Connecticut EBT and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

ConneCT for applying, MyDSS for everything after

Connecticut splits its online services across two sites that share one login. ConneCT is where you start: it has the "Am I Eligible?" screener, the online application, a Benefits Tracker quick view, and MyAccount, where you can apply, renew or send changes²⁴. MyDSS is the mobile-friendly site for an open case. Use it to open notices, upload photos of documents, download proof of benefits (budget sheets) and renew. If you already have a MyAccount, use the same username and password²⁰.

MyDSS is not in the App Store or Google Play. DSS asks you to open www.mydss.ct.gov in your phone's browser and save it to your home screen²⁰. To see your case and use the card controls, "associate" your case with your client ID number, the last four digits of your Social Security number and your date of birth. Without an SSN you cannot associate your own case, but you can use a child's SSN if your child has one. For a locked account or password reset, call 1-877-874-1612^5,3.

ConneCT and MyDSS

The EBT CONNECT card, balances and stolen benefits

DSS's brochure calls it the EBT CONNECT card; it is also your medical card if DSS gives you medical help²¹. A first card is mailed within 30 days of applying, or within 7 days with emergency processing. If you already have a card, new benefits go on it⁴. To activate it, call 1-888-328-2666, enter the 18-digit card number, the cardholder's date of birth and the last four digits of their SSN (0000 if none), then choose a 4-digit PIN⁴. Check the balance in ConneCT's MyAccount, in MyDSS, on your last receipt, or by phone⁴.

In MyDSS, choose EBT Balance and Card Access to lock or unlock the card or block out-of-state use. The out-of-state block stops store and ATM charges outside Connecticut but not online purchases⁵. For a lost, stolen or damaged card, call 1-855-626-6632 or 1-888-328-2666, or go to a Resource Center. The old card stops working and any balance moves to the new one⁴.

DSS does not replace SNAP stolen by skimming or cloning; it replaces only the card. It may replace food lost in a household disaster^4,5. DSS's card pages, checked October 16, 2026, describe a magnetic-stripe card. SNAP left unused for 274 days is removed for good⁴.

• Card customer service: 1-888-328-2666
• Cardholder website: MyDSS (EBT Balance and Card Access)

Connecticut SNAP and EBT phone numbers

Applying for SNAP with Connecticut DSS

1. Apply on ConneCT, by mail or at a Resource Center. DSS says online applications reach it fastest³. Paper applications in English and Spanish are linked from the DSS Apply page. Mail them to the DSS Scanning Center, PO Box 1320, Manchester, CT 06045-1320, or take one to any of the 12 DSS Resource Centers^3,19.
2. Send your proof within 30 days. Send ID and Social Security number, proof of Connecticut residence and the last 4 weeks of pay stubs (or an employer letter for 3 months). Add proof of other income, immigration status and student status if they apply to you. Upload in MyDSS or mail with a cover sheet. Without a cover sheet, write your Client ID and case number on every page³.
3. Add the costs that raise your benefit. Rent or mortgage, heating and utility bills, child or adult care costs, and child support you pay can raise your benefit. Members 60 or older or with a certified disability can add medical bills. DSS needs proof only if you did not list the cost on the application or it has questions³.
4. Be ready for an interview call. DSS may call you for an interview. If two weeks have passed with no word, call 1-855-626-6632 to do the interview. Need it in person? Book through the same number^3,19.
5. Watch for the decision letter and card. DSS mails its decision within 30 days. If you are approved, your EBT card arrives by mail^1,4.

Emergency processing means a decision within 7 days and 1 to 2 months of benefits while DSS collects the rest of your proof. It applies if income is under $150 a month and you have under $100 in the bank, if rent or mortgage plus utilities exceed your total income and assets, or if you are a migrant or seasonal farmworker living in Connecticut¹. Allow DSS 10 days to process documents before calling¹⁹. Local Community Action Agencies can help you apply³.

Connecticut's 200% income test for FY2027

Gross limit: as published by Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS)⁸. Net limit and maximum benefit: USDA FY2027 cost-of-living adjustments. All states compared.

DSS calls its broad-based categorical eligibility "Expanded Categorical Eligibility" (ECE). Its manual's October 1, 2026 table gives the 200% figures above⁸. After approval, the 130% level (from $1,729 for one person) matters: if gross income goes above it, report it by the 10th of the next month^12,8. Students enrolled half-time or more must also meet an exemption, such as working 20 hours a week, work-study, caring for a child under 6, or getting TFA².

Net income test. Households eligible through Expanded Categorical Eligibility face only the 200% gross test. A household with a member who is 60 or older or disabled and gross income above 200% has no gross limit. It must pass the 100% net income test instead (from $1,330 a month for one person from October 1, 2026)⁸.

Assets. Most households have no asset limit under Expanded Categorical Eligibility^8,7. From October 1, 2026, the limit is $4,750 for a household over 200% with an elderly or disabled member. The same $4,750 limit applies if that household's only elderly or disabled member is disqualified or ineligible⁸.

Connecticut's 1st-to-8th deposit days by client ID

From March 1, 2026, SNAP is deposited between the 1st and 8th of each month, based on the last two digits of the client ID; cash benefits arrive on the 1st.

Until February 2026, DSS paid everyone over the first three days of the month, by the first letter of the cardholder's last name. Public Act 24-82 required DSS to spread the days out. DSS began the change in March because February is the shortest month, and it wanted to avoid the holidays and summer⁶. Your approval letter tells you the day benefits are added each month⁴. Benefits carry over from month to month. SNAP not used for 274 days is taken back⁴.

