Qualifying life event
Updated for plan year 2026
In plain terms
A qualifying life event is a change in your circumstances that lets you enroll in or change a marketplace plan outside open enrollment, by opening a special enrollment period. Common examples include losing other health coverage, moving to a new area, getting married, having or adopting a baby, and certain changes in income or household. Most events give you 60 days to act. Some, like the move and marriage events, also require that you already had qualifying coverage beforehand.
A plain example
You get married on April 10. Marriage is a qualifying life event, so you have 60 days, until early June, to add your spouse or pick a new plan together. Choose by the end of a month and coverage starts the first of the next. A name change alone, by contrast, isn't a qualifying event, just a correction to report.
Why it matters
Qualifying life events are the doors into coverage between open enrollments. Recognizing that your change counts, and that the clock is usually 60 days, is what lets you act in time instead of discovering the window closed when you finally need the plan.
A common point of confusion
Not every life change qualifies. A name change, a same-area address update, or voluntarily dropping coverage you could have kept generally don't open a window, and some events that do, like moving, also require you to have had coverage beforehand.