Application portal closes after 90 minutes, 50,000 applications received for Orange County stimulus

Assistance website accepting applications

Orange County is accepting applications once again on Tuesday for the new Orange CARES for residents program.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - The application portal for the new Orange CARES program closed after 90 minutes on Tuesday after 50,000 applications were received.

"The Individual & Family Assistance Program has received the start of 50K applications. The portal is now closed for new applicants," Orange County tweeted. "Those who are in the system will still be able to complete their uploads. Applicants will have until tomorrow at midnight to complete their uploads."

Many residents reported issues when they tried to apply when the system opened to applicants at 8:00 a.m.

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"Been trying for the last FORTY MINUTES to upload Household IDs. Your system is faulty!!!" tweeted one Twitter user.

"I tried to apply again for the Orange CARES assistance program and the page doesn't let you submit the documents," a FOX 35 viewer wrote. "There isn't and upload and submit button. It's really a disgrace."

On Monday, the system only took 2,000 applications and reached its limit less than 5 minutes after going live.

"The Individual and Family Assistance Program portal is receiving higher than normal web volume," Orange County tweeted. "Applications are going through, but for those receiving an error message, please continue to re-load your documents."

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"We understand this is a frustrating situation. We have been sharing your comments with our web team and will continue to monitor the situation. We appreciate your patience."

The program is giving eligible Orange County residents a one-time payment of $1,000 to help ease the financial strain caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Qualifying small businesses are eligible for $10,000.

For individuals to be eligible, you must meet the following criteria:

Reside in Orange County, Florida
Pay rent or own a home in Orange County, Florida
You or another adult in your household lost a job or experienced a reduction in hours at work due to COVID-19
You and all adults in your household are a U.S. Citizen or permanent legal resident

You can apply again on Wednesday at ocfl.net/orangecares.

Tune in to FOX 35 Orlando for the latest Central Florida news.