Medi-Cal Renewal Form in California: Deadlines and 2026 Asset Rules

Your Medi-Cal renewal form is the packet your county mails you once a year to confirm you still qualify for coverage. It arrives pre-filled with the information the county already has, and you have 60 days from the date it was sent to review it, correct anything that’s changed, sign it, and return it.¹ Miss the deadline and your coverage ends, though California gives you a 90-day window afterward to submit and be treated as a continuing case rather than a new applicant.²

When the Form Arrives and When It’s Due

Not everyone gets a form. Your county first tries to renew you automatically by pulling tax records, wage data, and other benefit files. If everything lines up, you get a notice saying you’ve been renewed for another year and no form to fill out.¹ Read that notice anyway and contact your county if any of it is wrong.

When the county can’t verify eligibility on its own, it mails the packet at least 60 days before your annual redetermination date, which is typically the anniversary of your enrollment. The due date is printed on the form itself, and that printed date is the one to work from.¹

Check now that your county office and your BenefitsCal account both have your current mailing address. If the packet goes to an old address and you never see it, your coverage still ends for non-response.

What the Form Asks and What to Have Ready

The form comes pre-filled with your name, address, household members, income, and immigration status. Your job is to go line by line, correct anything outdated, and add anything new. If nothing has changed, you still have to sign and return it to confirm the pre-filled information is accurate.

Income is the section that causes the most trouble. Have your most recent pay stubs, any Social Security or unemployment award letters, and recent tax documents in front of you before you start. Report household changes too — someone moving in or out, a birth, a marriage or divorce. For most working-age adults and children, eligibility is based on Modified Adjusted Gross Income; the form is calibrated for that, and you’re confirming numbers rather than calculating anything yourself.³

New in 2026: Asset Questions for Older Adults and People With Disabilities

Starting January 1, 2026, California reinstated asset limits for non-MAGI Medi-Cal — the programs that mainly serve people 65 and over and people with disabilities.⁴ For several years assets weren’t counted at all. If that’s your category, expect the renewal form to ask about them at your next annual redetermination after that date.

The limits are $130,000 for one person, $195,000 for two, $260,000 for three, and $325,000 for four. Each additional household member adds $65,000, up to ten people. Countable assets include cash, bank accounts, second vehicles, and property you don’t live in. Your primary home, one vehicle, and certain other property are generally exempt. Once the asset test applies to you, you also have to report changes to your assets within 10 days going forward.⁴

Three non-MAGI categories are exempt from the reinstated asset test: the Pickle program, the Disabled Adult Child program, and the Disabled Widow/Widower program.⁴ If you get Medi-Cal through standard MAGI eligibility, asset limits don’t apply to you at all.

Four Ways to Submit

California law gives you four ways to return the completed form.¹

Online through BenefitsCal.com. Log in, open “Things to Do,” click “Submit renewal,” and follow the prompts. You can upload documents and get immediate confirmation. This is the fastest route and the one least likely to lose paperwork.⁵
By mail, using the pre-addressed, postage-paid envelope in the packet. Send copies of any supporting documents with the signed form.
In person at your local county human services agency.
By phone, using the number on your renewal notice. Have all the information in front of you before you call.

Keep proof of submission regardless of which method you use. Screenshot the online confirmation, use certified mail or photograph the packet before sealing it, or ask for a dated receipt if you drop it off. If a dispute later arises about whether you submitted on time, that proof is what you have.

After You Submit

Your coverage stays active while the county processes the renewal, provided you submitted by the deadline. Processing usually takes 30 to 60 days. If the county needs something it couldn’t verify electronically, it will send a written request specifying exactly what’s missing. Answer that request quickly. Delay at this stage is one of the most common reasons an eligible person’s renewal ends in a denial.

The county’s final decision comes as a Notice of Action.⁶ Read it even if the news is good, and confirm the benefit level and program type listed are correct.

If You Miss the Deadline

A missed deadline doesn’t shut you out. California allows a 90-day cure period after coverage is discontinued.² Submit the completed form and any required documents within 90 days of the discontinuance date and the county must handle it as a continuation of your existing case, not a new application. That difference matters, because a new application means starting over with potentially different rules and effective dates.

After 90 days, you’d have to file a brand new Medi-Cal application. So if you’re late, submit as soon as you notice.

If Your Coverage Is Denied or Reduced

The Notice of Action will state the reason and the effective date of any termination or reduction. You can appeal by requesting a State Fair Hearing through the California Department of Social Services. For redetermination-related actions — terminations, reductions to limited benefits, and increases in your share of cost — DHCS has temporarily extended the request deadline to 120 days from the date the notice was mailed, up from the standard 90 days. That extension remains in effect until further notice.⁷

There’s a separate, much shorter deadline that matters more if you need care continuously. To keep your Medi-Cal running while the hearing is decided — called “aid paid pending” — you have to request the hearing within 10 days of the notice date, or before the date the notice lists as when coverage ends, whichever is later.⁸ Miss that 10-day window and you can still appeal, but you’ll be uncovered until it’s resolved.

Reporting Changes Between Renewals

Your reporting duty doesn’t end when the form goes back. You have to tell your county within 10 days of any change to your address, income, employer, household composition, marital status, other health coverage, immigration status, or pregnancy status. Waiting until the next annual renewal to mention something that happened months earlier can create problems at that renewal and, in some cases, an overpayment the state will try to recover.

Report changes through BenefitsCal, by phone, by mail, or in person.⁵ Reporting a drop in income or a new child can improve your benefits. Reporting a raise doesn’t automatically end coverage either — the county runs a fresh eligibility check, and you may still qualify under a different Medi-Cal category.

1
California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 14005.37
2
California Department of Health Care Services. Medi-Cal Renewal Process – The 90-Day Cure Period Job Aid
3
Covered California. Program Eligibility by Federal Poverty Level for 2026
4
California Department of Health Care Services. All County Welfare Directors Letter No. 25-14
5
BenefitsCal. How to Complete Your Medi-Cal Renewal Form in California
6
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Notice Considerations for Conducting Medicaid and CHIP Renewals at the Individual Level
7
California Department of Social Services. State Hearing Requests
8
California Department of Health Care Services. State Fair Hearing Request Form