Where this sits: Benefits › Programs › General Assistance. Related: MSA, Housing Support, Emergency Assistance, child support in GA, MSA and Housing Support.
Ask first
Do children live with the person (then MFIP, not GA)? Income and savings. Is a doctor certifying they can't work?
What GA pays
A monthly state-funded cash grant. The full standard is $369 a month for one adult (living alone, with parents or with an ineligible spouse, or an emancipated minor living away from parents); in a married couple each eligible member gets $369. People in a licensed residential facility, in Housing Support, or in substance use disorder treatment get a smaller personal needs allowance instead. People in homeless or family violence shelters get the full amount.
Who qualifies
Adults 18 and older who live in Minnesota, with income and assets below the GA limits, who fit one of these categories:
- permanent or temporary illness, injury or incapacity (certified, expected to last more than 45 days, and preventing work);
- needed at home to care for another person;
- placed in a facility;
- unemployable;
- a certified developmental disability or mental illness;
- an SSI or Social Security disability application or appeal pending;
- advanced age;
- a displaced homemaker who is a full-time student;
- performing court-ordered services;
- a learning disability;
- 18 or older, in high school, with a first language other than English;
- drug or alcohol addiction.
Some people under 18 also qualify: emancipated minors, or 16- and 17-year-olds who are not pregnant and don't live with a parent or guardian. For several categories the person must sign an interim assistance agreement and apply for other benefits such as SSI. Assets must be $10,000 or less. Immigration rules are the same as MFIP's, and a sponsor's income and assets count for sponsored immigrants. Families with children and pregnant women use MFIP instead.
How to apply
Apply online at MNbenefits or with the Combined Application Form (CAF, DHS-5223) at the county or Tribal agency. The same application covers SNAP.
How it fits with other programs
- SSI: GA paid while SSI is pending is paid back to the state from the SSI back payment, under the interim assistance authorization the person signs.
- SNAP: a household where everyone gets GA, MSA or SSI is categorically eligible for SNAP.
- Housing Support: a GA recipient in Housing Support gets the personal needs allowance instead of the full grant.
- Emergencies: Emergency General Assistance is a separate, county-run program.
Changes
No GA-specific change for 2025-2027 was found. The $369 standard is from the manual issued October 2026.
Not covered here
Each category in detail, the personal needs allowance amount, income rules and budgeting, and GA for noncitizens in detail.