A-2000 Identifying Applicants Interviewed by Phone and Prevention of Duplicate Participation

A-2010, General Policy

Revision 14-2; Effective April 1, 2014

All Programs

Staff must use available technology to verify identity and prevent duplicate participation.

Related Policy

Identity, A-600
Duplicate Participation, B-421.1
Duplicate Participation Procedures, B-454.1
Claims, B-700
Referrals for Intentional Program Violation (IPV), B-900
Establishing Identity for Contact Outside the Interview Process, B-1213

A-2020, Authenticating a Caller

Revision 26-2; Effective April 1, 2026

All Programs

Staff must authenticate a caller during any phone contact with the household.

Staff must ask identifying questions to confirm the identity of the caller.

Staff should explain that the authentication questions help ensure the caller's identity and protect their confidentiality and information. Do this at the start of the call.

A-2020.1 Authentication Questions and Verification Sources

Revision 26-2; Effective April 1, 2026

All Programs

Staff must authenticate a caller during any phone contact with the household.

Ask client-related questions to authenticate a caller's identity. These are questions that the person, authorized representative (AR), or personal representative (PR) will usually know the answers to but are not easily known to others.

Use available verification sources to select the questions and verify the responses. These sources include but are not limited to:

Texas Integrated Eligibility Redesign System (TIERS);
Data Broker; and
Birth Verification System (BVS).

Not all the questions are applicable to every household. Staff should use prudent person principle to determine if enough questions apply to the household's situation and if the person provides accurate responses.

The person must respond accurately to two questions from the lists below. Ask as many head of household-related questions as needed to allow the person to provide two accurate responses.

Initially, questions with available verifications should be chosen from a source other than the application, such as:

What is your Texas driver license or Texas state identification number?
What was a previous address for any place you lived?
Who are your neighbors?
What is the date of your wedding anniversary?
When was your divorce final?

If the person cannot provide two correct answers to the above questions, ask as many of these other questions as needed to receive a total of two accurate responses:

What is the date of birth for a child on your case?
What type of vehicle do you or another household member own?
Who are the members of your household?
What types of income do you or a member of your household receive?
From whom do you receive child support?
What is your alien registration number?
What is your or your spouse's maiden name?
What is the name of a bank or financial institution where you have an account?
What is the name of a previous or last employer for you or another household member?
What is the name of your mortgage company or landlord?
To whom do you pay child support?

If necessary, request a credit report on the head of household:

for applicants new to Texas;
when none of the above questions apply to the household's situation; or
when you cannot gather verification of the responses from the sources listed above.

Information from the head of household's credit report may be used to develop questions to authenticate the caller. Examples of credit report questions to authenticate the caller include:

What is the name of a gas station or department store where you have a credit card?
What is the name of a major credit card you have, such as a Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover?
What is the name of the bank or financial institution which holds your student loan?
What is the name of the bank or financial institution which holds your car loan?

A-2020.2 Actions When Unable to Authenticate the Caller

Revision 26-2; Effective April 1, 2026

All Programs

Staff should submit a policy clearance request to field policy staff if:

none of the questions apply to a particular case situation; or
responses cannot be verified.

A-2020.3 Actions on Inaccurate Responses to the Questions

Revision 26-2; Effective April 1, 2026

All Programs

If enough questions are applicable to the case but the caller cannot provide correct responses to any two questions to authenticate their identity advise them that:

the interview will be completed to gather required information; and
the person must come to the local office and provide verification of their identity in person.

Staff must document if the person did not correctly respond to the authentication questions in the case record.

Send the household Form H1020, Request for Information or Action, requesting that the caller provide proof of identity at an HHSC local office.

Do not deny an active Eligibility Determination Group (EDG) when adding a program if the caller fails to come to an HHSC local office to authenticate their identity.

A-2020.4 Claiming Hardship for Coming to the Office

Revision 26-2; Effective April 1, 2026

All Programs

If the caller states they cannot come to an HHSC local office, allow the caller to claim hardship for any of the following reasons:

residence is more than 30 miles from an HHSC local office, even if an itinerant office is less than 30 miles from the caller’s' home;
work or training schedule;
transportation difficulties;
prolonged severe weather;
illness;
care of a household member, who does not have to be part of the certified household; or
victims of family violence.

