Alabama DHR Fair Hearing Appeal: How to Fight a Benefits Denial

The Clock Starts When the Letter Arrives

When Alabama DHR denies your application, reduces a benefit, or terminates coverage, they mail a formal notice explaining the decision. That notice starts a countdown. Miss the deadline, and you lose your right to challenge the decision through the administrative process.

Understanding the deadlines — there are two that matter — is the difference between keeping benefits running while you appeal and starting over from scratch.

The Two Deadlines

The 10-day window (Medicaid only). If Medicaid coverage is being reduced or terminated, you have 10 calendar days from the date the notice was mailed to submit a written fair hearing request. Filing within this window triggers "Aid Paid Pending" — your existing coverage continues uninterrupted while the hearing is processed. Miss it, and coverage stops even if your appeal is eventually successful.

The 60-day window (Family Assistance, SNAP, and Medicaid). For Family Assistance and SNAP, submit a written hearing request within 60 calendar days of the notice date. Medicaid has a separate 60-calendar-day outer filing limit, in addition to the 10-day window that preserves coverage. For ALL Kids, follow the appeal instructions in the notice; ALL Kids is administered by the Alabama Department of Public Health, not DHR.

How to File

For Family Assistance, SNAP, and Medicaid, submit a written hearing request; phone calls and oral statements do not preserve these appeal rights. You can submit a written hearing request to:

• Your county DHR office for TANF and SNAP appeals
• Alabama Medicaid Agency, Attn: Fair Hearings Coordinator, 501 Dexter Avenue, P.O. Box 5624, Montgomery, AL 36130 for Medicaid appeals

The letter doesn't need to be formal. It needs to identify you, the child, the benefit in question, and state that you disagree with the decision and want a hearing. Keep a dated copy.

What Happens at the Hearing

For Family Assistance and SNAP, an Administrative Law Judge conducts the hearing — by phone or in person. For other programs, follow the hearing or review instructions in the agency notice. You can present evidence, bring witnesses, and explain why the denial or reduction was wrong. Common grounds for kinship caregivers include:

• DHR incorrectly counted the caregiver's income in a child-only case
• Relationship documentation was misclassified
• The renewal form was sent to a wrong address and never received
• Income was calculated using the wrong household composition

The DHR ALJ issues a binding written decision. For Medicaid, the final agency decision must come within 60 to 90 days.

Free Legal Help With Appeals

You don't have to go alone. Legal Services Alabama provides free representation for public benefit denials, Medicaid appeals, and SNAP fair hearings for qualifying low-income residents. Call their statewide intake line at 1-866-456-4995 or visit AlabamaLegalHelp.org.

The Alabama Kinship Navigator (1-844-425-2546) can also connect you with local legal aid resources and walk you through the process.

Don't Wait Until You're Denied

The best fair hearing is the one you never need. Getting the application right the first time — correct household composition, complete documentation, proper classification as a non-needy relative — prevents most denials. The Alabama Financial Help for Kinship Caregivers guide includes the document checklists, deadline trackers, and appeal instructions that keep your benefits on track.

See more Alabama guides →