LIHEAP Crisis Benefits: How to Get Help Quickly

Where to start in an energy crisis

For broader heating, cooling, and equipment repair information, see our LIHEAP repair guide.

What counts as a LIHEAP crisis

There is no single national crisis definition for every household. States, territories, and tribes write their own rules within federal law. The official state crisis table shows how different the definitions, priority rules, seasons, and maximum benefits can be.

A local program may treat one or more of these as a crisis:

• A utility shutoff notice with a deadline that is close.
• Electric or gas service that has already been disconnected.
• An empty or nearly empty tank or fuel supply.
• A furnace, boiler, fuel line, or heating system that is broken or unsafe.
• Loss of cooling during dangerous heat, especially when someone is medically vulnerable.
• Electricity needed for oxygen, refrigeration of medicine, dialysis, mobility equipment, or another essential medical device.
• A recent income loss, medical expense, household emergency, or other event that caused the energy crisis, if local rules require a cause.

A notice that feels urgent to you may not meet the local program’s crisis wording. Ask the office to tell you the exact rule: how many days before shutoff, what fuel level counts, whether a medical form is needed, and whether a broken system must be inspected by an approved provider.

How fast crisis help should respond

Under normal federal LIHEAP rules, an eligible household that applies for crisis assistance must receive some form of intervention that resolves the energy crisis within 48 hours. If the situation is life-threatening, the intervention deadline is 18 hours. The federal LIHEAP crisis guidance explains these time limits and the disaster exceptions.

This does not always mean money will appear in your account within 18 or 48 hours. An intervention may be a utility pledge, fuel delivery, reconnection arrangement, temporary equipment, approved repair, safe lodging, or another action that resolves the immediate danger. The household must also be found eligible under the local program’s rules.

The clock can become disputed when an application is missing proof. Ask the worker these questions:

• Is my application officially received?
• Is it complete enough to be reviewed as a crisis?
• Did you classify it as a regular crisis or a life-threatening crisis?
• What document is still missing?
• What action will be used to resolve the crisis?
• Has the utility or vendor received a pledge or notice?

Who may qualify

LIHEAP crisis help is generally for households with low income that are responsible for a home energy cost and meet the local crisis definition. The federal government does not accept household applications. Each state, territory, or tribe chooses its exact income limit and may use different rules for heating, cooling, crisis, and equipment repair.

For FY 2026, federal law lets LIHEAP grant recipients set an income limit within a federal range. The upper limit is generally the greater of 150% of the federal poverty guideline or 60% of state median income. A program cannot set an income-only cutoff below 110% of the poverty guideline, although it can still use other eligibility and priority rules. See the official FY 2026 state limits.

The table below shows 150% of the FY 2026 federal poverty guideline for the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C. It is only a screening reference. Your local limit may be higher, lower within the allowed range, based on state median income, or different for a crisis component. Alaska and Hawaii use higher figures.

Check the full FY 2026 poverty table for larger households, Alaska, and Hawaii.

You may also qualify through categorical eligibility if someone in the household receives a program such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, Supplemental Security Income, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or certain means-tested veterans benefits. This option is not used the same way everywhere.

Homeowners and renters may both qualify. Do not assume you are excluded because utilities are included in rent, the bill is shared, or the account is in another household member’s name. Ask how the local office treats your lease, utility responsibility, and household arrangement.

How to apply quickly

1. Find the correct office. Use the federal LIHEAP office search. You can search by state, territory, or tribe.
2. Use the national referral line if you are stuck. Call the National Energy Assistance Referral service at 1-866-674-6327. Representatives are listed as available weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. TTY users can call 1-866-367-6228. You may also email NEAR and include your city, county, and state.
3. Call the utility or fuel vendor. Ask for the exact shutoff date, reconnection amount, minimum fuel delivery, fees, and whether the company accepts a LIHEAP pledge.
4. Submit the official application. Local methods may include an online portal, phone intake, email, mail, or an in-person appointment. Mark or state that the case is a crisis.
5. Send crisis proof the same day. Upload or deliver the shutoff notice, disconnection proof, fuel statement, repair diagnosis, or medical form in the way the office requests.
6. Get a record. Save the confirmation number, case number, date, worker name, and every document you sent.
7. Confirm the intervention. Ask whether a pledge, payment, delivery, repair order, or other action has actually been sent to the utility or vendor.

Our application guide explains how to organize calls, forms, inspections, and follow-up when more than one program is involved.

