Michigan EBT and Food Assistance Program (FAP) (SNAP)

Using MI Bridges for food, cash and health coverage

MI Bridges is MDHHS's online system for food assistance, cash assistance, Medicaid, State Emergency Relief and Summer EBT, and you can apply for more than one program at a time^21,22,17,28. After you apply, you use the same account to check your eligibility status, report changes and renew^1,21.

MDHHS asks every client to verify their identity inside MI Bridges. Without that step you cannot view your benefits, letters and appointments, report changes or renew online¹⁴. Keep your address, phone and email up to date there. To change your mailing address, choose "Report Changes" on the dashboard. The new chip Bridge Cards go to the address on file¹.

MI Bridges

The Bridge Card, replacement fees and the chip upgrade

MDHHS's card processor is Fidelity Information Services (FIS)⁷. Your first card arrives 2 to 5 days after your case opens. Choose a PIN by calling 1-888-678-8914, in the ebtEDGE mobile app, or at cardholder.ebtedge.com⁷. Four wrong PIN entries lock the card until 12:01 a.m. the next day; a customer service worker can reset it sooner⁷. For your balance, look at your last receipt, log in to ebtEDGE, or call the same number at any hour. The line has Spanish and Arabic service².

If the card is lost or stolen, call 1-888-678-8914 and ask for a representative so FIS can shut it off. The new card comes by mail in 2 to 5 calendar days, inactive and without your old PIN⁷. Your first replacement is free. Under the manual update in effect from August 1, 2026, each later one costs $5.51, taken from your benefits. A Summer EBT-only card costs $1.00. A fourth replacement in 12 months triggers a warning letter. A fifth requires a visit to your local office, unless your case has a disability flag^7,27.

MDHHS's food and cash pages, checked October 16, 2026, say "Upgraded chip- and tap-enabled Bridge Cards are coming later in 2026"^1,21. Michigan replaced skimmed or phished food benefits only for thefts from October 1, 2022 through December 20, 2024. If someone stole your card or used a PIN you gave them, MDHHS does not replace the benefits².

• Card customer service: 1-888-678-8914
• Cardholder website: ebtEDGE
• EBT processor: FIS

Michigan SNAP and EBT phone numbers

Applying for food assistance through MDHHS

1. Apply in MI Bridges or on form MDHHS-1171. MDHHS calls MI Bridges the best way to apply¹¹. To apply on paper, print the Assistance Application (MDHHS-1171) from the MDHHS forms page. You can also pick one up at a local office during business hours, without an appointment. Hand it in, mail it or fax it to the office^11,21.
2. Ask for help if you need it. Office staff can help you fill in the form or read it to you. If a disability keeps you from the office, ask your local MDHHS office to send someone to your home¹¹.
3. Do your interview, usually by phone. MDHHS schedules the food assistance interview as a phone appointment unless policy calls for another kind. If you miss it, you get a Notice of Missed Interview (DHS-254). Call to set a new time, or the application is denied on the 30th day⁹.
4. Send proof within the deadline. Most proof must be dated within the last 30 days. Expect requests for ID, Social Security numbers, income, rent or mortgage costs, utility bills and immigration papers. You generally get 10 days to send what is asked for¹².
5. Watch for your Bridge Card. Once your case opens, the card arrives in 2 to 5 days. Your first benefits are available the day after you are approved⁷.

By law MDHHS must decide a food assistance application within 30 days, or 7 days if you qualify for expedited service¹¹. The benefits must be on your Bridge Card by those dates⁹. Applying for cash help (the Family Independence Program) or State Emergency Relief on the same form has its own deadline: 45 days for cash and 10 days for State Emergency Relief¹¹.

Michigan's 200% categorical limit for FY2027

Gross limit: as published by Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS)³. Net limit and maximum benefit: USDA FY2027 cost-of-living adjustments. All states compared.

