Maryland EBT and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

Signing in to MarylandBenefits

MarylandBenefits is the state's consumer portal for food, cash, medical and energy assistance and child support. To start, choose Create Account, open the activation link DHS emails you, and expect a passcode by email each time you sign in²⁰. To apply for SNAP, go to Services, then Food Assistance, then Apply. After you apply, "View Your Program Details" shows the status²⁰.

If you already have a case, linking it the first time needs your Head of Household (HOH) PIN, which you get from the DHS Call Center at 1-800-332-6347²⁰. Once linked, "My Redetermination" holds your 12-month renewal and "My Benefits Review Forms" holds the six-month review. You can upload documents there. If you do not send the form, the case closes at the end of the certification period²⁰. To change your mailing address, go to My Benefits Dashboard, then Report Changes. Do this before a replacement card is mailed⁶.

MarylandBenefits (Maryland Benefits Programs & Services Portal)

The Independence Card after the 2026 switch to FIS and chip cards

Maryland changed EBT vendors in May 2026. The ConnectEBT site closed on May 16, and from May 18, 2026 cardholders use FIS's ebtEDGE portal and app²⁴. DHS warns you to download the ebtEDGE app with the egg icon, not one called "ebtEDGE NEW!"⁶. Check your balance there or at 1-800-997-2222, which runs 24 hours a day⁷. The ebtEDGE account also has Freeze Card⁶ and text or email alerts for each transaction⁷.

DHS mailed chip-and-tap Independence Cards to all cardholders by July 31, 2026, after a pilot in Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City and Dorchester County^23,6. Each new card needed activation and a new PIN, and old magnetic-stripe cards stopped working on September 30, 2026⁶. Your first replacement of an activated card in 12 months is free. After that, each one costs $2.00, taken from SNAP first and then from cash benefits⁶. If your card is stolen, call 1-800-997-2222 to shut it off. You can also ask the DHS Call Center for an appointment at your local office to pick up an "EBT vault card"⁷.

Federal replacement of stolen benefits ended December 20, 2024. Maryland uses state funds to replace SNAP, cash and SUN Bucks benefits stolen on or after December 21, 2024⁹. File the EBT Stolen Benefits Attestation Claim Form within 45 days of learning of the theft. Use the "Report EBT Stolen Benefits" button on MarylandBenefits. You do not need a police report, and DHS says it replaces confirmed losses in 10 days or sooner⁸. Benefits are not replaced if you willingly gave someone your card and PIN. A denied claim can go to a fair hearing⁸. DHS's data page, checked October 16, 2026, counts 102,876 approved claims since March 2023 and $41,968,001 in SNAP replaced¹⁰.

• Card customer service: 1-800-997-2222
• Cardholder website: ebtEDGE
• Cardholder app: ebtEDGE (iPhone, Android)
• EBT processor: FIS

Maryland SNAP and EBT phone numbers

Applying for SNAP in Maryland

1. Apply online at MarylandBenefits. Create an account at MarylandBenefits and choose Services, then Food Assistance, then Apply. One account also covers cash, medical and energy assistance^20,3.
2. Or use paper form 9701. Print the DHS Application for Assistance (form 9701) or ask your local department of social services for one. It must give you a form or mail one the same day you ask³. Return it in person, by mail or by fax¹.
3. File even if the form is incomplete. A signed application with your name and address is accepted the same day, even before the interview. Your 30 days start from that filing date³. A household getting SSI can also apply at a Social Security office³.
4. Do the interview. Your local department of social services contacts you to set the interview³. Since the 2025 federal law, a household without a member 60 or older or disabled must show a utility bill from the last 30 days to get the utility allowance⁴.
5. Watch for the decision. DHS has 30 days to decide. If you qualify for expedited service, the deadline is 7 calendar days, and you only need the interview and proof of identity before the first benefits^3,18.

You qualify for expedited service, with benefits within 7 calendar days, if any of these is true: your gross monthly income is under $150 and you have $100 or less in cash and bank accounts; your income plus cash is less than your rent or mortgage plus utilities; or you are a destitute migrant or seasonal farmworker household with $100 or less¹⁸. The identity proof does not have to be a photo ID¹⁸.