Documents to send

Make the first call even if your folder is incomplete. Then ask exactly what the local office needs. Requirements vary, but these items commonly prevent delays.

Use the official portal, email address, fax number, or office given by the real agency. Do not send Social Security numbers, bank records, medical files, or identity documents through social media or to a person who contacted you unexpectedly. See our document checklist for a larger application folder.

What crisis help may pay for

LIHEAP crisis assistance is usually a non-repayable benefit or direct service. It is not a loan. The payment commonly goes to the utility, fuel company, repair vendor, or local provider instead of the household.

• Utility service: A payment or pledge to prevent shutoff, restore service, or reduce the amount needed for a payment arrangement.
• Deliverable fuel: Oil, propane, kerosene, wood, pellets, coal, or another approved fuel delivery. Vendor and minimum-delivery rules often apply.
• Fees: Reconnection charges, deposits, delivery fees, or tank-related costs in places that allow them.
• Heating repair: Furnace, boiler, fuel line, controls, or another energy-related repair in programs that offer equipment help.
• Heating replacement: Replacement when an approved inspection finds that repair is unsafe or not practical and local funds allow it.
• Cooling crisis: Cooling bill help, an air conditioner, fan, repair, or referral in some states and tribal programs. Medical proof or an extreme-heat rule may apply.
• Temporary safety help: Space heaters, blankets, safe lodging, or another short-term action in some local plans.

LIHEAP is not a general home repair grant. Roofs, foundations, plumbing, mold removal, remodeling, and unrelated electrical work usually need another program. Weatherization can be a better long-term path for insulation, air sealing, ducts, energy equipment, and related health and safety work, but it often has a waitlist and is not same-day cash. Review our weatherization guide and the Department of Energy’s WAP application steps.

When shutoff protections apply

Every state has different rules for utility disconnection. Protections may depend on temperature, season, age, disability, medical risk, payment-plan status, or whether the utility is regulated. The current federal state disconnect guide lists regulators, consumer contacts, and known protections.

A moratorium or medical hold usually delays a shutoff. It does not erase the bill. Charges may continue, and service may be disconnected later if the balance remains unpaid. Municipal utilities, rural electric cooperatives, and deliverable fuel companies may not be covered by the same state utility rules.

When you call the utility, ask whether the protection applies to your company and account. If the answer seems wrong, ask for a supervisor and contact the state Public Utility Commission or Public Service Commission. USAGov also provides a current energy bill help page with LIHEAP, weatherization, and disconnection starting points.

If you are denied, delayed, or told funds are gone

• Ask whether you can correct the file, request reconsideration, appeal, or ask for a fair hearing. Get the deadline and instructions.
• If the application is incomplete, submit the missing item and ask when the crisis clock starts under local procedure.
• If the office does not serve your address, ask for the correct county, city, community action, territory, or tribal provider.
• If the program is closed, ask whether crisis, cooling, equipment repair, weatherization, or another component is still open.
• If the utility has not received a pledge, call both the agency and utility. Do not assume a case number alone protects service.
• If a repair vendor refuses the program, ask for the approved-vendor list rather than paying first and hoping for reimbursement.

Use our denial guide to organize a second attempt and keep the reason from following you into the next application.

Backup help while LIHEAP is pending

• Your utility: Ask for a payment plan, arrears management program, hardship fund, medical certificate, budget billing, deposit waiver, or reconnection arrangement.
• 211: Call 211 or use the utility assistance directory for local fuel funds, charities, cooling centers, warming centers, transportation, and emergency shelter.
• Community Action: Ask about LIHEAP, Community Services Block Grant help, weatherization, local emergency funds, and other benefits screening.
• Weatherization: Apply for longer-term energy improvements even if it cannot resolve today’s shutoff.
• Local repair programs: If the problem is broader than home energy, use our guide to local repair programs.
• Safe temporary location: During dangerous heat or cold, ask emergency management, 211, a fire department, or local health officials about cooling centers, warming centers, and safe shelter.

If you do not know which local door to try first, our starting-points guide compares 211, Community Action, aging services, housing counselors, and rural offices.

LIHEAP and utility scam warnings

Scammers may also pretend to be the utility and threaten same-day shutoff. Do not use a phone number, barcode, QR code, payment link, or account supplied by an unexpected caller or text. Contact the utility using the number printed on your bill or the company’s known website. The Federal Trade Commission warns that real utilities do not demand immediate payment by gift card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, payment app, or another hard-to-reverse method. Read the FTC’s utility scam warning.

Before sending documents or paying anyone, use our guide to verify a real program.