Maryland’s Temporary Disability Assistance Program, known as TDAP, pays $348 a month to low-income state residents who cannot work because of a physical or mental impairment expected to last at least three months.1Maryland Department of Human Services. Action Transmittal 26-13 – TCA TDAP Benefit Increase It is designed as a bridge: cash while you recover from a shorter-term condition, or while a federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) application works through the system. The Maryland Department of Human Services runs the program, and your local Department of Social Services decides whether you qualify.2Maryland Department of Human Services. Temporary Disability Assistance
Who Qualifies
Six requirements, set out in COMAR 07.03.05, all have to be met. Miss one and you are out.
- You are a U.S. citizen or a qualified immigrant whose status the local department can verify.
- You live in Maryland, in the jurisdiction where you apply.
- You are not working at the time of application.
- A licensed health care provider certifies that your condition will keep you from working for at least three months.
- Your countable resources are $1,500 or less, and your countable income is $185 a month or less.
- You are not eligible for federally funded cash assistance, though a pending SSI or SSDI claim does not disqualify you.
The financial numbers trip people up. The $1,500 resource cap counts liquid assets like bank balances. The $185 income cap applies after certain exclusions; in-kind help such as food from a relative or rent paid by a third party generally does not count. If a spouse lives with you, their net earned income and most unearned income count toward the household, but the first $185 of a spouse’s income is disregarded.4Legal Information Institute. Maryland Code of Regulations 07.03.05.07 – Financial Need
The Medical Form That Decides Your Case
The DHS/FIA 402B Medical Report Form is the centerpiece of every TDAP application. The local Department of Social Services hands it to you at intake, and you take it to a provider who can complete it. The provider has to describe the condition and confirm that it will prevent you from working for at least three months.5Maryland Department of Human Services. FIA Action Transmittal 07-23 – Medical Report Forms DHR/FIA 402B and 402W
It does not have to be your primary care doctor. Any of the following can sign the 402B:
- Licensed physicians
- Licensed or certified psychologists
- Licensed optometrists
- Licensed podiatrists
- Qualified speech-language pathologists
Non-physician specialists can only sign for conditions within their area of practice.5Maryland Department of Human Services. FIA Action Transmittal 07-23 – Medical Report Forms DHR/FIA 402B and 402W Ask your provider to be specific about how the impairment limits your day-to-day activities and your ability to work. The most common reason a form gets kicked back is a vague statement like “patient is disabled” with nothing to back it up.
Along with the 402B, bring proof of identity, documentation of your immigration status if that applies, and verification of your income and resources, such as bank statements, pay stubs, or benefit award letters.
How to Apply
You have several ways to file:
- Online through MarylandBenefits.gov.
- In person at your county’s local Department of Social Services office.
- By mail or fax to that local office. Someone else can drop off a completed application for you if getting there is difficult.
Once your signed application is in, a case manager conducts an eligibility interview, which can be done by phone. The department has 30 days from receipt of the signed application to issue a decision.6Maryland Department of Human Services. Temporary Disability Assistance Program Manual – Normal Processing Standards You will get a written Notice of Determination laying out the decision and the reasons for it.
How Much You Get and for How Long
The current benefit is $348 a month for an individual.1Maryland Department of Human Services. Action Transmittal 26-13 – TCA TDAP Benefit Increase Maryland has raised the amount more than once recently; it was $256 as recently as early 2025, so check the latest DHS action transmittal if time has passed.7Maryland Department of Human Services. Action Transmittal 25-12 – TCA TDAP RCA Benefit Increase
How long you can collect depends on the length of your impairment:
- Short-term impairment (three to under 12 months): up to nine months of benefits within any 36-month window. Once you hit that cap, you wait out the remaining months of the window before reapplying.
- Long-term impairment (12 months or more): the department can certify you for up to 12 months at a time, and renew in additional 12-month periods, as long as you stay eligible and keep actively pursuing SSI or SSDI.
“Actively pursuing” matters. If you withdraw your SSI application, or get a final denial and do not appeal it, the local department puts you back under the nine-months-in-36 limit.8Legal Information Institute. Maryland Code of Regulations 07.03.05.05 – Eligibility Determination Keeping up with every SSI appeal step is a condition of staying on TDAP, not just good practice.3Legal Information Institute. Maryland Code of Regulations 07.03.05.04 – Technical Eligibility
The SSI Reimbursement Catch
This part surprises people. If you are, or could become, eligible for SSI, the department requires you to sign an interim payment reimbursement authorization as part of applying. Refuse to sign it and you do not get TDAP. There is no workaround.9Legal Information Institute. Maryland Code of Regulations 07.03.05.06 – Interim Assistance Reimbursement
What the authorization does: when SSI is eventually approved, the Social Security Administration sends your retroactive back payment to the Maryland Department of Human Services instead of to you. The state subtracts the TDAP it paid while you were waiting, then forwards whatever is left to you within 10 working days.9Legal Information Institute. Maryland Code of Regulations 07.03.05.06 – Interim Assistance Reimbursement If your SSI back pay is larger than what you got in TDAP, you keep the balance. If the first SSI month is prorated, the state only recoups a proportional share. Treat TDAP as an advance on SSI back pay, not as free-standing aid.
If You Are Denied
You have 90 days from the date on the Notice of Determination to request an administrative fair hearing. Miss the deadline and you lose the right to appeal that decision.10Maryland Department of Human Services. DHS FIA 334 – Request for Fair Hearing
File by completing the DHS/FIA 334 (Request for Fair Hearing) and sending it to your local Department of Social Services by mail, fax, or in person. You can also mail it directly to the Office of Administrative Hearings in Hunt Valley. Filing in person and asking for a dated receipt is the safest way to prove you met the deadline.
The local department forwards your request to the Office of Administrative Hearings within five days. At least six days before the hearing, you receive a summary of the facts and copies of every document the department plans to use. You can represent yourself or bring a lawyer, a relative, a friend, or another spokesperson. If English is not your language, the department provides an interpreter at no cost. The state must issue a final decision within 60 days of receiving your hearing request.
One warning worth keeping in mind: putting false information on a TDAP application is public assistance fraud under Maryland criminal law, a misdemeanor carrying up to three years in prison, a fine of up to $1,000, mandatory restitution, and escalating disqualification from benefits.11Justia. Maryland Code Criminal Law 8-503 – Public Assistance Fraud Report income, resources, and household changes accurately, and update your case manager if your situation changes.