BATON ROUGE – FEMA reminds applicants of their right to appeal a decision made by officials for disaster assistance.

FEMA officials remind applicants to read their determination letter in its entirety to understand why their application was labeled "ineligible." If applicants believe a mistake has been made or have questions they should follow up on the decision. The appeal process can ensure that those affected by the flooding and storms will receive all the aid they are eligible for.

All appeals must be in writing and explain why they think FEMA's decision about the amount or type of assistance they received is not correct. The appeal should also include any documentation that supports applicants' claim.

If the appeal letter is not written by the applicant or a member of the applicants' household, applicants must sign a statement that states the writer is authorized to act on their behalf.

FEMA can not process an appeal via email, however it can be submitted on the FEMA website. Applicants can open a Disaster Assistance Center account at www.disasterassistance.gov and can upload appeal documents and review letters from FEMA. Once the required documents are uploaded to their DAC account, an appeal packet will automatically be created and can be submitted for review.

Applicants can also file their appeal at any disaster recovery center with their determination letter, their written appeal and any supporting documents requested in the determination letter.

Applicants can still submit their appeal by mail. Applicants can mail their written appeal and all supporting documents to:

FEMA – Individuals and Households Program
National Processing Service Center
P.O. Box 10055
Hyattsville, MD 20782-7055

Appeal packets can also be faxed to to 800-827-8112, addressed to the attention of the Individuals and Households Program. When mailing or faxing an appeal packet, be sure to include:

- The applicant's full name
- The applicant's registration number on all pages
- The FEMA disaster declaration number - DR-4277-LA - on all pages, and
- The signature of the applicant and the date.