Michigan's 200% test works differently from most states. Groups qualify through an "enhanced authorization" for MDHHS Domestic Violence Prevention Services, and that authorization makes them categorically eligible⁵. The FY2027 chart, in manual table RFT 250 effective October 1, 2026, labels the 200% column that way³. One- and two-person groups that pass the 200% test but are over the 130% and 100% levels automatically get the minimum benefit. Larger groups can get as little as $1. If the math comes to zero, the application is denied⁵. Deductions use MDHHS's October 1, 2026 standards: a $769 shelter cap and a $706 heat and utility standard⁴.

The 130% figures, from $1,729 a month for one person, matter again after approval. Under simplified reporting, they are the limit that triggers a report^3,15. The 165% column, from $2,195, is used only to decide whether a senior who cannot buy and prepare food because of a disability can be a separate group from the people they live with³.

Net income test. Groups that are categorically eligible face only the 200% gross limit^3,5. Groups that are not, such as those with a member disqualified for an intentional program violation, a work-rule penalty (head of household) or fleeing a felony, face 130% gross and 100% net tests. If such a group has a senior, disabled or disabled-veteran member, only the 100% net test applies. A senior or disabled group above 200% can still qualify with net income under 100% (from $1,330 for one person) if it passes the asset limit^3,5.

Assets. Since March 1, 2024, most Michigan food assistance groups have no asset limit⁶. The limit applies only to groups with a member disqualified for an intentional program violation, a work-rule penalty (head of household only) or fleeing a felony, and to senior or disabled groups above 200%. It is $3,000, or more with a member 60 or older or disabled^6,30. MDHHS's eligibility page and manual item BEM 400 (April 1, 2026) list $4,500 for that second case. The federal limit from October 1, 2026 is $4,750^6,30,31.

Bridge Card deposit days: odd dates from the 3rd to the 21st

Food assistance is loaded on one day between the 3rd and the 21st of each month, set by the last digit of the head of household's recipient ID number⁸.

The recipient ID number is not printed on the Bridge Card. MDHHS mails the schedule to each client, and local offices have it as a handout⁸. New and expedited cases do not wait for the schedule: benefits are available the day after approval. After that, the monthly date applies⁷. Cash assistance follows a separate schedule, paid in two halves between the 5th and 9th and the 15th and 19th⁸.

Unused food benefits carry over from month to month. After nine months (274 days) with no use, they are removed for good. MDHHS sends a notice 30 days before. You have 90 days from that notice to ask for a fair hearing².

Benefit periods, the six-month report and redetermination

Most groups are approved for up to 12 months. Groups in which everyone is 60 or older or disabled get 24 months if they have no income or only SSI or Social Security, with a check-in form (MDHHS-2240-A) in the 11th month⁹. People on SSI in the Michigan Combined Application Project (MiCAP) get 36 months^10,1. Twelve-month groups with earnings get a Semi-Annual Contact Report (MDHHS-1046) at the start of the fifth month¹⁰. To renew, MDHHS sends the redetermination forms MDHHS-1010 and MDHHS-1010-SNAP. You can also renew in MI Bridges. If the redetermination is not done, benefits stop at the end of the benefit period^10,14.

Between renewals, simplified reporters have only two things to report: total income above the simplified reporting limit on your Decision Notice, and lottery or gambling winnings of $4,500 or more¹⁵. From October 1, 2026, that limit is 130% of poverty, $1,729 a month for one person³.

Rules specific to Michigan

Work rules for adults 18 to 64 since March 2026

Michigan calls the time limit Time Limited Food Assistance (TLFA). MDHHS applied the H.R. 1 rules in all but a few areas from March 1, 2026. They cover adults 18 to 64 with no child under 14 in the group, including parents of children 14 and older^13,14. You need 80 hours a month of work, a Michigan Works! training program or self-initiated community service^13,14. Exempt areas: Alcona, Alger, Arenac, Cheboygan, Iosco, Iron, Luce, Mackinac, Montmorency, Oceana, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Presque Isle, Roscommon and Schoolcraft counties, plus Bay City, Detroit, Eastpointe, Flint, Jackson and Saginaw¹³. USDA's FY2026 waiver for those areas, which also names eight tribal reservation areas, runs through October 31, 2026¹⁹. Kent (except Grand Rapids), Oakland (except Oak Park and Pontiac) and Livingston counties have had the rule since October 1, 2025¹³.

