North Dakota LIHEAP 2026-27: Income Limits and How to Apply

For the federal limits in every state, our LIHEAP income limits guide has a 50-state table. This page covers North Dakota's own program.

North Dakota pays fuel vendors and utilities, plus monthly payments to some renters. Nobody legitimate charges a fee to sign you up.

North Dakota LIHEAP 2026-27: 5 Kinds of Help

North Dakota bundles 5 kinds of help under one LIHEAP approval, and its last filed plan put 58% of the money into heating, 15% into cooling devices and 10% into year-round emergency help. Another 5% went to weatherization, 2% to carryover and 10% to administration.

Sources: North Dakota LIHEAP plan, sections 1.1, 1.2, 2.6, 3.6, 4.12 and 4.13; HHS LIHEAP brochure DN523.

One thing that table can't show: renters in subsidized housing aren't eligible for heating help. The HHS brochure says LIHEAP serves households whose rent includes heat "except" those in subsidized housing, and the filed plan says they don't qualify for emergency help either, though they can still get a cooling device.

North Dakota LIHEAP Income Limits for 2026-27 (60% of State Median Income)

North Dakota's 2026-27 limit for four people is $6,628 a month, and HHS posts it as effective October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. HHS says income must be at or below 60% of North Dakota's median income.

Sources: North Dakota HHS LIHEAP page (opens in a new tab), 2026-2027 Heating Season table, checked November 3, 2026; ACF FY2027 state median income table for the last column. The annual column is the monthly figure times 12; the few-dollar gaps are rounding. HHS lists sizes up to 12, adding about $199 a month per person after six.

Adjusted income, not gross. North Dakota compares the limit to income after deductions. The HHS brochure lists child care, child support, medical expenses and a 27% deduction on earned income. That's why HHS asks for 12 months of paid expenses along with income for the prior, current and coming month.

When the figures change next. HHS's FFY2027 public notice says the adjusted income limits are estimated and will be updated as soon as the state receives new poverty level figures. Expect the next table with the FY2028 season starting October 1, 2027, or sooner if HHS revises this one.

For food help, our SNAP income limits guide lists the federal lines, and for health coverage, our North Dakota Medicaid income limits guide covers that program.

How North Dakota Figures Your Heating Benefit

North Dakota sets each household's benefit as a percentage of its estimated heating cost, and the filed plan says the state's share is never below 45%. The plan describes the goal this way: no eligible household should pay more than 6% of its total income toward heating. The state estimates your cost from a statewide cost-and-consumption table built from five years of real fuel-supplier billing data, then sets your LIHEAP share from income, household size and primary fuel.

Your approval notice lists your co-payment percentage and how long the benefits last, according to the plan. The HHS FAQ says your share is figured from your income "so your portion should be manageable," and that you still follow your vendor's payment terms for your part.

Worked example. For example, a family of four in Fargo with one parent earning $5,500 a month and $600 a month in child care would have about $3,415 in adjusted income after the 27% earned-income deduction and child care, well under the $6,628 limit. If the state's cost table estimated their gas heat at $1,600 for the season, the 45% floor means LIHEAP would pay at least $720 of it.

The 6% target matters more for low incomes. Take a widow in Minot living on $1,500 a month in Social Security, or $18,000 a year, who heats with propane. Six percent of her income is $1,080. If her estimated propane cost were $2,400, the plan's rule would hold her share near $1,080, leaving roughly $1,320 for LIHEAP to cover. These are illustrations of the filed rules, not quotes; HHS sets the actual percentage on your notice.

Applying Year-Round: 3 Ways and What to Bring

North Dakota takes LIHEAP applications 365 days a year, and HHS lists 3 ways to apply.

1. Online. Use the Self-Service Portal (SSP) at dhsbenefits.dhs.nd.gov. You'll create a North Dakota login and can link an existing case. HHS's SSP Help page has videos.
2. On paper. Print the application (SFN 529) and return it to the Customer Support Center or your local human service zone office.
3. By mail. Ask HHS to mail an application through its online request form, then mail it back to the Customer Support Center, P.O. Box 5562, Bismarck, ND 58506.

Bring or upload:

• The completed application
• Proof of income received last month and this month, and what you expect next month
• Proof of expenses paid over the last 12 months: medical, child care, child support or alimony
• A copy of your heating bill
• A copy of your lease if you rent

Free help filling it out. HHS contracts with Community Options, whose outreach workers can come to you. Its Bismarck main office is at (701) 223-2417 or toll-free (800) 823-2417, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can also call the Customer Support Center at 1-866-614-6005 (711 TTY) or email applyforhelp@nd.gov.