Six-month reports, yearly renewals and ESAP

Most households file a Periodic Report Form (PRF) about 6 months into each certification and a Renewal Form about every 12 months¹¹. DSS mails the renewal about 45 days before it is due, pre-filled from your file. Mark changes or confirm none, sign, and return it in MyDSS, in the prepaid envelope, or at a Resource Center. DSS may call for an interview¹⁰. If you miss the deadline, benefits stop the month after the form was due. Within 30 days of closing you may be reinstated with part of that month's benefit; after that, apply again¹⁰.

Under the Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP), you renew every 3 years, skip the PRF and usually have no interview. It covers households where every adult is 65 or older or disabled and no one works; DSS says H.R. 1 raised the ESAP age from 60 to 65¹³. Between reports, everyone must report income above 130% of poverty, an ABAWD working under 80 hours a month, and gambling wins of $4,750 or more, by the 10th of the next month¹².

Rules specific to Connecticut

Work rules in every town since November 2025

DSS says every town in Connecticut follows the special SNAP work rules for adults¹⁴. Since November 2025, adults 18 through 64 who can work and do not live with a child under 14 can get only 3 months of SNAP in 3 years. The limit lifts if they work 80 hours a month (or earn at least $217.50 a week), or spend 80 hours in training such as SNAP E&T, volunteering, or a mix¹⁵. DSS's list of people likely not affected includes pregnant people, people getting unemployment or disability benefits (including veterans' disability at any rating), students at least half-time, and American Indians or Alaska Natives¹⁵.

State-funded $300 grocery card for people cut off by the work rules

Since August 4, 2026, community action agencies have handed out one-time $300 prepaid grocery cards paid for with $8.5 million from the state's Federal Cuts Response Fund. Anyone who lost SNAP under the ABAWD rules since December 1, 2025 and is not on SNAP qualifies. It is $300 per person, not per household. The card is a prepaid Mastercard or Visa, not an EBT deposit, and does not expire. If a DSS notice says you reached the three-month limit, contact your local community action agency, which confirms eligibility when you ask. The card does not affect other benefits¹⁶.

Summer EBT 2026: $120 per child

DSS and the State Department of Education paid $120 per child to more than 350,000 children in June 2026. Families on SNAP, TFA or HUSKY A under 185% of poverty, or approved for free or reduced-price school meals, got it automatically. Applications closed August 31, 2026¹⁷. S-EBT expires 122 days after it is loaded. Children who got it from an application between July 1 and August 31, 2026 should be enrolled again automatically for summer 2027¹⁸.

No food restriction waiver and no restaurant meals

Connecticut has no USDA-approved waiver limiting soda or candy; DSS lists snacks and non-alcoholic drinks among allowed foods^1,22. It does not run the Restaurant Meals Program, so foods hot when sold cannot be bought with SNAP^23,1. Online grocery orders work at the retailers DSS lists, from Big Y and Stop & Shop to Stew Leonard's; SNAP cannot pay delivery or service fees⁴.

$2 for every $1 at some farmers markets

At participating farmers markets and farm stands, you swipe your EBT card at the market table and get tokens. Some markets double SNAP, giving $2 to spend for every $1^1,4. DSS links to End Hunger Connecticut's market list¹.

Other assistance in Connecticut

Sources

1. Food Assistance - SNAP (Overview), Connecticut Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
2. Food Assistance - SNAP: Eligibility (income chart as of October 1, 2026), Connecticut Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
3. Food Assistance - SNAP: Apply, Connecticut Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
4. Using Your EBT Card, Connecticut Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
5. Protect Your EBT Card Benefits, Connecticut Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
6. The dates when DSS issues SNAP and Cash benefits are changing, Connecticut Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
7. DSS Program Standards Chart, effective October 1, 2026 (PDF), Connecticut Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
8. SNAP Policy Manual: Tables (effective 10/01/2026), Connecticut Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
9. SNAP Policy Manual: Shelter Expenses (SUA, LUA, TUA), Connecticut Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
10. Renewing your SNAP benefits, Connecticut Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
11. Keeping Your SNAP Benefits Active, Connecticut Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
12. Changes you need to report, Connecticut Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
13. Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP), Connecticut Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
14. Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs): SNAP work rules, Connecticut Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
15. Will these changes affect your SNAP or HUSKY coverage? (H.R. 1 work rule changes), Connecticut Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
16. Governor Lamont Announces Distribution of State-Funded Food Assistance for Connecticut Residents Pushed Out of SNAP Due to New Federal Changes (August 2026), Office of the Governor of Connecticut. Checked 16 October 2026.
17. Governor Lamont Announces the Families of More Than 350,000 Children Receiving Additional Summertime Food Assistance Benefits (June 2026), Office of the Governor of Connecticut. Checked 16 October 2026.
18. Summer EBT (S-EBT): FAQ, Connecticut Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
19. Contact DSS: Resource Center locations and Benefits Center hours, Connecticut Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
20. MyDSS Home, Connecticut Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
21. How to Use Your EBT CONNECT Card (Publication No. 07-08, Rev. 12/2025, PDF), Connecticut Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
22. SNAP Food Restriction Waivers (page updated October 2, 2026; read from Internet Archive copy), USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
23. SNAP Restaurant Meals Program (read from Internet Archive copy of July 12, 2026), USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
24. Welcome to ConneCT, Connecticut Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.