling the way FANF does; the amount is set case by case.

Before DHHS will approve SSP, you have to apply for every other income source you might qualify for. That includes Social Security, SSI, retirement pensions, unemployment, veterans’ benefits, and any disability payments.⁵ SSP fills whatever gap is left after those are exhausted.

Emergency Assistance for Housing and Utility Crises

If a specific crisis is pushing you toward homelessness or a utility shutoff, Emergency Assistance (EA) can help. EA sits inside the FANF framework, so you have to meet FANF eligibility rules, but you don’t have to already be receiving monthly FANF to apply.⁴ The crisis can’t have been caused by quitting a job or refusing work.

Payments go directly to the landlord, utility, or fuel provider, not to you. Maximum amounts include:⁴

Security deposit or first month’s rent: up to $650 total (one or both combined)
Back rent: up to two months of arrears, limited to what’s needed to keep the housing
Mortgage arrears: up to two months of principal and interest
Utility deposits or arrears: the amount the provider charges, covering up to two months past due
Home heating fuel: up to $700 per 12-month period, with up to six deliveries

EA is generally available only once every 12 months per category. Funding is capped, and applications are denied once the money for the year runs out, so apply as soon as the crisis hits.⁴

How to Apply

You can apply for FANF, SSP, or Emergency Assistance in three ways:⁸

Online through the NH EASY portal at nheasy.nh.gov
By mail, using the Application for Assistance (Form 800) sent to your local DHHS District Office
In person at a DHHS District Office

Whichever route you take, be ready to document who you are, who’s in your household, and what you have coming in. That means proof of identity, Social Security numbers for everyone in the household, proof of New Hampshire residency, and documentation of all income and assets.⁸ Pulling those papers together before you start the application saves time.

What Happens Next

Once DHHS has your application, a Family Services Specialist schedules an eligibility interview, either by phone or in person.⁹ The specialist reviews your documents, walks through the rules, and places you in the right program. DHHS must act on your application within 45 calendar days.

You’ll get a written Notice of Decision with the outcome and, if approved, your monthly amount. If you disagree, you have 30 days from the notice date to file an administrative appeal. Filing within 15 days may let you keep receiving benefits at the current level while the appeal is pending, but if you lose, you have to pay back what you received during that period.¹⁰

How You Receive the Money

Cash assistance is loaded onto an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card that works at ATMs and point-of-sale terminals. Federal law bars using the card at liquor stores, casinos, and adult entertainment venues.¹¹ The restriction is tied to the location, not the item, so you can’t buy anything at those businesses with the card. Anywhere else, you can use it for whatever your household needs.

1
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. DHHS Bureau of Family Assistance Program Fact Sheet
2
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. Cash Assistance
3
HHS ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines – 48 Contiguous States
4
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
5
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled
6
Legal Information Institute. New Hampshire Admin Code He-W 637.03 – NHEP Employment Activities
7
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. Financial Assistance
8
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. Apply for Assistance
9
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. 109 Application Process
10
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. Administrative Appeals
11
The Administration for Children and Families. TANF Requirements Related to EBT Transactions