Annual review instead of reapplying. HHS's "Weather Any Weather" change means benefits no longer stop at the end of the old October-to-May season. You get a review packet the month before your review date, by mail and in the SSP. If you don't return it on time, benefits end on the last day of your eligibility period. Report a move, a new heat type, someone moving in or out, or a change in rent subsidy within 10 days.

Emergency Help and Shutoff Rules: The 10-Day Notice

North Dakota's PSC requires 10 days' written notice before a regulated utility cuts service, and that window is your time to call HHS. For an emergency, such as a shutoff notice, an empty propane tank or a dead furnace, contact the Customer Support Center at 1-866-614-6005. The filed plan says emergency applications are still done on paper, not in the online portal, and that the state acts within 48 hours, or 18 hours for a life-threatening situation.

What emergency help can cover, according to the filed plan:

• Supplemental fuel: up to $500 a season, including reconnection charges, when you can't pay your share; more needs state office approval
• Heating system: repair or replacement of an unsafe or broken furnace, boiler or water heater, including the chimney and ducts, with no set maximum
• Minor repairs: up to $400 a season to stop heat loss
• Temporary shelter or devices: up to $100 a season
• Electric service: costs to prevent loss of, or restore, electricity

If electric isn't your main heat, HHS says to take your approval notice to Community Action for Energy Share help with an electric bill.

North Dakota's shutoff rules. According to the PSC consumer guide, its rules do not prohibit disconnection during winter months, as long as the other protections are followed. Those protections:

Source: North Dakota PSC, Protection from Electric and Natural Gas Disconnections (opens in a new tab), checked November 3, 2026.

The PSC sheet says these rules bind Xcel Energy (NSP), Montana-Dakota Utilities, Great Plains Natural Gas, Otter Tail Power and Dakota Natural Gas. Rural electric cooperatives and city utilities aren't required to follow them, so call your co-op about its own winter policy. If a regulated utility isn't following the rules, call the PSC at 701-328-2400.

Furnaces, Cooling Devices and Weatherization

Approved North Dakota households can get up to $500 for furnace cleaning and up to $150 for chimney cleaning once per eligibility period, according to the HHS brochure. You choose the vendor and get prior approval through the Customer Support Center.

Repairs and replacements go through Community Action Partnership North Dakota (CAPND). HHS says to take your LIHEAP approval notice to your local agency for furnace repair or replacement, weatherization and cooling devices; the brochure lists 800-726-7960. The filed plan says the cooling piece buys or fixes air conditioners and fans and doesn't pay electric bills, and that tenants in subsidized housing can qualify for it.

Weatherization is free and includes sealing air leaks and insulation. For bigger repairs such as a roof, our home repair grants guide covers USDA and other options.

North Dakota's FY2027 LIHEAP Money Per Resident

North Dakota's first FY2027 release is $20,760,234, according to ACF's October 9, 2026 state table, and the state had 799,358 residents on July 1, 2025, according to the Census Bureau population data. Grantsights analysis of those figures found North Dakota received $25.97 per resident, 2nd highest of the 50 states and D.C. and about 2.5 times the $10.44 national average.

North Dakota comparison sources: ACF FY2027 first release state table (opens in a new tab); Census Bureau Vintage 2025 state population estimates (opens in a new tab). Rank excludes territories.

Specifically, North Dakota's $25.97 per resident is $5.95 more than South Dakota's $20.02, and only Vermont ranks higher. If HHS kept the last plan's split, about $12.0 million of this release (58%) would go to heating and about $2.1 million (10%) to emergency help.

Federal funding status. ACF's October 9 release totaled $3,631,860,000 nationally, which ACF describes as 90% of the money available under the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (Public Law 119-103), signed September 2, 2026. ACF restricts funds for any grantee without an approved FY2027 plan. HHS posted its FFY2027 draft plan for public comment, with a virtual public hearing held August 17, 2026; the final FY2027 plan wasn't linked from the HHS page on November 3, 2026. How much more North Dakota gets this year depends on the next funding law Congress passes.

What North Dakota HHS's LIHEAP Page Doesn't Tell You

HHS's page covers the basics, but 6 points are easy to miss.