Under the federal law of July 4, 2025, refugees and asylees lose SNAP eligibility until they have a green card⁴. DHS's older Eligibility Rules page still describes pre-2025 student and immigrant rules, so ask your local department before relying on it²⁹.

Maryland SNAP income limits for FY2027 (October 2026 chart)

Gross limit: as published by Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS), Family Investment Administration, through the local departments of social services². Net limit and maximum benefit: USDA FY2027 cost-of-living adjustments. All states compared.

DHS's chart, effective October 1, 2026, lists the 200% column as "Cat Elig"². Maryland gets there through a family planning brochure. Every household under 200% of the poverty guideline qualifies for the TANF-funded brochure "Family Planning: A Guide for You", and that makes the household categorically eligible. You do not need children¹².

If a member is 60 or older or disabled, you can deduct medical costs over $35 a month²⁹. Such households get the standard utility allowance automatically if they received more than $20 in energy assistance (MEAP) in the past 12 months³⁰. DHS had not posted FY2027 utility allowances by October 16, 2026, so none are shown here.

Net income test. Households that are categorically eligible under Maryland's 200% rule skip the gross and net income tests. A household that is not categorically eligible must meet the federal 130% gross and 100% net limits on DHS's chart. That includes a household with a member disqualified for an intentional program violation, or whose head of household is disqualified for work rules^12,2.

Assets. Most households have no asset test. DHS says almost all SNAP households are categorically eligible, and for them it does not count or verify bank accounts or vehicles^12,13. For the few who are not, only cash on hand and checking or savings accounts count¹³. Manual section 200 (June 2026) still prints the older $2,250 and $3,250 limits¹³; the federal limits for October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027 are $3,000, or $4,750 with a member 60 or older or disabled³².

Maryland deposit days by the first three letters of your last name

Between the 4th and the 23rd of each month, by the first three letters of the head of household's last name.

The letters come from the head of household's last name, not your own if someone else heads the case¹⁹. Maryland has used this 4th-to-23rd spread since January 2016, when it replaced a 6th-to-15th window. DHS ends it on the 23rd so people can buy holiday groceries before the holiday^19,5. The vendor change and the new chip cards in 2026 did not move anyone's day⁶. The $50 Minimum State Supplement for older adults posts on the same day as a separate SNAP benefit¹¹.

Six-month reviews, 12-month redeterminations and the 130% report

Most Maryland households get a 12-month certification. At month six you send the Maryland Benefit Review (MBR) form, with no interview¹⁵. Households where every member is 60 or older or disabled and nobody has earned income can get up to 24 months, with a contact every 12¹⁵. Two Maryland projects give 36 months: MSNAP, for people 60 or older on SSI, with no interview, and ESAP, for people 60 or older with no earned income, with no interview at renewal³¹. Between reviews you report only if gross income goes over 130% of poverty for your household size. Report by the 10th of the next month, on form DHS/FIA 491 or in MarylandBenefits¹⁷. ABAWDs must also report when work drops below 20 hours a week or 80 a month¹⁷.

DHS mails a notice before the last month of your certification. A renewal is on time if you file it by the 15th of that last month. There is an interview every 12 months, and it can be by phone¹⁶. If you miss the deadline, the case closes on its own. If you file within 30 days after the end date, DHS handles it as a renewal, but benefits are prorated from the date you filed¹⁶.

Rules specific to Maryland

Minimum State Supplement: at least $50 for households with someone 60 or older

Under Maryland Human Services Article 5-501, a household with a member 60 or older whose federal SNAP is under $50 gets a state top-up to $50 a month. It is automatic, with no separate application, and posts on the regular deposit day as a separate benefit¹¹.

