Disaster Response Legal Services

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahomans living in the 16 designated counties that were impacted during the February 2021 severe winter storms who need legal assistance but cannot afford an attorney can call the Disaster Legal Services hotline.

The phone number for the legal assistance hotline is 800-522-8065 and is available from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays. The Disaster Legal Services attorneys are not FEMA employees and services are confidential. You can call 2-1-1 outside of those hours.

When you call, explain that you are seeking assistance related to the Oklahoma winter storms that began Feb. 11 and provide your contact information, so an attorney can contact you.

Attorneys can answer questions about:

• Home-repair contracts and contractors.
• Life, medical and property insurance claims.
• Applying to FEMA and appealing FEMA decisions.

Legal assistance also can include:

• Getting a new will and other important legal documents lost or destroyed.
• Consumer-protection issues like price gouging.
• Advice on avoiding contractor scams in the rebuilding process.
• Receiving other available government benefits.
• Landlord-tenant issues.
• Mortgage foreclosures.

The hotline is a partnership between Oklahoma Bar Association, the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, Inc., and Oklahoma Indian Legal Services, Inc.

As a reminder, if you are a homeowner or renter who sustained damage in one of the 16 Oklahoma counties designated for individual assistance you should apply for disaster assistance with FEMA. The counties are Canadian, Carter, Cherokee, Comanche, Cotton, Hughes, Jefferson, Le Flore, McIntosh, Oklahoma, Okmulgee, Osage, Pittsburg, Stephens, Tulsa and Wagoner.

The easiest way to apply is by visiting www.disasterassistance.gov. There is no wait to register online and it is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If it is not possible to register online, call 800-621-3362 (TTY: 800-462-7585). The toll-free telephone lines operate from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. CDT, seven days a week. Those who use a relay service such as a videophone, Innocaption or CapTel should update FEMA with their specific number assigned to that service

Low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration are available to businesses, homeowners and renters. Call the SBA at 1-800-659-2955 (TTY: 800-877-8339) or visit www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance.

Additional Resources

• Oklahoma Attorney General Consumer Protection Unit
  The Office of the Attorney General offers tips to help consumers recognize fraud scams. 
• Oklahoma Insurance Department
  The Oklahoma Insurance Department has a helpful page addressing common questions about flood, tornado, wind and hail damage as well as storm-related health issues. For questions about insurance claims or to report insurance fraud, you may also call the Oklahoma Insurance Department consumer assistance number at 800-522-0071.
• Oklahoma Lawyers for America's Heroes
  This program provides legal advice and assistance free of charge to active duty servicemen and women as well as veterans. Visit www.okbarheroes.org for more information.
• Oklahoma Free Legal Answers
  Low-income Oklahomans can submit legal questions and a volunteer lawyer will respond at no cost at oklahoma.freelegalanswers.org. Sponsored by the Oklahoma Bar Association, American Bar Association and Oklahoma Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission.
• Other resources from the Oklahoma Bar Association
  Free information produced by the OBA on more than 20 legal topics is available on the OBA's Free Legal Information page. Printed versions of brochures can even be mailed to Oklahomans for free. Also, a list of low- or no-cost legal assistance in Oklahoma is available on the OBA's Legal Resources page.