Can I fax my Medicaid or unemployment paperwork?
Most state benefits agencies publish a fax line for renewals and verification documents. Our guide has a page for every state we have covered.
Which office takes it depends on your state
A renewal notice, a verification request, or a fact-finding form usually names a fax number in its instructions, and that number is the one to use. Where the letter does not give one, our state benefits guide has a page per state covering Medicaid and CHIP, SNAP and TANF, unemployment, state leave benefits, and state tax.
Each page names the office as the state names it, gives the line the agency publishes, quotes what that agency asks you to put on every page, and links the agency page the number was read on.
Two answers on those pages are not a number, and both are real. Where a state runs Medicaid or SNAP through county offices, the row links the state's own directory, because the number you need is your own county's. And a few departments publish no fax at all and say so; that row names the channel the agency does take.
Put your case number on every page
An agency that cannot match a page to a case has to set it aside by hand, which is the slowest path through any office. Put your case or client number on every page, along with your name, unless the agency asks for something else; several ask for a date of birth, and some publish a cover sheet they want on top.
Keep the delivery confirmation too. It records that the pages were transmitted and when, which is what a caseworker asks for when a document is missing from a file. See delivery and confirmations.
Call before you send
Agency fax lines change, and some stop answering. A short call to the number in the row confirms the line and whether that office is the one holding your case. If a line rings and never connects, a retry will not fix it.
What it costs
A benefits document is sent like any other fax. Every account gets 10 free pages a month, so a renewal or verification packet of up to 10 pages sends free, with no fax machine. If a second packet in the same month takes you past that, a credit pack covers it. See free faxing for how the free pages work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you tell me whether my benefits will be approved?
No. FaxTerra is a fax service, not a benefits agency. The office holding your case decides it, and only they can tell you where your case stands.
Do you know whether the agency received my fax?
We can tell you the fax was transmitted to the number you entered, and that is what the delivery confirmation records. Whether the agency has filed it against your case is theirs to say, so call the office if it matters to a deadline.