What you need to start

Enrolling goes quickly with these in front of you and slowly without them.

  • Full legal names and dates of birth for everyone who needs coverage.
  • Social Security numbers for each applicant.
  • Home address in North Carolina, and a mailing address if it differs.
  • An income estimate for 2027 for the whole household.
  • Details of any employer coverage available to anyone in the household, including what it would cost that person for employee-only coverage.
  • Immigration document numbers for any applicant who is a lawfully present non-citizen.
  • Your current policy number if you already have a Marketplace plan.

That last employer item surprises people. If someone in your household is offered job-based coverage that the rules consider affordable, it can affect whether Marketplace subsidies are available. The Marketplace asks, so it is worth knowing the answer before you sit down.

What you need to choose well

These are not required to apply, but without them you are picking a plan blind.

  • Your prescriptions, with dosages. Drug coverage varies enormously between plans, and a medication can be covered on one plan and excluded on another.
  • The doctors and hospitals you want to keep. Write the names down. Networks change each year.
  • Any treatment you know is coming. A planned surgery or ongoing therapy changes which plan design makes financial sense.

Getting the income number right

This is the part people get wrong most often, and it drives the whole subsidy calculation.

The Marketplace wants your expected household income for 2027, not what you earned in 2025. It includes wages, self-employment income after business expenses, unemployment compensation, and certain other income for everyone in your tax household.

For someone salaried this is straightforward. For someone self-employed it is an estimate, and it is meant to be an estimate. The common mistake is reporting gross revenue rather than income after deductible business expenses, which inflates the figure and can cost you subsidy you were entitled to.

The figure matters most near the edges. Premium tax credits for 2027 run from 100% to 400% of the federal poverty level, and that upper line is $63,840 for one person and $132,000 for a household of four. If you are near it, precision is worth the effort. How the credit works is covered in how ACA subsidies work.

When the Marketplace asks you to prove something

After you apply, you may get a request for supporting documents. This is routine, not a sign of a problem, but it has deadlines and it is where applications stall.

To verify income, recent pay stubs, a W-2, a prior tax return, or for self-employed applicants a profit and loss statement or bookkeeping records.

To verify residency, a lease, utility bill, or mortgage statement in your name.

To verify immigration status, the document referenced in your application.

To verify loss of coverage if you are applying through a Special Enrollment Period, a termination letter from your employer or insurer showing the date coverage ended.

Respond promptly. Coverage can be affected if a request goes unanswered, and the resolution takes days rather than hours.

Why this matters more for 2027

Open Enrollment runs November 1 through December 15, and the January extension is gone.

A document request that arrives on December 12 has almost nowhere to go. The same request on November 10 is a minor errand. Gathering documents before the window opens, and applying in the first half of it, is the single most effective way to avoid the problem entirely.

Special Enrollment Periods have an extra burden

If you are enrolling outside Open Enrollment because of a life event, expect to prove the event itself. A marriage certificate, a birth record, a lease showing a move, or a letter confirming when coverage ended.

These requests are more common than during Open Enrollment, and the timelines are tighter because the enrollment window is usually 60 days from the event. Our page on Special Enrollment Periods covers which events qualify.

A note on scams

Legitimate Marketplace enrollment never requires payment to an individual, and no genuine agent will ask for your bank login. Premium payments go to the insurance carrier, not to a person.

If someone pressures you to decide immediately or asks for money to complete an application, stop. Licensed agents are listed publicly and can be verified with the North Carolina Department of Insurance.

A checklist you can work from

Print this or keep it open. Households that gather these before November 1 finish enrollment in one sitting.

  • Legal names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers for everyone applying
  • North Carolina home address, plus mailing address if different
  • Expected 2027 household income, after business expenses if self-employed
  • Most recent tax return, for reference on income
  • Recent pay stubs, or a profit and loss statement if you work for yourself
  • Employer coverage details for anyone in the household who is offered it
  • Immigration document numbers where applicable
  • Current policy number if you already have Marketplace coverage
  • Prescription list with dosages
  • Names of doctors and hospitals you want to keep

Special situations

Self-employed or 1099. You will not have pay stubs. A profit and loss statement, bookkeeping records, or last year's Schedule C serve the same purpose. Report income after deductible business expenses, not gross revenue. Our page on health insurance for the self-employed covers how this works.

Income that varies month to month. Estimate the annual total rather than annualising a good month. You can update the estimate during the year if things change, and you should.

Someone in the household on Medicare or Medicaid. They are generally not included in the Marketplace application for coverage, but their income may still count toward household income. This trips people up constantly.

Divorced or separated parents. Who claims the child on taxes usually determines which household includes them.

Income low enough for Medicaid. The Marketplace will route the application rather than reject it. Whether that applies is worth checking in advance — see do I qualify for Medicaid in North Carolina.

What you do not need

You do not need a medical history, a physical, or any record of pre-existing conditions. Marketplace plans cannot deny you or charge you more because of health status, and no legitimate application will ask.

If something calling itself health insurance asks detailed medical questions, it is not a Marketplace plan. It may still be a real product, but it is a different kind of coverage with different rules, and you should know which you are buying.

How The Jordan Insurance Agency helps

Most of what stalls an application is paperwork rather than the plan choice, and it is avoidable with a short conversation up front.

The Jordan Insurance Agency is an independent agency in Charlotte, North Carolina. We will tell you exactly what to gather for your situation, help you get the income estimate right rather than guessed, and handle a document request if one arrives instead of leaving you to work out what the Marketplace is asking for.

There is no charge for any of it. Carriers pay the agent, so your premium is the same whether you enroll with us or on your own.