Other H.R. 1 changes and their Michigan dates

MDHHS's FAQ (March 31, 2026) gives this timeline. From October 2025, internet costs no longer count as a shelter expense. From November 2025, energy-assistance payments raise the utility deduction only for adults 60 or older or with a disability. From June 2026, refugees, asylees and some other noncitizens who are not lawful permanent residents may lose eligibility. SNAP-Ed nutrition classes ended October 1, 2026¹⁴. Medicaid changes for some noncitizens are explained on MDHHS's Medicaid page²³. MDHHS also notes that the Home Heating Credit can change your food assistance amount^1,26.

Restaurant Meals Program without an application

Michigan runs the Restaurant Meals Program. You do not apply: if every member of your group is 60 or older, disabled, homeless, or the spouse of an eligible member, the Bridge Card works at participating restaurants. MDHHS posts a restaurant map and a printable list¹⁶.

Michigan Summer EBT 2026: $120 per child

Michigan Summer EBT paid $120 for each eligible child for summer 2026. Children 6 to 18 qualified automatically if they got food assistance, cash assistance or some types of Medicaid at any time from July 1, 2025 to August 31, 2026. Children approved for free or reduced-price meals on a school meal application also qualified. Universal free school meals alone did not count¹⁷. Families could also apply in MI Bridges or on form MDHHS-6138. Benefits went on an active Bridge Card or on a mailed Summer EBT card. They are removed 122 days after they are loaded¹⁷.

No food restriction waiver; online buying with the Bridge Card

Michigan is not on USDA's list of states with a SNAP food restriction waiver (page updated October 13, 2026), so soda and candy rules did not change here¹⁸. You can order groceries online with food benefits from retailers on MDHHS's list, including Amazon, Walmart, Aldi, Kroger and Meijer. Cash and WIC benefits cannot be used online, and food benefits cannot pay delivery fees²⁰.

Other assistance in Michigan

Sources

1. Food Assistance, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
2. Payment (Michigan Bridge Card), Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
3. RFT 250, SNAP Income Limits, effective October 1, 2026 (RFB 2026-007), Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
4. RFT 255, SNAP Standards, effective October 1, 2026 (RFB 2026-008), Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
5. BEM 213, Categorical Eligibility (February 1, 2026), Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
6. Food Assistance Eligibility, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
7. BAM 401E, EBT Issuance System (August 1, 2026), Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
8. RFS 305, Bridges Transaction Deadlines and Issuance Schedules (January 1, 2026), Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
9. BAM 115, Application Processing (October 1, 2026), Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
10. BAM 210, Redetermination (October 1, 2026), Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
11. The Application and Application Rights, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
12. Verification, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
13. Work Requirements for Food Assistance, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
14. Changes to Medicaid and SNAP (FAQ, March 31, 2026), Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
15. Reporting Changes for Simplified Reporters (MDHHS-Pub-2010), Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
16. Restaurant Meal Program, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
17. Summer EBT, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
18. SNAP Food Restriction Waivers, USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
19. Michigan ABAWD waiver response, FY2026, USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
20. Buy Food Online, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
21. Cash Assistance, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
22. Energy & Weatherization, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
23. Medicaid, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
24. Hotlines, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
25. Governor Whitmer Encourages Michiganders to Find a Health Plan During Open Enrollment for 2026 (November 6, 2025), Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
26. BEM 554, Food Assistance Expenses (October 1, 2026), Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
27. Bridges Policy Bulletin BPB 2026-019 (effective August 1, 2026), Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
28. MI Bridges, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
29. Federal Changes to Medicaid and Food Assistance Programs, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
30. BEM 400, Assets (April 1, 2026), Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
31. SNAP Fiscal Year 2027 Cost-of-Living Adjustments (memo, August 21, 2026), U.S. Department of Agriculture. Checked 16 October 2026.