Payments will be made to individuals or businesses that filed a timely claim in the settlement and whose claim has been approved. If you did not file a claim, you will not be eligible for a payment.

Each person who has already received a Notice or Decision approving their claim will next receive an official written Award Notice.

The Award Notices will be issued on a rolling basis. The first Award Notices and payments will be for claimants who have been approved only for Residential Property Damage claims (Category 28) and who do not have a property that is ‘shared’ with another claimant. These Award Notices mailed the week of December 8. There are approximately 7,000 claims in this first batch. Additional Award Notices will then be issued on a rolling basis.

If you have an eligible claim and are represented by a lawyer, you will receive your Award Notice through your lawyer. If you are not represented, you will receive your Award Notice in the mail.

After you receive your Award Notice, you can access the official Flint Water Settlement Payment Portal to select how you will receive your funds. Each Award Notice includes a unique ID Code and information about how to log on so you can access your payment in a secure and safe manner through the Flint Water Settlement Payment Portal (website). The Payment Portal went “live” on December 12, 2025, for those who have received an Award Notice. That means that when you receive your ID Code – you can log onto the payment portal and select how you would like to receive your payment.

Whoever has access to your individual ID Code could try to obtain your settlement payment, so do not share it with anyone who is not authorized to assist you in the settlement.

Claimants who have property claims along with other claims, or property claims that are ‘shared’ with other claimants (meaning more than one claimant made an authorized claim for the same property) will be the next batch of payments. Again, these payments will be only for the Category 28 residential property claims.

The payments will go out on a rolling basis. As more property claims are approved, those Award Notices will be sent and those claimants will be able to log on to the payment portal site to get their payment.

If you have a lawyer, please contact your lawyer’s office. If you are not represented by a lawyer, you may call 888-893-7470 for more information. It is possible that your claim was not in the first batch of payments. If your address has changed since you received your notice letter advising you that your claim was approved, the Award Notice could have been sent to your former address. If that is the case, the Award Notice will be re -mailed once we have your new address.

The settlement set a limit on the amount to be paid for these property claims. The settlement limits the amount to $1,000 per parcel of property. That means that if you have two eligible properties you could get $1,000 for each. It also means that if you and another person are eligible for the same property, you will share the award and each of you will get half.

Neither the Special Master nor the Fund Administrator can provide you with tax advice. You should consult with a tax professional. To assist you, however, on February 3, 2026, Judge Levy issued a clarifying order that we recommend you print out and show to your tax professional. Click HERE.

If an individual or a business has an approved property claim (also known as a Category 28 Claim), created a trust for estate planning or other reasons, and you are the person named who manages the trust (also known as a trustee), or are the person who created the trust (also known as settlor or grantor), you would follow the distribution terms of the trust, which should provide the rules on how a trust is to receive monies and pay them out, typically to individuals named in the trust as its beneficiaries.

Your Award Notice will include an ID code assigned to you only. No one else will have the same code. Your Award Notice will explain how to log onto the Flint Water Payment Portal so that you can choose how you would like to receive your settlement monies.

There are two options for receiving your payment:

1. Electronic transfer (either Direct Deposit to your bank account or to Venmo, Zelle, or PayPal); or
2. Check.

Please note: an electronic transfer that deposit monies directly into your account is the quickest and most secure way to receive your payment.

For those who need a check: You will be able to use the Payment Portal to elect to receive a check payment. If you elect this option, you will be advised when your check is ready for pick up. You will be able to pick up the check at the check distribution center located at 4813 Clio Road, Flint. You must pick up the check personally. You cannot send someone else to pick up your settlement check. Security will be provided. You must bring two forms of current identification, one of which must be a valid photo ID (for example, current driver’s license).

Computer Access at the Flint Public Library

For individuals who do not have access to a computer to get on the website, computers are available for claimants at the Flint Public Library, 1026 E. Kearsley, Flint MI 48503, Phone: (810) 232-7111. Claimants can walk in during regular library hours and the computer section closes a half hour before the library closes. No appointments are necessary and claimants do not need a library card. Computers are located on the second floor (elevator available). Librarians are available in the computer section for technical assistance but cannot offer legal help.

Phone Number to Call if You Cannot Access the Portal.

