a. Defining “Unable To Verify” at Application

At § 435.558(b)(1), we specify when a State is considered to be unable to verify that an applicant has met the requirement to demonstrate community engagement at application. Specifically, a State is considered unable to verify compliance when after reviewing the information provided on the application and any reliable information available to the State as defined at § 435.557(a), the State still lacks sufficient information to determine whether the individual has demonstrated or is deemed to have demonstrated community engagement for the number of months required under the State plan. A State is considered to have insufficient information at application if: (1) the information provided by the applicant is not reasonably compatible with the reliable information available to the State, or (2) the individual did not provide the additional information or documentation requested by the State to verify that they met or are deemed to have met the community engagement requirement in accordance with the processes described in section II.I. of this IFC. States may follow long-standing policy to accept an applicant's declaration under penalty of perjury on the application that demonstrates they do not meet eligibility criteria without conducting additional verification to refute the information provided by the applicant. As such, a State may accept the declaration on the application without further verification and be considered to have verified the applicant's noncompliance with the community engagement requirement when an applicable individual provides information on the application that they do not meet the requirement during the review period under § 435.556(a)(1).