{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-56-56-71","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 56, § 56-71","heading":"Verification of lawful presence of applicants for public","body":"benefits – Exceptions – Affidavit - Fraudulent representations -\n\nAnnual report.\n\nA. Except as provided in subsection C of this section or where\n\nexempted by federal law, every agency or a political subdivision of\n\nthis state shall verify the lawful presence in the United States of\n\nany natural person fourteen (14) years of age or older who has\n\napplied for state or local public benefits, as defined in 8 U.S.C.,\n\nSection 1621, or for federal public benefits, as defined in 8\n\nU.S.C., Section 1611, that is administered by an agency or a\n\npolitical subdivision of this state.\n\nB. The provisions of this section shall be enforced without\n\nregard to race, religion, gender, ethnicity, or national origin.\n\nC. Verification of lawful presence under the provisions of this\n\nsection shall not be required:\n\n1. For any purpose for which lawful presence in the United\n\nStates is not restricted by law, ordinance, or regulation;\n\n2. For assistance for health care items and services that are\n\nnecessary for the treatment of an emergency medical condition, as\n\ndefined in 42 U.S.C., Section 1396b(v)(3), of the alien involved and\n\nare not related to an organ transplant procedure;\n\n3. For short-term, noncash, in-kind emergency disaster relief;\n\n4. For public health assistance for immunizations with respect\n\nto diseases and for testing and treatment of symptoms of\n\ncommunicable diseases whether or not such symptoms are caused by a\n\ncommunicable disease;\n\n5. For application of special volunteer health care licenses\n\nthat specify the eligible volunteer shall be either retired from\n\npractice in this state or actively licensed with a clean record in\n\nanother state and that such eligible volunteer shall not receive or\n\nhave the expectation to receive any payment or compensation, either\n\ndirect or indirect, for any services rendered in this state under\n\nthe special volunteer license; or\n\n6. For programs, services, or assistance such as soup kitchens,\n\ncrisis counseling and intervention, and short-term shelter specified\n\nby the United States Attorney General, in the sole and unreviewable\n\ndiscretion of the United States Attorney General after consultation\n\nwith appropriate federal agencies and departments which:\n\na. deliver in-kind services at the community level,\n\nincluding through public or private nonprofit\n\nagencies,\n\nb. do not condition the provision of assistance, the\n\namount of assistance provided, or the cost of\n\nassistance provided on the income or resources of the\n\nindividual recipient, and\n\nc. are necessary for the protection of life or safety.\n\nD. Verification of lawful presence in the United States by the\n\nagency or political subdivision required to make such verification\n\nshall require that the applicant execute an affidavit under penalty\n\nof perjury that:\n\n1. He or she is a United States citizen; or\n\n2. He or she is a qualified alien under the federal Immigration\n\nand Nationality Act and is lawfully present in the United States.\n\nThe agency or political subdivision providing the state or local\n\npublic benefits shall provide notary public services at no cost to\n\nthe applicant.\n\nE. For any applicant who has executed the affidavit described\n\nin paragraph 2 of subsection D of this section, eligibility for\n\nbenefits shall be verified through the Systematic Alien Verification\n\nfor Entitlements (SAVE) Program operated by the United States\n\nDepartment of Homeland Security or an equivalent program designated\n\nby the United States Department of Homeland Security. Until such\n\neligibility verification is made, the affidavit may be presumed to\n\nbe proof of lawful presence for the purposes of this section.\n\nF. Any person who knowingly and willfully makes a false,\n\nfictitious, or fraudulent statement of representation in an\n\naffidavit executed pursuant to subsection D of this section shall be\n\nsubject to criminal penalties applicable in this state for\n\nde, the affidavit may be presumed to\n\nbe proof of lawful presence for the purposes of this section.\n\nF. Any person who knowingly and willfully makes a false,\n\nfictitious, or fraudulent statement of representation in an\n\naffidavit executed pursuant to subsection D of this section shall be\n\nsubject to criminal penalties applicable in this state for\n\nfraudulently obtaining public assistance program benefits. If the\n\naffidavit constitutes a false claim of U.S. citizenship under 18\n\nU.S.C., Section 911, a complaint shall be filed by the agency\n\nrequiring the affidavit with the United States Attorney General for\n\nthe applicable district based upon the venue in which the affidavit\n\nwas executed.\n\nG. Agencies or political subdivisions of this state may adopt\n\nvariations to the requirements of the provisions of this section\n\nwhich demonstrably improve the efficiency or reduce delay in the\n\nverification process, or to provide for adjudication of unique\n\nindividual circumstances where the verification procedures in this\n\nsection would impose unusual hardship on a legal resident of\n\nOklahoma.\n\nH. It shall be unlawful for any agency or a political\n\nsubdivision of this state to provide any state, local, or federal\n\nbenefit, as defined in 8 U.S.C., Section 1621, or 8 U.S.C., Section\n\n1611, in violation of the provisions of this section.\n\nI. Each state agency or department which administers any\n\nprogram of state or local public benefits shall provide an annual\n\nreport to the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and\n\nthe Speaker of the House of Representatives with respect to its\n\ncompliance with the provisions of this section. Each agency or\n\ndepartment shall monitor the Systematic Alien Verification for\n\nEntitlements Program for application verification errors and\n\nsignificant delays and shall provide an annual public report on such\n\nerrors and significant delays and recommendations to ensure that the\n\napplication of the Systematic Alien Verification of Entitlements\n\nProgram is not erroneously denying benefits to legal residents of\n\nOklahoma. Errors shall also be reported to the United States\n\nDepartment of Homeland Security by each agency or department.","path":["OK Code","Title 56"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os56.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"8f9b07377644b5c0b72979b6aafd69d1b21681a7c2001e9d6cf58e8771985352","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-56-56-705","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-56-56-91"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}