ABAWD time limit since November 1, 2025, with no waived areas

From November 1, 2025, adults 18 to 64 with no child under 14 in the household must work or train 80 hours a month, or earn at least $217.50 a week, to keep SNAP past three months. The rule applied to new applicants at once and to existing cases at their next renewal⁴. The 36-month count that began July 1, 2026 runs to June 30, 2029. DHS's manual says Maryland has no waived areas¹⁴. Exceptions include pregnancy, disability benefits (including TDAP), TCA and unemployment insurance. A worker may also count chronic homelessness that keeps you from working 20 hours a week as unfitness for work^4,14.

Restaurant Meals Program in 12 jurisdictions

SNAP recipients who are homeless, 60 or older, or disabled (and in some cases their spouses) can buy hot meals with the Independence Card at participating restaurants. DHS calls it a pilot. Its list names restaurants in Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Harford, Montgomery, Prince George's, St. Mary's and Washington counties and in Baltimore City²¹. You cannot be charged tax on the meal. The card does not work at restaurants outside Maryland. DHS rechecks whether you qualify at every redetermination²¹.

No soda or candy restriction in Maryland

Maryland has no USDA food restriction waiver. FNA's waiver page, updated October 13, 2026, does not list Maryland²⁵. DHS's spending rules are the federal ones: SNAP buys food and seeds or plants to grow food, and not hot ready-to-eat food, alcohol, tobacco, vitamins or non-food items²⁸.

SUN Bucks summer 2026: $120 per child

Maryland SUN Bucks paid $40 each for June, July and August 2026, or $120 per eligible student. Payments went out in the last week of each month²². Students on free or reduced-price meals in 2025-26, children 5 to 18 in SNAP, TCA or Medicaid households, and foster children were enrolled automatically, regardless of immigration status²². The money expires 122 days after it is issued²².

Other assistance in Maryland

Sources

1. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
2. Income Guidelines, effective October 1, 2026 (SNAP, TCA, TDAP, OHEP), Maryland Department of Human Services, Family Investment Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
3. Applying for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
4. H.R. 1 (2025) Is Changing SNAP in Maryland, Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
5. Benefits Schedule, Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
6. EBT Updates, Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
7. Prevent EBT Theft, Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
8. Get Reimbursed for Stolen SNAP and Cash Benefits, Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
9. FIA Action Transmittal 25-10: Discontinued Federal Restoration of Stolen Benefits (February 19, 2025), Maryland Department of Human Services, Family Investment Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
10. Stolen Benefits (DHS Data Office), Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
11. SNAP Manual Section 111: Minimum State Supplement (revised September 24, 2024), Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
12. SNAP Manual Section 115: Categorical Eligibility (revised September 2025), Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
13. SNAP Manual Section 200: Resources (June 2026), Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
14. SNAP Manual Section 106: ABAWD (Time Limited Participation), revised August 2026, Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
15. SNAP Manual Section 410: Certification Periods (revised July 2023), Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
16. SNAP Manual Section 440: Recertification (revised July 2023), Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
17. SNAP Manual Section 420: Reporting Changes (revised July 2023), Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
18. SNAP Manual Section 401: Screening for Expedited Service (revised July 2023), Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
19. SNAP Manual Section 413: Benefit Issuance (revised July 2023), Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
20. Express Service Center (MarylandBenefits help), Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
21. Restaurant Meals Program, Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
22. SUN Bucks, Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
23. Governor Moore Announces the Statewide Rollout of More Secure, Fraud-Resistant 'Chip-and-Tap' EBT Cards (July 17, 2026), Office of Governor Wes Moore. Checked 16 October 2026.
24. EBT vendor transition to FIS, letter to cardholders (May 1, 2026), Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
25. SNAP Food Restriction Waivers, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
26. How to Apply for Medicaid, Maryland Department of Health. Checked 16 October 2026.
27. Apply for WIC, Maryland Department of Health. Checked 16 October 2026.
28. Spending Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits, Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
29. Eligibility Rules (SNAP), Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
30. SNAP Manual Section 214: Utility Allowances (September 2025), Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
31. SNAP Manual Section 107: ESAP and MSNAP (July 2023), Maryland Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
32. SNAP - Fiscal Year 2027 Cost-of-Living Adjustments (memo, August 21, 2026), U.S. Department of Agriculture. Checked 16 October 2026.