The CSF 35 form is a one-page sworn statement California county welfare departments use to document self-employment income for CalFresh. You fill it out when you apply or recertify and cannot verify your earnings with tax returns, 1099s, or pay stubs. On it, you report your gross self-employment income for a set period, choose either a flat 40 percent deduction or itemized actual expenses, and sign under penalty of perjury. Your caseworker then uses those figures to calculate your net income and decide whether your household qualifies.1California Manual of Policies and Procedures Section 63-503.41
Who Uses This Form
Anyone who earns self-employment income and lacks standard wage documentation will be asked to complete the CSF 35. That covers freelancers, gig workers, sole proprietors, and people who sell goods or services without a W-2. It is especially common when income shifts month to month: a rideshare driver with an uneven quarter, a house cleaner who picks up jobs irregularly, or someone whose business is too new to have a full year of records.
If your business has been running less than a year, the county will average your income over the months you have been operating and project that figure forward across the certification period.
Filling Out the Form
The form is short. The numbers you put on it drive your entire eligibility calculation, so accuracy matters more than speed.
Business Description and Gross Income
Start with your business name and a plain description of what you do. “Mobile auto detailing,” “freelance graphic design,” or “selling handmade candles at farmers’ markets” is enough.
Then report your total gross self-employment income for the reporting period. Gross means every dollar that came in before you subtract any cost, including cash payments. Capital gains from selling business equipment or other business assets fold into the gross figure too.
Include the dates the income was received and how often you get paid: weekly, biweekly, monthly, or irregularly. The caseworker uses this to average your earnings. Income received less often than monthly is averaged over 12 months if it represents annual income, or over the number of months the business has been running if it is newer than a year.
The Deduction Choice: 40 Percent Standard or Actual Expenses
This is the most consequential entry on the form. California MPP Section 63-503.413 gives you two options for reducing your gross to a net figure.2California Manual of Policies and Procedures Section 63-503.413
With the standard 40 percent deduction, the county automatically subtracts 40 percent of your gross self-employment income. No receipts, no proof of expenses. This works well if your actual costs are modest or your records are thin.
With the actual expense deduction, you list and verify every allowable business cost. If your real expenses exceed 40 percent of gross, common for businesses with high material costs, equipment payments, or commercial rent, this method produces a lower net income and a better chance of qualifying.
You can only switch between the two methods at recertification or every six months, whichever comes first. If you elect actual expenses and then fail to provide verification, the county will allow no deduction at all, not even the 40 percent standard. Pick carefully.
What Counts as an Allowable Expense
If you go with actual expenses, these costs are deductible under California MPP Section 63-503.414: labor, stock, raw materials, seed and fertilizer, principal payments on income-producing property or equipment, interest paid on income-producing property, business insurance premiums, and taxes paid on income-producing property.3California Manual of Policies and Procedures Section 63-503.414
Several categories that feel like legitimate business costs are specifically disallowed:
- Depreciation is not deductible for CalFresh, even though it appears on a federal Schedule C.
- Federal, state, and local income taxes cannot be claimed.
- Retirement contributions are excluded.
- Commuting costs are treated as personal, already covered by the separate earned income deduction.
- Net losses carried forward from a prior period do not count.
The depreciation rule catches people out. On your IRS return, depreciation on vehicles and equipment can be a large write-off. On the CSF 35 it counts for nothing. If depreciation drives most of your federal deductions, the flat 40 percent may actually produce a better CalFresh result.
Signing
Your signature makes the form a sworn statement, carrying the same legal weight as testimony under oath. Sign only after you have checked every figure. The signature date should match or closely follow the reporting period covered by the numbers above it.
How the County Averages Your Income
Caseworkers do not simply use last month’s earnings. State regulations require them to average self-employment income over the period it is intended to cover. At application, the county verifies income and expenses from the last full year, or from the most recent period meant to represent a year or part of one, and uses that averaged figure going forward.
If your business has seen a substantial jump or drop and the averaged figure no longer reflects reality, you can ask the caseworker to base the calculation on anticipated earnings instead. Bring documentation: a new contract, a canceled client, seasonal trends. For quarterly-reporting households, self-employment income is averaged over the payment quarter.
Where to Get the Form and How to Submit It
The CSF 35 is on the California Department of Social Services forms page, filed alphabetically under “C” at cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/forms-brochures/forms-alphabetic-list/a-d. You can also pick up a paper copy at your county social services office. Some counties host it on their own sites as well.
Once it is signed, you can return it in several ways:
- Upload it through BenefitsCal.com. Log in, choose “Upload a Document,” enter the document details, and attach a scan or phone photo of the signed form.
- Mail the original or a clear copy to the county office handling your case. Use the address on your most recent county correspondence.
- Drop it off in person. Most county offices have secure drop boxes near the entrance.
- Fax it. The fax number is usually on your appointment notice or the county’s website.
If you are submitting actual-expense documentation with the form, bundle everything together, receipts, invoices, lease agreements, and insurance statements, so the caseworker is not chasing you for missing pages.
What Happens After You Submit
CalFresh applications must be processed within 30 days of the filing date, and the CSF 35 feeds directly into that timeline. If the caseworker needs clarification on any income entry or expense claim, expect a phone call or a scheduled interview.
Once a decision is made, the county sends you a written Notice of Action stating whether your application was approved, denied, or adjusted, and why. Every CalFresh action must come with a Notice of Action. If you disagree, the notice will include instructions for requesting a fair hearing. Keep your copy of the CSF 35 and supporting documents in case you appeal.
Penalties for False Reporting
Because the CSF 35 is signed under penalty of perjury, deliberately misreporting income or expenses carries consequences beyond losing benefits.
An intentional program violation triggers escalating federal disqualification: 12 months of ineligibility for a first violation, 24 months for a second, and permanent disqualification for a third.
California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 10980 also makes it a crime to willfully make a false statement or conceal a material fact to get public assistance.4California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 10980 If the benefits obtained through fraud total $950 or less, the offense is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in county jail, a fine of up to $500, or both. Above $950, it can be charged as a felony carrying 16 months, two years, or three years in state prison and a fine up to $5,000, or prosecuted as a misdemeanor with up to one year in county jail and a fine up to $1,000. Filing under a fictitious identity or submitting duplicate applications is a felony regardless of dollar amount.
Honest mistakes are treated differently from intentional fraud. If you realize after submitting the form that a figure was wrong, contact your county office right away and correct it. A proactive correction looks very different from a discrepancy the county finds on its own.