WIC 502 Transfer of Certification

Person with current valid Verification of Certification (VOC) document from another State or local agency. The VOC is valid through the end of the current certification period, even if the participant does not meet the receiving agency’s nutritional risk, priority or income criteria, or the certification period extends beyond the receiving agency’s certification period for that category, and shall be accepted as proof of eligibility for Program benefits. If the receiving agency is at maximum caseload, the transferring participant must be placed at the top of any waiting list and enrolled as soon as possible. (1, 2)

This criterion would be used primarily when the VOC card/document does not reflect another (more specific) nutrition risk condition or if the participant was certified based on a nutrition risk condition not in use by the receiving State agency (1).

Local agencies must accept Verification of Certification (VOC) documents from participants. A person with a valid VOC document shall not be denied participation in the receiving State because the person does not meet that State’s particular eligibility criteria. Once a WIC participant has been certified by a local agency, the service delivery area into which s/he moves is obligated to honor that commitment. (1, 2)

Transferring participants should receive the food package offered in the receiving State agency according to their category and nutritional needs. The receiving agency should explain any differences in the authorized supplemental foods. Participants who are eligible to receive WIC formula (infant formula, exempt infant formula, or WIC-eligible nutritionals) in Food Package III must have one or more qualifying conditions, as determined by a health care professional licensed to write medical prescriptions under State law (1, 2).

1. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. Policy Memorandum 2016-4: Verification of Certification. August, 11, 2016. Available from: https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/verification-certification.

2. WIC Program Regulations; 7 CFR 246.7(k).