If you do not have access to any device and cannot use the library computers, please contact your attorney for assistance. If you do not have an attorney, please call the Distribution Administrator (Epiq) at 1-888-893-7470 for assistance.

If you need to receive payment by check but are not able to get to the distribution site (for example, because of a medical condition or because you no longer live in the Flint area), please call 888-893-7470. The Distribution Administrator will arrange to send your check to you.

If you were approved for a residential property claim (also called a Category 28 claim) you may call 888-893-7470 for information.

If you are not represented by an attorney and if you moved since the time when you last received a notice letter you will need to update your contact information so that the Award Notice can be mailed to you. Please call 888-893-7470 to update your address and any other contact information.

Even if you do not have a bank account you can still choose to receive a check. The checks will be issued from Huntington Bank and that bank will cash your check free of charge. You can go to a Huntington Bank branch and cash the check.

Michigan law and the terms of the settlement impose requirements on how minors (children) may receive their settlement. A legally authorized representative (for example parent, guardian, or court-appointed representative) for each minor or legally incapacitated adult must select one of the options below. Additional information will be available for each option. This is only a summary – and additional information will be provided at a later date.

Option 1: Structured Settlement

The settlement money is used to purchase an annuity contract that pays out fixed, guaranteed payments on a schedule that the legally authorized representative selects. If you choose this option, the funds are transferred directly to the annuity company approved by the Court. Future payments are made directly to the child after the child becomes an adult on the schedule you pick. The child’s legally authorized adult representative will have 6 pay-out options to choose from. Because the child’s settlement is invested for him/her, the total pay out to the child when he/she is an adult is greater than the original settlement award. These payments are guaranteed in amount. These types of structured settlement payments are not taxable. Once a structured settlement option is finalized, the amount and timing of payments cannot be changed, even by a court. You cannot access the money in the structure account before the scheduled payment dates. If the child has an immediate need for monies, you can elect a $5,000 up front payment to benefit the child and put the rest in the annuity (structure).

For an example of a structure option where you would make your elections and see your structure choices, click HERE.

Option 2: Pooled Preservation Trust

In this option, the settlement money is transferred into a Trust that has been set up and court-approved for children in the Flint Water Settlement. Each child has his or her own Trust account that is managed by Huntington Bank. Huntington Bank is under court oversight. The child’s legally authorized representative selects this option by signing a Joinder Agreement. You can apply to Huntington Bank for trust distributions at any time (including before a child is 18) if such distribution is for the child’s support, education, and welfare. When the child becomes an adult, the remaining trust funds are paid directly to him/her. Huntington Bank is responsible for investing Trust funds for the benefit of the minors. Interest earned on each child’s settlement is taxable (which depends on individual circumstances). As Trustee, Huntington Bank issues regular written reports to the child’s legal representative and to the Court.

Option 3: Special Needs Pooled Trust

A claimant who is disabled and received public assistance benefits (for example a claimant who receives SSI social security disability benefits) may have the funds paid directly into a Special Needs Pooled Trust that has been established and court-approved for the Flint Water Settlement. Settlement funds deposited into this Special Needs Trust will not be counted as an individual’s income or assets, and that will protect the claimant’s eligibility for continued public assistance benefits. This Special Needs Pooled Trust works similarly to the Pooled Trust described above in that a separate account is created and held for the benefit of a disabled child or adult. That individual’s legally authorized representative selects the Special Needs Pooled Trust by signing this Joinder Agreement.

Additional Information on Trust Options

Please click HERE for more FAQ’s on pooled trust options and HERE for a guide to settlement trusts.

The amount depends on a Court-approved formula in the settlement agreement that considers age, exposure, and (generally) proof of injury (lead levels or certain medical conditions). Payments will be made only to those claimants who have an approved claim.

The total $626 million initial fund plus net income earned on the funds is divided among tens of thousands of claimants. Payments will vary widely and many will be modest.

Rely only on official updates, not social media or unverified rumors.

