Section 8 lottery: how waitlist lotteries pick applicants

A Section 8 lottery is a random drawing a housing office uses to decide who joins its waitlist for vouchers, which pay part of your rent. It can also set the order of that list. Applying on the first day gives you no edge, so apply once, carefully, before the deadline. Being picked puts you in line, not into an apartment.

Why do housing offices use lotteries?

More households qualify than there are Section 8 vouchers, which pay part of your rent at an apartment you choose. So housing offices need a fair way to decide who goes first.

Some groups can get priority, such as households with extremely low incomes or people who are homeless. For applicants with the same priority, the federal rule on waitlists lets the housing office choose between two orders. One is the date and time each person applied, and the other is a random drawing. Each office writes its choice in its administrative plan, its written rules, so ask which method yours uses.

Ordering by date and time rewards whoever applies first. A lottery gives everyone who applies before the deadline the same chance, so nobody wins by being faster.

How does a lottery waitlist work?

Most lottery waitlists follow these steps:

1. The housing office posts a public notice that says where and when to apply, as federal rules require.
2. You apply before the deadline, usually online.
3. After the deadline, the office draws names at random.
4. The drawn names go onto the list, often in the order they were drawn.
5. When the office has money for more vouchers, it contacts the next people on the list and checks that they qualify.

Being on a list gives you no right to a voucher or to a set place in line, say the federal rules. Lotteries for apartments work differently, and our guide to how housing lotteries work explains them.

What do real Section 8 lotteries look like?

King County's list shows how long one drawing can last: more than four years later, it was still working through the names it drew in 2020. To see which lists are taking names today, check our area-wide waitlists page.

How do you get ready before a list opens?

You can't beat other applicants by speed, but you can avoid losing your place by a mistake.

• Find the window. Many lists take applications for only a few days.
• Gather details first. Seattle, for example, asks for each household member's date of birth and Social Security number, your total yearly income, an email address, a phone number and a mailing address. Give these only on the housing office's own website: the real application is free.
• Check your income against the limit. A voucher usually needs an income at or under the very low income limit, the most a household can earn and still qualify. That limit is about half the area median income, the middle income in your area. The federal 2026 limit for one person in King County, which includes Seattle, is $57,550. Our guide to Section 8 income limits shows how to find yours.
• Apply once. Seattle doesn't add duplicate applications, or applications from more than one person in the same household.
• Save your confirmation. King County lets you look up your lottery number with your confirmation number.
• Keep your contact details current. Offices reach you by email, phone or mail, and a message that can't reach you can cost you your place.

What does a lottery number mean?

A lottery number is your place in the drawing, and each housing office decides how it uses it. King County works down its list in number order, so a low number means the office reaches you sooner.

Priority can change the order. At the Seattle Housing Authority, households at or under 30% of the area median income are served first. So are households that have been homeless at any time in the past 12 months. Applicants with incomes from 31% to 50% stay on the list and wait until everyone with priority has been served.

How do you avoid scams around lotteries?

Applying for a Section 8 voucher is free. Seattle's housing office says any website that asks for money to apply is not the right one. The Federal Trade Commission warns that scammers build look-alike sites that ask for fees and Social Security numbers. The inspector general of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the federal housing department, also warns about fake waitlist announcements. Type the housing office's address yourself, and ignore anyone who promises you a better number.

What should you do next?

Check our area-wide waitlists page for city and county voucher lists taking names today, and browse the open listings for apartments you can apply for now. Use our qualify check to see what fits your household. To estimate what you would pay with a voucher, try our Section 8 calculator, and our rent calculation guide shows how what you pay is worked out.