Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Arkansas program

A doctor's note that holds off a shutoff

A doctor's certificate can postpone a shutoff when losing utility service would seriously endanger someone's health.

What it is

A doctor's certificate can postpone a shutoff when losing utility service would seriously endanger someone's health.

This rule gives time when a utility shutoff would create a substantial risk of death or grave harm. A doctor must certify the danger. It applies to regulated utilities, including electric cooperatives, but not city-owned utilities.

Eligibility rules
  • A permanent resident must face substantial risk of death or grave health impairment from the shutoff.
  • The utility must fall under Arkansas Public Service Commission rules. City-owned utilities are outside this rule.
What you get
  • A 30-day shutoff hold, with one further 30-day renewal.
  • Reconnection when service was cut off within the past 30 days and the medical rule applies.
Coverage and limits
  • A utility need not accept more than one first certificate per household per year. Shutoffs are also barred on days forecast at 32°F or below.
If you decide to apply
  1. With your social worker, ask the utility whether its medical-emergency rule fits your situation and how to give notice.
  2. If you use this protection, the doctor's certificate must arrive within seven days of notifying the utility.
  3. A renewal certificate must arrive before the first 30-day period ends.

Your utility / Arkansas Public Service Commission · Official page ↗

After you apply
  • The certificate must reach the utility within seven days of first notice. A doctor signs it, although a nurse or nurse practitioner can give the initial notice.
Good to know

The bill remains owed. This protection buys time and does not pay the balance.

Other details
  • LIHEAP may help with the bill through a separate application. Its income test does not decide medical-emergency protection.
  • The social worker can help you ask the utility for a payment plan; the medical hold buys time but does not forgive the bill.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“If a shutoff would put our child at risk, would a medical certificate protect us? What time would it give us, and could you help with the form and a plan for the bill?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand how to protect essential service if the bill becomes difficult to pay.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Call the utility, get its form, and make sure the certificate arrives within seven days.

Your social worker

The hospital social worker knows the form and can chase the signature.

The care team

A doctor signs the certificate; a nurse or nurse practitioner can give the first notice.

Who decides
The utility, following the Public Service Commission rules.
Ask the care team
“We have a shutoff notice. Can you sign the utility's medical certificate saying that losing power would seriously harm my child?”

How to apply

First step: Call the utility the day the notice arrives and ask for its medical certificate form.

  1. Call the utility the day a notice arrives and ask for the medical certificate form.
  2. Ask the oncology team to sign it and send it within seven days.
  3. Diary the renewal date before the 30 days run out.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Call the utility, say a doctor's certificate is coming, and ask for its form. The doctor signs it.

What to gather

  • The shutoff notice
  • The utility's certificate form
  • The doctor's signature

How long: The hold starts as soon as the utility is notified, with seven days to get the signed certificate in.

What a yes looks like

Written confirmation that the shutoff is postponed 30 days.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Check whether your utility is city-owned; if so, ask the city for its own hardship rule.

Watch out

  • Seven days to get the certificate in, and the renewal must arrive before the first 30 days end.
  • A utility need not accept more than one first certificate per household a year.
  • City-owned utilities are outside these rules.
  • The bill is still owed at the end.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

30 days' hold on a shutoff with a doctor's certificate, renewable once for another 30; no shutoff on a day forecast at 32°F or below.

  • $7 — Days to get the doctor's certificate to the utility after the first notice
  • $30 — Hold on the shutoff
  • $1 — Renewals allowed

Legal protection: Service postponed, or reconnected if it was cut off within the last 30 days · No electric or gas shutoff on a day the forecast reaches 32°F or below within 24 hours · A conditional gas moratorium from November 1 to March 31 for low-income customers who qualify and keep to a payment arrangement

What it costs the family: None, beyond still owing the bill.

The eligibility facts, as published

Utility
Utilities regulated by the Public Service Commission, including electric distribution cooperatives; city-owned utilities are outside it
Medical
A physician's certificate that a shutoff would create a substantial risk of death or gravely impair health for any permanent resident
Timing
The certificate must reach the utility within seven days of the first notice; renewal before the 30 days expire

The trap: The certificate has to reach the utility within seven days of the first notice, and the renewal has to arrive before the first 30 days run out. A utility need not take more than one first certificate per household per year.

Where I read this

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