1. Year-round eligibility isn't year-round heating money, so don't count on a summer heating credit. The page says benefits continue until your review date. The FFY2027 public notice adds that heating benefits are still limited to the heating season and available funding, while emergency and furnace help keep going through summer.
2. Deductions stretch the limit. A household well above $6,628 in gross pay can still qualify once the 27% earned-income deduction, child care and medical costs come off. Apply before you rule yourself out.
3. Emergency help is still a paper process. The filed plan says emergency applications aren't in the online portal yet. Call 1-866-614-6005 instead of waiting on the SSP.
4. Subsidized renters are mostly left out. If your rent is subsidized, you won't get heating or emergency help, but you can still ask about a cooling device.
5. Co-op members get fewer guarantees. The PSC rules don't bind rural electric cooperatives or city utilities. Ask your co-op in writing what notice and medical protections it offers.
6. No winter moratorium exists. The PSC sheet is blunt about it. The 10-day notice and the 30-day postponement for seniors, people with disabilities and health emergencies are the protections you have.

Common Mistakes and Scam Red Flags

These 5 mistakes cost North Dakota households the most, based on HHS's rules and the PSC sheet:

• Missing the review packet. A common mistake is assuming year-round eligibility means no paperwork. Return the packet before its due date or benefits end.
• Leaving out expenses. North Dakota uses adjusted income. Bring 12 months of medical, child care and child support receipts.
• Not reporting a move or a new heat type within 10 days. HHS warns this can stop payments or create an overpayment you'll owe back.
• Waiting out the 10-day notice. Call HHS on day 1. Seniors and people with disabilities should also tell the utility during that window to get the 30-day postponement.
• Skipping the furnace cleaning. Up to $500 a year is available, and it's worth it: a clean furnace is less likely to quit in January.

Scam red flags. The FTC's page on utility impostor scams (opens in a new tab) says a demand for payment by gift card, wire, crypto or payment app is a scam. In North Dakota, be suspicious of:

• A caller threatening a same-day shutoff from MDU, Xcel or Otter Tail; PSC rules require 10 days' written notice
• Anyone asking for a fee to "submit" a LIHEAP application
• A link that isn't hhs.nd.gov or the state's SSP
• An offer to deposit LIHEAP money into your account

HHS takes fraud reports at dhseap@nd.gov or 1-800-755-2716. Report scams to ReportFraud.ftc.gov (opens in a new tab) and the North Dakota Attorney General's consumer protection division.

If HHS Says No or Funds Run Short: 4 Next Steps

North Dakota gives you 30 days from the notice to request a hearing, according to the filed plan.

1. File SFN 162. Complete the Request for Hearing and email it to dhslau@nd.gov with any documents. If it arrives on time, your benefits stay put until a decision, though you'd repay any excess if you lose.
2. Ask about emergency help separately. A denied or delayed heating case doesn't block an emergency request. Call 1-866-614-6005.
3. Contact Community Action. CAPND agencies run Energy Share for electric bills and handle furnace work.
4. Widen the search. If rent is behind, our rental assistance guide covers the main routes, and our emergency cash assistance guide lists one-time help. Older North Dakotans can check our help for seniors guide, and for phone service, our Lifeline guide.

Our national LIHEAP guide explains the federal block grant that funds North Dakota's program. Neighbors can compare our South Dakota LIHEAP guide and Montana LIHEAP guide.

Still sorting out which North Dakota programs to try first? The free eligibility checker on Grantsights takes a couple of minutes: pick "Individual," then "Personal financial help," and it lists official routes for bills, rent, food and benefits screening rather than grants. For a North Dakota heating bill, it points back to HHS and your zone office.

Sources

1. North Dakota HHS: Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (opens in a new tab) - 2026-2027 income limits, year-round changes, FFY2027 plan notice, appeals
2. North Dakota HHS: LIHEAP FAQs (opens in a new tab) - 45-day decision, outreach help, family share
3. North Dakota HHS: LIHEAP brochure DN523 (opens in a new tab) - deductions, furnace and chimney cleaning amounts
4. North Dakota HHS: application checklist (opens in a new tab)
5. North Dakota LIHEAP plan for October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026 (LIHEAP Clearinghouse) (opens in a new tab) - fund split, benefit share rules, emergency maximums, hearings
6. North Dakota PSC: Protection from Electric and Natural Gas Disconnections (opens in a new tab)
7. ACF: LIHEAP state median income table for FY2027 (opens in a new tab) - North Dakota 60% SMI
8. ACF: First Block Grant Funding Release FFY 2027 (opens in a new tab) - national release that includes North Dakota's first FY2027 allotment
9. ACF: FY2027 first release by state (opens in a new tab) - North Dakota $20,760,234
10. Census Bureau: Vintage 2025 state population estimates (opens in a new tab)
11. FTC: utility company impostor scams (opens in a new tab)