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COBRA Election Notice Requirements: the 14-Item Checklist

Published October 5, 2026

The COBRA election notice is the one that offers continuation coverage after a qualifying event. Its content is set by regulation: fourteen items, each of which has to be there. The notice also has to be "written in a manner calculated to be understood by the average plan participant." (Source: 29 CFR 2590.606-4, notice requirements for plan administrators, (b)(4).)

The 14 items

Paraphrased here. The full text is in 29 CFR 2590.606-4(b)(4)(i) to (xiv). (Source: 29 CFR 2590.606-4, notice requirements for plan administrators, (b)(4).)

ItemWhat the regulation requiresIn practice
(i) Plan name and administrator contactThe name of the plan, and the name, address and telephone number of whoever administers COBRA coverage.Use the plan's actual name and a phone number and mailing address that reach the COBRA administrator.
(ii) The qualifying eventIdentification of the qualifying event.Say what happened: end of employment, reduced hours, death, divorce and so on.
(iii) Who can elect, and when coverage endsThe qualified beneficiaries, by status or name, and the date plan coverage will end (or ended) unless COBRA is elected.Name people by status ("you, your spouse, your dependent children") if you prefer, and give the actual date.
(iv) Independent right to electThat each qualified beneficiary has an independent right to elect, that the employee or spouse may elect for all the others, and that a parent or legal guardian may elect for a minor child.All three parts, not just "you may elect".
(v) How and by when to electThe plan's election procedures, the election period, and the date by which the election must be made.A specific date, not only "60 days".
(vi) Not electing or waivingWhat happens if they do not elect or they waive, including the effect on portability, access to individual coverage and special enrollment, where to learn more, and how to revoke a waiver before the deadline.Include the revocation procedure, not just the consequences.
(vii) The coverage offeredA description of the coverage, including the date it starts, or a reference to the summary plan description.Say when coverage begins.
(viii) How long it lastsThe maximum period, the termination date, and the events that can end coverage early.Give the months that apply to this event and list the early-termination events.
(ix) ExtensionsWhen the maximum period can be extended because of a second qualifying event or a Social Security disability determination, and by how long.Both kinds of extension, with their lengths.
(x) Notice duties for extensionsFor coverage of less than 36 months: the beneficiary's duty to report a second qualifying event or a disability determination, how and within what time, what happens if they do not, and the duty to report that a disabled beneficiary is no longer disabled.Needed for 18-month notices (end of employment, reduced hours).
(xi) What it costsThe amount, if any, each qualified beneficiary must pay.Actual amounts.
(xii) How to payDue dates, the right to pay monthly, grace periods, the address for payments, and what happens if a payment is late or missed.Every one of those five points.
(xiii) Keep addresses currentWhy the administrator needs current addresses for everyone who is or may become a qualified beneficiary.One clear sentence will do.
(xiv) Not the full storyA statement that the notice does not fully describe continuation coverage or other rights, and that more is in the summary plan description or available from the plan administrator.A closing paragraph works well.

Two items are worth a second look:

The general notice: 6 items

The general (initial) notice goes to each covered employee and spouse when coverage starts. It has its own, shorter list: (Source: 29 CFR 2590.606-1, general notice of continuation coverage, (c).)

  1. The plan's name, and the name, address and telephone number of someone who can give more information.
  2. A general description of continuation coverage: who can become a qualified beneficiary, the qualifying events, the employer's duty to notify the administrator of certain events, the maximum period, extensions, and premium payment.
  3. The beneficiary's duty to notify the administrator of a divorce, legal separation or a child losing dependent status, and how to do it.
  4. The duty of beneficiaries on COBRA to report a Social Security disability determination, and how to do it.
  5. Why the administrator needs current addresses.
  6. A statement that the notice does not fully describe the rights, and that more is available from the plan administrator and in the summary plan description.

When an election notice is due before the general notice would be, giving the election notice satisfies the general notice requirement for that person. (Source: 29 CFR 2590.606-1, general notice of continuation coverage, (b)(1)(ii) and (b)(3).)

Using the list

  1. Put the notice next to the table and find each item in it.
  2. For items with several parts, such as (iv), (vi) and (xii), check every part.
  3. Check the dates: the coverage end date, the election deadline, the first payment and the grace period. See COBRA notice deadlines.
  4. Read it as a participant would. The regulation asks for wording the average plan participant can understand.

Check the notice before it goes out. The COBRA Notice Content QA checks a draft election or general notice for every required item, works out the deadline from the event date, and flags stated dates and payment terms that fall short of the minimums. $25.00 per completed check, with free sample runs on the page. Check a notice

A clean report is not legal advice and not a guarantee against DOL penalties.

Related

Sources

Read October 5, 2026. SpreadRun is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Department of Labor or the IRS. This is general information, not legal advice. Where this page and the regulations differ, the regulations control.