Frequently asked questions (FAQs) for Fair Entry

Fair Entry is an application process to help you access some City services and programs at lower costs if you have a lower income.

Fair Entry checks your income, makes sure you live in Calgary and, in some cases, confirms your age.

• You can learn about low-cost services that The City of Calgary and its partners offer.
• You only need to fill out one application per year.
• You can get help in a language other than English.

In-person applications: Many people apply in-person. As a result, you may need to wait for more than an hour for your turn. Once it's your turn, the process takes about 15 minutes if you have the required documents. For shorter wait times, consider visiting in the morning, as it’s typically less busy than later in the day. 

Note: Our busiest periods are the last and first few days of each month. Also, spring and summer months are very busy. During these periods, wait times to reach the front counter may be longer than an hour. 

Online, mail, fax or dropped-off applications: We try to process these applications within 10 business days. Our website shows which day we’re currently processing.

You will get a letter from Fair Entry that outlines whether you are approved, pending or denied for the program.

Approved: Means your income is low enough and you live in Calgary. Your letter will have an expiry date one year from its issue date. You can submit a new Fair Entry application up to 30 days before it expires. 

Example: Mr. Jones approval expires on Nov. 30, 2025. He can submit a new application any time after Oct. 31, 2025.

Pending: The program needs more information from you. The letter will tell you what is missing from your application.

Denied: Means your income is not low enough for the program or you do not live in Calgary.

The expiry date will be one year from your approval date.

Check the Fair Entry webpage to see which application date is being processed.

It looks like this:

Fair Entry applications status

Fair Entry is currently processing online applications submitted on [Date].

• If you applied online before this date, check your email spam/promotions/junk mail folders for your letter.
  
• If you applied after this date, wait for a response from the program.
  
• If you applied using another application method, call 311 and a representative will call you back.

If you applied online, check the status of your application through the online link Calgary.ca/fairentry

If you gave us an email address on your Fair Entry application, please check your junk/spam folder to make sure you haven’t received it (especially with Gmail addresses).

No cost spay/neuter program for pet cats:

Once approved through Fair Entry, please ensure your cat is licensed at pets.calgary.ca. Within a week of your approval through Fair Entry, Calgary Animal Services will contact you by email (or phone if no email is provided) to confirm your waitlist status or request more information. Your cat must be licenced via pets.calgary.ca prior to your request to being referred to the program. If you don’t hear from Animal Services after 7 days, call 311 to speak with Animal Services. Unlicensed cats will be automatically declined from the program, so be sure your cat is licensed. The No Cost Spay/Neuter Program offers free surgery to eligible low-income Calgarians, aiming to reduce stray cats and support those with financial barriers to veterinary care.

At this time we are not accepting dogs into the program.
  

Seniors services home maintenance:

Additional screening is required for Seniors Services Home Maintenance to determine eligibility for the provincial Special Needs Assistance grant. Program staff will contact you within 30 business days to ask some additional questions before you are qualified for the program.
  

Calgary Parking impound storage support:

Please take your Fair Entry letter to 400, 39 Ave S.E. A supervisor will evaluate your case and determine your storage cost, if you qualify for the program.

If you have general questions about the Impound Lot, please contact Calgary Parking at 403-537-7000.
 

Calgary Parking low-income market permit:

After your Fair Entry approval, you must complete a Calgary Parking Market Permit application to obtain a reduced rate parking permit. Once the Calgary Parking Low-Income Market Permit is approved, the permit will become active on the first day of the following month if payment is successful. Only one Calgary Parking Low-Income Market Permit per home address is offered. Please contact Calgary Parking at 403-537-7000 for more information.
 

Property tax assistance program:

The Property Tax Assistance Program is open from June 1 to Dec. 31 for the current year's property tax assistance. Staff will review each application within 4-6 weeks of receiving the referral from Fair Entry. Staff will then send you a letter that either rejects you or confirms your rebate and outlines how it will be applied.

Please note: Applying for the Property Tax Assistance Program does not change your duty to pay your property taxes. Your property taxes are due by the end of June every year. If you are not enrolled in the Tax Installment Payment Plan (TIPP), you must pay your tax in full by the end of June, to avoid penalty. For more information, call 311 or 403-268-CITY (2489) if calling from outside Calgary.
 

Recreation fee assistance program:

Bring your Fair Entry letter and picture ID to any open City pool and fitness facility to get your Fee Assistance card or to obtain your renewal sticker. Cards will only be issued to the card holder - a friend or family member can't pick up a card on your behalf as your picture needs to be taken.
 

High-speed low-cost internet, cellular and television services:

Once approved by Fair Entry, allow 72 hours from the time of receiving the Fair Entry Notification letter to contact the Connected for Success Customer Solutions Team at 1-888-793-2441 to discuss what services you want. The specialists are available Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., or Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

You will be asked to share information from the following documents:

1. Two pieces of government issued ID (Driver’s license, passport, etc.)
2. Your postal code and phone number used on your Fair Entry application

Once you have completed your service activation, keep a copy of your account number. It will be helpful in accessing your account for any future support.
 

