1) Program-Based Qualification Method:

You can qualify for California LifeLine if you or another person in your household is enrolled in any one of these qualifying public assistance programs:

  • Medicaid/Medi-Cal
  • Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
  • Federal Public Housing Assistance or Section 8
  • CalFresh, Food Stamps or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
  • Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC)
  • National School Lunch Program (NSL)
  • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
    • 1. California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs)
    • 2. Stanislaus County Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (StanWORKs)
    • 3. Welfare-to-Work (WTW)
    • 4. Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN)
  • Tribal TANF
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance
  • Head Start Income Eligible (Tribal Only)
  • Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations
  • Federal Veterans and Survivors Pension Benefit Program
2) Income-Based Qualification Method:

You can qualify for California LifeLine if your household’s total annual gross income is at or less than these annual income limits:

LifeLine Income Guidelines
LifeLine Income Guidelines*

Household Size

Annual Income Limit

1-2

$26,400

3

$30,700

4

$37,300

Each Additional Member

$6,600

* Effective June 1, 2017 to May 31, 2018

Documentation is required to show your household’s total annual gross income meets the annual income limits if you are qualifying by Income-Based. A household’s total annual gross income consists of money received BEFORE TAXES by everyone in your household (adults and children), from whatever source derived, whether taxable or non-taxable, including, but not limited to: wages, salaries, interest, dividends, alimony and child support, grants, gifts, allowances, stipends, lottery winnings, inheritances, worker’s compensation, unemployment and public assistance benefits, social security payments, pensions, rental income, income from self-employment, and cash payments from other sources, and all employment-related, non-cash income.