Someone who is not a member of the household can apply for the household itself, go to the interview, and give the food stamp office the information it needs to decide if the household members are eligible. This person is called an authorized representative. [7 U.S.C. § 2020(e)(7); 7 C.F.R. § 273.2(n)(1); MPP § 63-402.61.]  The authorized representative can be a friend, a relative, someone who works for an agency or anyone else the applicant chooses to “represent” them. That said, the converse is not true, i.e., the local food stamp office cannot force the food stamp household to have an authorized representative. An eligible food stamp household can also have an authorized representative pick up its stamps and buy its groceries, if it so chooses. [7 C.F.R. §§ 273.2(n)(2), (3); MPP §§ 63-402.612, 402.613.]

If a household wants someone to be its authorized representative, the head of the household should write a note to the food stamp office that says that this particular person has permission to be the authorized representative of the food stamp household. [7 U.S.C. § 2020(e)(7); 7 C.F.R. §§ 273.2(n)(1),(2); MPP § 63-402.611(a).]

If an applicant lives in a drug or alcohol treatment center, s/he may not apply for food stamps unless a staff member of the treatment center applies for the applicant as his or her authorized representative. [7 C.F.R. § 273.2(n)(1)(ii), 273.11(e)(1); MPP § 63-402.62.]

An individual disqualified for an intentional program violation cannot act as an authorized representative during the period of disqualification, unless the individual is the only adult member of the household and the county welfare department has determined that no other representative is available. [7 U.S.C. § 2020(e)(7); 7 C.F.R. § 273.2(n)(4)(B); MPP § 63-402.633.]

If an authorized representative misrepresents a household’s circumstances and knowingly provides false information pertaining to the household, or uses the food stamp benefits improperly, the county may disqualify that representative from participating as a representative in the Food Stamp Program for up to one year. [7 U.S.C. § 2020(e)(7); 7 C.F.R. § 273.2(n)(4)(C); MPP § 63-402.651.]