Hawaii EBT and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

Applying through PAIS

PAIS has two parts. The information site at pais.dhs.hawaii.gov links to the application and to SUN Bucks, and DHS says you can check an application or benefits there^4,6. The application, "Financial Assistance / SNAP Application," is at pais-benefits.dhs.hawaii.gov. It is open 6:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Hawaii time, Monday to Saturday, except state holidays³.

That page says not to use it for renewals, which can start the month before your certification period ends³. After you submit, keep the receipt with your tracking number. It shows DHS has your application^1,3.

Public Assistance Information System (PAIS)

The Hawaii EBT card and the FIS line

DHS calls the card the Kokua EBT card²⁸. Hawaii contracted with Fidelity Information Services (FIS) as its EBT processor in May 2017. One card can carry SNAP, cash aid such as TANF, TAONF or General Assistance, and child care payments². The processing center mails the card to the head of the household. DHS needs an ID first, and mail takes five to seven days. The card is active when mailed, but you must contact FIS to create a PIN. Call 1-888-328-4292, or use ebtEDGE or its mobile app^7,28. That 24-hour line also gives your balance and takes reports of lost, stolen or damaged cards. The TTY number is 1-800-855-2880².

In ebtEDGE or its mobile app you can freeze the card and block out-of-state and online purchases. In May 2024 DHS warned about fake calls from 1-866-264-2925 that say "Welcome to the Hawai'i EBT Customer Service Line." DHS and FIS never call or text to ask for your PIN. If you see charges you did not make, report them at a processing center and get a new card there⁸. The DHS card pages checked October 16, 2026 do not mention chip cards^2,8.

Hawaii's federal plan to replace skimmed SNAP began July 3, 2023. Congress's authority for it ended December 20, 2024⁹. The state rule adopted November 13, 2025 (Chapter 17-685.4) covers stolen financial assistance, child care subsidies and supportive services. The earlier versions that also named SNAP were repealed¹⁰.

• Card customer service: 1-888-328-4292
• Cardholder website: ebtEDGE
• EBT processor: FIS

Hawaii SNAP and EBT phone numbers

How to apply for SNAP in Hawaii

1. File form DHS 1240 online or on paper. Apply on the PAIS application site during its hours³. Or print the DHS 1240 application and mail it or drop it off. Every processing center also has paper forms¹. The same form covers TANF and TAONF cash aid²².
2. Use your island's processing center. There are eight centers on O'ahu and offices in Lihu'e, Wailuku, Kaunakakai, Lana'i City, Hilo, Kailua-Kona, Captain Cook and Na'alehu. Each has its own fax number and email address. Some lobbies, such as Lunalilo in Wailuku, Honoka'a and Kapa'au, are closed until further notice⁵.
3. Answer the interview call. Since July 1, 2022, every application and annual renewal needs an interview, by phone when possible. A worker calls twice. If you are not reached, DHS mails a notice, and you call 1-855-643-1643 with your case number⁶.
4. Send what the notice asks for. If something is missing, a notice lists it and gives you 10 calendar days. Approval and denial notices both explain how to ask for an administrative hearing. The EBT card follows by mail⁷.

Federal rules give DHS 30 days to decide, or 7 days under expedited service for households with very little income or cash²⁷. DHS warns that workloads at the processing centers can slow processing and voicemail replies¹. Eight DHS-funded nonprofits help people apply; see the SNAP outreach provider list¹¹.

Since November 1, 2025, the only non-citizens who can get SNAP are lawful permanent residents, Cuban or Haitian entrants, and people here under the Compact of Free Association from Micronesia, the Marshall Islands or Palau. Refugees, asylees and parolees lost eligibility. An ineligible member's income still counts for the household¹¹. If you also need health coverage, Med-QUEST takes its own application²³, and private plans are sold through HealthCare.gov²⁶. Pregnant people, new parents and children under 5 can also apply for WIC through the Department of Health²⁵.

Hawaii SNAP income limits from October 1, 2026

Gross limit: as published by Hawaii Department of Human Services (DHS), Benefit, Employment & Support Services Division (BESSD)¹. Net limit and maximum benefit: USDA FY2027 cost-of-living adjustments. All states compared.

