3.1 Apply for Benefits Introduction

Wisconsin has many different programs that can help people with health care coverage, long-term care, food assistance, child care assistance, employment, utility costs, and more. A single ACCESS application allows applicants to apply for multiple programs at once. This chapter explains how to assist an applicant with the ACCESS application.

ACCESS can be used to apply for:

Applicants do not need to provide any documents when answering the questions; however, they may want to have financial documents, such as pay stubs, bank account statements, and utility bills, available to help them answer the questions as accurately as possible.

Applicants are asked for personally identifiable information, such as name, contact information, and more for each member of the household. In some cases, questions may be optional for applicants to answer depending on the programs they’re applying for. Answering all the required and optional questions helps them get a decision as soon as possible. After completing the application, the next steps and the application status are tracked on an account home page and can be accessed anytime

Applicants must finish all the sections and provide their signature to submit the application. The application starts with basic information about the applicant and asks which programs they are applying for. The applicant is then taken to the application overview page.

From there, the applicant can choose which section of the application to start first. Each section is a group of pages and questions that relate to the applicant’s household (Income, Bills, Health Insurance, etc). The applicant can complete the sections in the order they choose; however, some sections can only be started after others are completed. Those sections will not be available until the other sections are completed. The applicant is only asked questions related to the programs they selected. Answering all the required and optional questions they can helps them get a decision as soon as possible. Once the application is started, the applicant has 30 days to complete the application before it expires.

Each section starts with an introduction page and ends with a summary page. Once a section is finished, the applicant can go back and edit their answers any time before they submit the application.

The applicant may also submit their application at any time if they cannot answer some of the questions now. This will set their filing date. To do this, a submission screen displays asking them basic questions about their household. An IM worker will follow up with the applicant to complete the full application. See 3.13 Using ACCESS to Set a Filing Date.

This page last updated in Release Number: 23-02
Release Date: 06/24/2023
Effective Date: 06/24/2023