Free and reduced-price school meals: application rules

One application per household

Section 245.6 starts with the form. A school district must offer a meal benefit form that lets a household apply for every child who attends school in the same district. It cannot require a separate application for each child, and a newly enrolled student must get an application and a prompt decision. The form has to be clear and simple, and what it asks about income is limited to what the household received, by member, and where the money came from, such as wages, welfare, pensions, support payments or unemployment compensation.

Other cash income counts too. The rule says it includes cash received or withdrawn from any source, including savings, investments and trust accounts, that is available to pay for a child’s meals. Communications must be in a format and, as far as practicable, a language that parents and guardians understand, and a district may accept electronic applications and signatures if it follows FNS guidance.

Who signs, and what the form must say

An adult member of the household signs. The application must list the names of all household members and the last four digits of the Social Security number of the adult who signs, or state that the signer has none. Those four digits are not required when the household gives a SNAP, TANF or FDPIR case number for the child. Above the signature there must be a statement that the information is true and correct, that the application is made in connection with Federal funds, that officials may verify it, and that deliberate misrepresentation may lead to prosecution.

The form must say that the National School Lunch Act requires the information and that a household does not have to give it, but that without it the child cannot be approved. It must also tell families that foster, migrant, homeless and runaway children and children enrolled in Head Start are categorically eligible for free meals and free milk.

Direct certification: no application needed

Districts must directly certify children in households receiving SNAP using a data match, and they must run the match at or near the start of the school year, three months later and six months later. Districts may also certify children from FDPIR or TANF records, and foster, homeless, migrant, runaway and Head Start children from the documents the rule lists. If one child is found eligible this way, every child in the same family is categorically eligible for free meals.

The household is told in writing that no application is required, and a parent who does not want the benefit can say so. Information from this process may be used only for the purposes the rule allows, and a household that also files an application is still governed by the direct certification result.

Timing, duration and changes

For an income application, the district must notify the household and start the benefits within 10 operating days of receiving the form. Eligibility lasts for the entire school year and for up to 30 operating days into the next one, and a household may apply at any time during the year. Households are not required to report changes, but may. If a household voluntarily reports a change that would lower benefits, the district may reduce them only if the household asks in writing.

When a district denies an application it must keep the reasons and the application, send a prompt written notice that gives the reason, the right to appeal, how to appeal, and a reminder that the household may reapply at any time. Before a hearing the family may ask for a conference with district officials; asking does not reduce the right to a fair hearing. Records are kept for three years after the fiscal year they cover, longer if an audit is unresolved.

The income table for 2026-27

The income limits come from the USDA notice published in the Federal Register on April 9, 2026, effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The Department set free meals at 130 percent and reduced-price meals at 185 percent of the 2026 federal poverty guidelines, rounded up to the next whole dollar. For the 48 contiguous states, the annual limits for one person are $20,748 (free) and $29,526 (reduced price), and each additional member adds $7,384 and $10,508. Alaska and Hawaii have their own columns, which the calculator includes.

Income in this notice means income before deductions such as income taxes, Social Security taxes, insurance premiums and charitable contributions. The notice also states that the value of meals, milk or EBT benefits to children is not counted as income for other benefit programs. The calculator compares your annual figure with the printed annual limit only. If your income is paid weekly, monthly or twice a month, use the notice’s other columns or convert to a yearly total first.

What this page does not decide

A district makes the real decision, based on the application and its own verification. This page cannot say whether your household size is counted correctly, whether certain income is excluded by federal law, or whether a child is categorically eligible. Many districts also offer free meals to every student under the community eligibility provision, in which case no application is collected. Your district office or State child nutrition agency can say which applies.

Sources

• 7 CFR 245.6, Application, eligibility and certification of children for free and reduced price meals and free milk: eCFR text current through the October 29, 2026 issue date. Read November 2, 2026.
• USDA Child Nutrition Programs: Income Eligibility Guidelines (2026-2027): Notice dated April 9, 2026, effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 (Federal Register document 2026-06842); annual table for the 48 contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii. The agency site now carries the name Food and Nutrition Administration; the notice was issued by the Food and Nutrition Service. Read November 2, 2026.

Edition read: 7 CFR 245.6 (eCFR, current through the October 29, 2026 issue date) and the 2026-27 income eligibility guidelines. This page summarizes the rule and does not replace it.