DHS's chart effective October 1, 2026 shows two gross limits: 130% of Hawaii's poverty line ($1,989 for one person, $4,112 for four) and 200% under BBCE ($3,060 and $6,326)¹. Most households qualify for the 200% limit once DHS gives them its TANF brochure (DHS 1464). A household with a member disqualified from SNAP may not¹. The DHS figures round slightly differently from a straight 200% calculation; use the DHS chart.

Your benefit is then figured from net income. For FY2027, Hawaii's standard deduction is $306 for one to three people, and the shelter deduction cap is $1,036²¹. Change-reporting households must report changes in unearned income of more than $150¹. Hawaii's FY2027 utility allowances were not on the DHS pages checked October 16, 2026. For energy bills, a household can get one type of H-HEAP payment per program year, October 1 to September 30²⁴.

Net income test. Since February 1, 2025, households that qualify through broad-based categorical eligibility have no net income test. The 100% net limit ($1,530 for one person from October 1, 2026) applies to households outside BBCE, and households with an elderly or disabled member that are outside BBCE face only the net test¹.

Assets. No asset limit for households that qualify through BBCE¹. Households where everyone gets TANF or SSI also have no asset limit¹. A household outside BBCE (for example, one with a member disqualified from SNAP) is held to the federal limits of $3,000, or $4,750 with an elderly or disabled member^1,21.

When Hawaii releases SNAP: the 3rd or the 5th

On the 3rd of each month if your last name starts with A to I, and on the 5th if it starts with J to Z; households whose cash aid goes to a bank account get SNAP on the 1st.

DHS states both dates as calendar days, keyed to the first letter of the client's last name². One exception: if your cash aid goes by direct deposit to a bank account, the cash arrives on the 3rd banking day, and that household's SNAP is on the card on the 1st².

Benefits keep arriving each month unless DHS tells you otherwise⁷. Disaster replacements are separate: Kaua'i's automatic replacement after Hurricane Lowell was released September 17, 2026¹⁶.

Yearly renewal and the Six Month Report

Most households renew once a year. About 50 days before your renewal month ends, DHS mails a Notice of Expiration. The renewal packet follows about 45 days before. Return it by mail or online with documents by its due date, and do the interview⁶. Halfway through the year comes the Six Month Report Form (SMRF), mailed on the last day of the fifth month. It needs no interview, but it must be returned on time⁶.

Miss either form and benefits can be reduced, suspended or stopped. If the case closes, you must apply again⁶. Adults newly under the work rules should expect questions about them at renewal¹¹.

Rules specific to Hawaii

Sweetened soft drinks off the list from April 1, 2027

USDA approved Hawaii's Healthy Choice project on December 10, 2025, for a start on August 1, 2026. On June 15, 2026, it approved the state's request to move the start to April 1, 2027. The project runs two years^13,15. DHS defines a "soft drink" as a nonalcoholic drink made with carbonated water and more than 10 grams of sugar per serving. Milk, soy and rice drinks, and drinks over 50% fruit or vegetable juice, are not covered¹⁴.

Work rules apply statewide, with no waived areas

Under the federal law signed July 4, 2025, the work-rule time limit covers adults 18 to 64, parents whose youngest child is 14 or older, veterans, people who are homeless and former foster youth aged 18 to 24¹¹. Without 80 hours a month of work, volunteering or training, or an exemption, SNAP stops after three months for 36 months¹¹. USDA lists no Hawaii time-limit waiver for FY2027 Quarter 1¹². Native Hawaiians are not exempt: the new exemption covers only members of federally recognized tribes¹¹.

SUN Bucks paid $189 per child for summer 2026

DHS and the Department of Education paid SUN Bucks of $189 per child for summer 2026^17,18. Children in SNAP or TANF, those approved for free or reduced-price meals, and foster, homeless, migrant or runaway children were enrolled automatically. Others applied by August 2, 2026¹⁷. New cardholders got a SUN Bucks EBT card by mail. Unused benefits expire 122 days after issue¹⁸.