The person must provide authentication of their identity by:

mail;
uploading information to their Your Texas Benefits account; or
fax.

A-2020.5 Actions When Verification Is Provided at the Local Office

Revision 26-2; Effective April 1, 2026

All Programs

Staff documents if the caller was authenticated in the case record and what information was provided if the caller comes to an HHSC local office and provides appropriate authentication.

A-2020.6 Denial for Failure to Authenticate Identity

Revision 26-2; Effective April 1, 2026

All Programs

The eligibility determination system creates a task to deny only the EDG that authentication questions were asked for if the caller does not come to the local office to provide acceptable verification of identity by the final due date on Form H1020, Request for Information or Action. This is done by using the denial reason: failure to provide required information within specified time frame.

A-2030, Prevention of Duplicate Participation

Revision 24-4; Effective Oct. 1, 2024

All Programs

At application and when adding a new household member, verify that household members do not currently receive TANF, Medicaid or SNAP benefits.

Related Policy

Duplicate Participation, B-421.1
Effective Date Requirements, B-640

A-2030.1 Inquiry and Sources

Revision 15-4; Effective October 1, 2015

All Programs

HHSC staff must use existing technology, such as TIERS, Data Broker, State Online Query (SOLQ), etc., to verify the household members do not receive duplicate benefits.

At application, staff must:

perform a TIERS file clearance to identify any household members receiving benefits in TANF, Medicaid or SNAP;
use available online sources to verify the validity of information provided by the individual and missing or questionable information;
contact the household and allow the individual the opportunity to explain any discrepancy; and/or
send the household Form H1020, Request for Information or Action, requesting information or proof to resolve the discrepancies, if necessary.

Related Policy

Registering an Application, A-122.3
Automated Support Systems, C-800

A-2030.2 Duplicate Participation Match Procedures

Revision 15-4; Effective October 1, 2015

All Programs

If a household member is currently active for the same program on another EDG, HHSC staff must:

notify the corresponding HHSC office by email or telephone;
determine the correct EDG/case that will remain open;
deny TANF, Medicaid and SNAP, if needed to prevent duplicate participation; and
refer the household to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for a TANF and/or SNAP overpayment.

Staff should refer to B-771, Filing an Overpayment Referral Using Automated System for the Office of Inspector General (ASOIG), and B-772, Filing an Overpayment Referral Using TIERS, for instructions on submitting a fraud and/or non-fraud referral to OIG. Staff may use either the TIERS interface with ASOIG or initiate the fraud referral directly in ASOIG.

Related Policy

Duplicate Participation, B-421.1
Participation Twice in Same Month, B-454
Duplicate Participation Procedures, B-454.1
Claims, B-700
Referrals for Intentional Program Violation (IPV), B-900

A-2040, Verification Requirements

Revision 15-4; Effective October 1, 2015

All Programs

TIERS file clearance and any other available sources may be used to verify the identity of the person being interviewed and that the household does not receive duplicate benefits.

A-2040.1 Authentication of Caller Identity Verification Sources

Revision 26-2; Effective April 1, 2026

All Programs

Authenticate a caller’s identity using the following verification sources:

Adoption papers or records
Birth certificate
Certificate of Naturalization
Certificate of U.S. citizenship
Collateral statement from a non-relative
Department of Public Safety (DPS) current or expired identification card
Driver license
Finding of citizenship by another federal or state agency
Hospital or birth records
Identification card issued by federal, state, or local government
Immigration documents
Military dependent’s identification card with photo or other identifying information
School identification card
Tribal enrollment card
U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner card with photo or other identifying info
U.S. passport
U.S. military card or draft record with photo or other identifying information
Voter registration card
Wage or check stub or check
Work identification

A-2050, Documentation Requirements

Revision 26-2; Effective April 1, 2026

All Programs

Document how the caller was authenticated in the case record.

Staff must document the following in the case record:

if the caller was or was not verified;
a brief statement showing which questions were answered correctly, such as saying, caller verified Texas driver license and name of mortgage company;
if the caller fails to correctly answer the questions, note which questions were asked and the incorrect responses given;
if the caller came into the office and provided verification of identity or claimed hardship; and
if an OIG referral was made via ASOIG; otherwise use the eligibility determination system functionality.