The distribution was negotiated by lawyers from both sides and then approved by the Judge to ensure it was fair and followed the law. The Court-approved the allocation of the total settlement fund to claimant groups:

• Children 6 and under at the time of the water crisis are allocated: 64.5%
• Children ages 7–11 at the time of the water crisis are allocated: 10%
• Children ages 12–17 at the time of the water crisis are allocated: 5%
• Adults at the time of the water crisis with eligible injury are allocated: 15%
• Residential property damage claims are allocated: 3% (up to $1,000/property)
• Business loss claims are allocated: 0.5% (up to $5,000/business)
• Programmatic relief is allocated: 2% (already paid to Genesee County schools)

The court appointed liaison counsel and class counsel and sub class counsel negotiated the allocation to various types of claimants (adults, children, businesses, property owners). The Court’s opinion approving the settlement allocation says:

“This distribution recognizes that those who were exposed to contaminated Flint Water at a younger age will experience [more] harm than older people. The World Health Organization states: ‘Young children are particularly vulnerable to lead poisoning because they absorb 4–5 times as much ingested lead as adults from a given source.’ Lead Poisoning and Health, (Aug. 23, 2019) https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health [https://perma.cc/2X4P-MCMS]. It is fair, reasonable, and adequate to award a greater proportion of settlement funds to those who are most vulnerable to the effects of lead and other contaminants.”

When you get your Award Notice you will be able to enter the payment portal to see your exact dollar amount.

The settlement requires that the maximum $1,000 for a property claim is for the property not for the person. This means that if more than one person qualifies for the same property the amount must be divided among them. The amount each eligible person will receive is based on the number of individual claimants eligible for the same property. For example, if two claimants are eligible for the same parcel, each will receive $500.00.

A Shared Property Claim is a property claim for a parcel for which multiple individuals were found eligible. Each eligible claimant will receive a divided (pro-rata) award.

There are three ways for a claimant to qualify for a property award: (1) if the person owned the property at some time between April 25, 2014 and July 31, 2016; (2) if the person leased the residence at some time between April 25, 2014 and July 31, 2016; and (3) if the person was legally obligated to pay the water bill for the residence at some time between April 25, 2014 and July 31, 2016. To be eligible, the property must be a residential property that received Flint water between April 25, 2014 and July 31, 2016.

Examples: (A) If one person owned the property and a different person rented the property, they could both be eligible for the same property. (B) If one person owned the property beginning April 25, 2014 and then sold it to a second person a year later in 2015, then both owners are eligible to share in the maximum $1,000 property damage because they both owned the property in the settlement time-frame.

No. Every individual’s claim is evaluated separately. You can only appeal your own claim to determine whether or not you qualify for a particular property settlement claim. You cannot appeal whether anyone else is eligible for the property that you claim.

Payment award letters on shared property claims will begin going out in early April 2026. These letters may be issued in batches. You must report all changes in address to your attorney or to the Fund Administrator at 1-888-893-7470.

No, these government benefits will not be affected by the settlement. The State of Michigan has determined that the benefits described HERE, which include Medicaid, SNAP and Section 8 housing.

You must promptly provide all changes of address, telephone number, and e-mail by calling the Distribution Administrator at 1-888-893-7470. Failure to do so may result in delayed payment.

If a claimant passes away after the Award Notice is issued, the estate’s legal representative can contact the Special Master’s office at (202) 420-2200 to arrange payment. Claimants who submitted estate papers including affidavit of decedent’s successor during the claims process do not have to submit additional documentation.

• Official site: www.officialflintwaterpayments.com
• Distribution Administrator (Epiq): 1-888-893-7470
• Official mailed notices and court documents

Any individual or company that charges a fee for payment, promises faster payments, or guarantees payment amounts that are different from the information in your Award Notice, or asks for personal information (such as your bank account number or Social Security Number), is not part of the settlement process authorized by the Court. If you get such a call or letter, call 1-888-893-7470 immediately. Even if you are not sure, call 1-888-893-7470 to protect yourself.

Recipients should contact their individual attorney, or class counsel at (866) 536-0717 or info@flintwaterjustice.com, or the Distribution Administrator (Epiq) at 1-888-893-7470. If a letter was sent to an old address or not received, we will send a replacement.

Yes. Official updates will be provided through the Special Master’s office and the official settlement website (www.officialflintwaterpayments.com). Residents should rely only on these sources to avoid misinformation.