No Restaurant Meals Program; online grocery orders allowed

Hawaii is not on USDA's Restaurant Meals Program list (page updated August 7, 2026)¹⁹. It is on USDA's online purchasing map, which links to the retailers taking SNAP online in the state²⁰. DHS also points SNAP households to DA BUX, which gives 50% off some locally grown produce at participating stores¹¹.

Replacing food lost to storms and power outages

After a disaster, you can ask for replacement SNAP with a signed statement giving your name, the date of loss, the food's value, what happened and your contact details. Turn it in at any processing center¹⁶. Deadlines for Tropical Cyclone Lala and Hurricane Lowell were extended to September 23 and 28, 2026, and Kaua'i got a 60% automatic replacement¹⁶. For the planned Moloka'i outages of October 3 to 8, 2026, households had 10 days from the loss³.

Other assistance in Hawaii

Sources

1. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), with gross and net income standards effective 10/1/2026, Hawaii Department of Human Services, BESSD. Checked 16 October 2026.
2. Hawaii Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Program, Hawaii Department of Human Services, BESSD. Checked 16 October 2026.
3. PAIS SNAP/TANF Application Portal (Financial Assistance / SNAP Application), Hawaii Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
4. Benefit, Employment & Support Services Division home page (PAIS line and website), Hawaii Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
5. Processing Centers and First-To-Work Units, Hawaii Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
6. SNAP Eligibility Requirements Reinstated Starting June/July 2022 (interviews, renewals, Six Month Report Forms), Hawaii Department of Human Services, BESSD. Checked 16 October 2026.
7. What happens once I apply for benefits (revised July 2020), Hawaii Department of Human Services, BESSD. Checked 16 October 2026.
8. DHS SNAP/Financial Fraud Alert (May 22, 2024), Hawaii Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
9. Replacing Stolen Benefits: State Plan Approvals (page updated September 10, 2026; read via the USDA CDN copy), USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
10. Administrative Rules for Programs (Chapter 17-685.4 adopted 11-13-2025; repealed SNAP replacement chapters 17-685 to 17-685.2), Hawaii Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
11. Changes to Able-Bodied Adult Work Requirements for SNAP – FAQs (October 9, 2025), Hawaii Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
12. ABAWD Time Limit Waiver Status, FY2027 Quarter 1, USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
13. SNAP Food Restriction Waiver: Hawaii (page updated September 18, 2026; read via the USDA CDN copy), USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
14. SNAP Healthy Choice Demonstration Project (DHS page, Internet Archive copy of February 11, 2026; the live page returned 404 on October 16, 2026), Hawaii Department of Human Services, BESSD. Checked 16 October 2026.
15. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: State of Hawaii SNAP Demonstration Project (FR Doc. 2026-18888, September 15, 2026), Federal Register. Checked 16 October 2026.
16. DHS announces updated SNAP replacement benefit deadlines and Kaua'i mass replacement approval following Tropical Cyclones Lala and Lowell (September 16, 2026), Hawaii Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
17. SUN Bucks Program Returning for Summer 2026 (May 26, 2026), Hawaii Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
18. SUN Bucks FAQs, Hawaii Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
19. Restaurant Meals Program (page updated August 7, 2026; read via the USDA CDN copy), USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
20. SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot (page updated February 17, 2026; read via the USDA CDN copy), USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
21. SNAP – Fiscal Year 2027 Cost-of-Living Adjustments (memo, August 21, 2026), U.S. Department of Agriculture. Checked 16 October 2026.
22. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Temporary Assistance for Other Needy Families (TAONF), Hawaii Department of Human Services, BESSD. Checked 16 October 2026.
23. Apply for Medicaid, Hawaii Department of Human Services, Med-QUEST Division. Checked 16 October 2026.
24. Hawaii Home Energy Assistance Program (H-HEAP), Hawaii Department of Human Services, BESSD. Checked 16 October 2026.
25. Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Hawaii State Department of Health. Checked 16 October 2026.
26. Health coverage in Hawaii, HealthCare.gov (U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services). Checked 16 October 2026.
27. 7 CFR 273.2, Office operations and application processing, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. Checked 16 October 2026.
28. General EBT Card Information and Frequently Asked Questions (Kokua EBT card), Hawaii Department of Human Services, BESSD. Checked 16 October 2026.