Your complete resource for understanding the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program — eligibility, applications, finding approved apartments, and tracking waitlists nationwide.
The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program is the federal government's largest rental assistance program. Funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and administered locally by Public Housing Authorities (PHAs), it helps low-income households afford housing in the private rental market. But eligibility isn't determined by a single national standard — it's shaped by federal rules, local PHA policies, and individual household circumstances.
Every PHA applies the same four foundational eligibility criteria, established by HUD:
1. Income Limits Household income must fall at or below a percentage of the Area Median Income (AMI) for the local area. HUD sets three income tiers:
| Income Category | Definition |
|---|---|
| Extremely Low Income | At or below 30% of AMI |
| Very Low Income | At or below 50% of AMI |
| Low Income | At or below 80% of AMI |
Federal law requires PHAs to issue at least 75% of new vouchers to households at or below 30% AMI. Most applicants admitted to the program fall into the extremely low or very low income categories. The actual dollar amounts for each tier vary significantly by location — the same income that qualifies a household in a rural county may exceed the limit in a high-cost metro area.
2. Family or Household Composition A "family" under HCV rules is not limited to households with children. Single individuals, elderly persons, and people with disabilities can qualify as a household. What matters is that the household meets the PHA's definition of an eligible family — which may include additional local requirements.
3. Citizenship and Immigration Status At least one member of the household must be a U.S. citizen or have eligible immigration status. Mixed-status households — where some members are citizens or eligible noncitizens and others are not — can still qualify, though the subsidy is prorated to cover only the eligible members. PHAs verify status for all household members.
4. Social Security Numbers HUD requires that all household members who are U.S. citizens or eligible noncitizens provide a valid Social Security Number (SSN) as part of the application process.
Beyond HUD's baseline requirements, PHAs have discretion to apply additional screening criteria. These vary substantially from one PHA to another and can affect whether an applicant is admitted even if they meet the income and status requirements.
Common PHA-level screening factors include:
Because these criteria are set locally, the same applicant could be denied by one PHA and admitted by another.
Gross income — not take-home pay — is the starting point. PHAs count income from most sources: wages, self-employment, Social Security, SSI, pension payments, child support, alimony, and certain other recurring payments. Some income is excluded under HUD rules, including certain disability-related income and earnings of full-time students in some circumstances.
Household size directly affects the applicable income limit. A limit set for a household of two is lower than one set for a household of five. Both the income figure and the household size are verified at the time of application and re-verified annually through a process called recertification.
Meeting the eligibility criteria qualifies a household to be placed on a waitlist — it does not result in immediate assistance. Most PHAs have waitlists that range from months to years, and many are closed to new applicants entirely.
When a PHA opens its waitlist, it may use a first-come-first-served system or a lottery system. Many PHAs also apply local preferences — categories that move certain households higher on the waitlist, such as:
Preferences are locally defined and not universal. A preference that exists at one PHA may not exist at another, and the weight given to each preference varies.
Eligibility isn't a one-time determination. Once a household receives a voucher, the PHA conducts annual recertifications to verify that the household still meets income and household composition requirements. Income increases can reduce the subsidy — and in some cases, if income rises significantly enough, the household's required share of rent increases substantially. Major income or household changes between annual recertifications may trigger an interim recertification.
Participants can also lose eligibility — and face termination — for reasons including serious or repeated lease violations, fraud in the application or recertification process, or other program violations. PHAs are required to offer participants an informal hearing before a termination takes effect.
The eligibility requirements described here follow HUD's federal framework. But how those rules are applied — which preferences exist, how criminal history is screened, how income exclusions are calculated, how long the waitlist is, and whether it's even open — depends entirely on the specific PHA administering the program in a given area.
Two households with identical incomes and household sizes can have entirely different experiences depending on where they apply. That gap between the federal rules and local implementation is where individual outcomes are actually determined.
Select your state to view local waitlists, PHAs, and application information.