Low-income transit passes:

Once approved by Fair Entry, you can then buy a Low-income Transit Pass from Calgary Transit. Valid photo ID (not expired) is required to buy your pass. You will not be sold a pass without a valid photo ID. Transit passes cannot be shared. Only the owner (whose name is on the pass) can use the pass. Lending, exchanging, or selling personal passes may result in your removal from the program and/or a fine under the Transit Bylaw 4M81.

Monthly Low-Income Transit Passes (adult and youth) can be purchased in person on the 15th of the month or after. Online purchasing starts on the 6th of each month for the following month. Low-income Seniors Annual Transit Passes can be purchased throughout the year. Monthly Low-income Transit Passes and Low-Income Seniors Annual Transit Passes are also available as mobile tickets in the My Fare app. For more information visit calgarytransit.com or call 403-262-1000.

Family members who are related by blood, marriage, adoption or common-law, 18 years old and older living at the same Calgary address must provide the same tax year Notice of Assessment to determine total family income. The most current tax year is needed.

Example of correct way: Husband and wife submit 2024 Notice of Assessments to Fair Entry.
Example of incorrect way: Husband submits 2024 Notice of Assessment and wife submits 2023 Notice of Assessment. You must submit the same year Notice of Assessment.

Up until June 30th each year, we understand that you may not have your most current Notice of Assessment, so we allow you to use the previous year's notice as the most recent.

Example of correct way: It is April 1, 2025, and you are applying to Fair Entry. Since you don’t have your 2024 Notice of Assessment yet, and it’s before the June 30th 2025 cut-off, you may submit your 2023 Notice of Assessment instead.
Example of incorrect way: It is August 20, 2025, and you are applying to Fair Entry. If you submit your 2023 Notice of Assessment, it will not be accepted. You must submit your 2024 Notice of Assessment instead.

You can only use the same tax year Notice of Assessment once. For example, if you used your 2023 Notice of Assessment for a previous Fair Entry application you cannot use that 2023 Notice of Assessment again.

Example of correct way: You were approved for Fair Entry using your 2023 Notice of Assessment. The next time you apply, you use the 2024 Notice of Assessment.
Example of incorrect way: You were approved for Fair Entry using your 2023 Notice of Assessment. The next time you apply, you use your 2023 Notice of Assessment again. You must submit a different income proof.

There are two situations where we need income information from all family members living at the same address, even if they are not applying for the program:

1) If anyone in your family is submitting a Notice of Assessment, everyone 18 years old and older in the family must provide income proof. This is because the program's income cut-offs are based on the total number of family members.

Or

2) If anyone in the family is applying for a program that benefits the entire family, everyone 18 years and older must submit an income proof. These programs are:

• No Cost Spay/Neuter
• Property Tax Assistance
• Internet, cell phone, television  

*A family means anyone living at the same address related by blood, marriage, common-law or adoption (including children). This does not include people you are not related to, like roommates.

Each service sets their own prices. You can look at the different service websites to get an idea of how much the service will cost:

• Calgary Transit
  • Youth and adult passes
  • Senior
• Recreation (swim, golf, zoo, art, gym)
• Internet, cell phone, television
• Property tax
• Snow shoveling, grass-cutting, housekeeping for seniors 65+
• No Cost spay/neuter for cats
• Market parking permit

You can continue your application within 90 days from when you started it. After 90 days your application is deleted from our system and a new application is required.

‘Referred’ means that after you are approved for Fair Entry, your information is sent to the specific program(s) you're interested in. This allows the program to have your details in their system so they can either sell you the service you are seeking or gather more information from you if more information is required. Your Fair Entry approval letter will outline the next steps, depending on the program(s) you applied for.

Example: You applied for the bus pass and are approved for Fair Entry. Fair Entry has sent your information to Calgary Transit. This is called a “referral” to Calgary Transit. You can now visit a Calgary Transit office to buy your bus pass when you show your identification. There are no extra steps required.

Example: You applied for the No Cost Spay/Neuter program for your cat and are approved for Fair Entry. Fair Entry has sent your information to the No Cost Spay/Neuter program. This is called a “referral” to No Cost Spay/Neuter. Since the No Cost Spay/Neuter program has additional screening requirements before your cat can have surgery, the staff will contact you to ask questions about your cat before the cat is approved for surgery.

For people who do not qualify for Fair Entry, you can phone 211 to find out if there are any other supports to help you.

Fair Entry updates the low-income table and the application every February. If you do not qualify for Fair Entry now, you can check our website to see if you qualify with the updated income numbers.

Lastly, if your income situation has changed since your latest Notice of Assessment, for example, you lost your job, call 311 and ask to talk to a “Registered Social Worker”. 

You can call 311 and ask to speak to Fair Entry to add a program or visit us in-person. There may be extra information that we need to ask you, depending on the program you are adding. After we get the information from you, we will refer you to the program you want and explain the next steps.

You can re-apply to Fair Entry up to 30 days before your expiry date.

Example: if your expiry date is Dec. 5, 2024, you can re-apply to Fair Entry starting Nov. 5, 2024.

You will need to re-apply either online, in-person, by mail, fax or drop off your application at one of our locations.