Mississippi EBT and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

AccessMS, the Common Web Portal

MDHS pages use two names for one site: AccessMS and the Common Web Portal^6,24. You can submit a SNAP application without an account. To read notices, upload documents, report changes or see your benefits, you must create one⁶. MDHS says the portal also shows balances and transactions³. The optional SNAP Pre-Screen on the same site gives a rough idea of eligibility⁵. The same portal takes TANF applications¹⁹, LIHEAP pre-applications (mark "Community Services")²⁰ and Medicaid applications²¹.

MDHS also sends text reminders about work reporting, recertification deadlines and missing documents through a contractor called Promise. The texts come from 769-210-8724, and emails from [email protected]. If you are unsure whether a message is real, call or text 1-800-948-3050¹³.

AccessMS (Mississippi Common Web Portal)

The Mississippi EBT card and ConnectEBT

Benefits arrive on the Mississippi EBT card. Any store showing the Quest logo takes it, and you use a four-digit PIN you choose². Mississippi's cardholder website and app are ConnectEBT, run by Conduent^12,4. They show your balance and transactions and let you change your PIN or report a card lost, stolen or damaged³. You can also call 1-866-512-5087 at any hour, or check the bottom of your last receipt².

Four wrong PIN entries in one day lock the card. Call 1-866-512-5087 to unlock it or set a new PIN². Report a lost, stolen or damaged card to the same number. MDHS turns the old card off and mails a new one, which should arrive in 5 working days. You keep your PIN². The card does not expire, so keep it even if your case closes².

MDHS stopped replacing stolen SNAP benefits on June 30, 2025, following federal instructions. That applies even to thefts before December 20, 2024¹⁰. If you see charges you do not recognize, call 1-866-512-5087 for a new card and PIN. Then report the theft on MDHS's SNAP Benefit Theft Form, to the Office of Inspector General at 1-800-299-6905, or to [email protected]¹⁰. Food lost in a fire, flood or weather power outage of 4 hours or more is handled differently. Report it to your county office within 10 days on MDHS EA Form 508, and you may get back up to one month's benefit²⁵.

• Card customer service: 1-866-512-5087
• Cardholder website: ConnectEBT
• Cardholder app: ConnectEBT (iPhone, Android)
• EBT processor: Conduent

Mississippi SNAP and EBT phone numbers

Applying for SNAP through MDHS

1. File the application, even an incomplete one. Apply online in AccessMS or pick up a paper application at your MDHS county office⁵. A form with your name, your address and the signature of a responsible adult is enough to set your filing date. You can file it the same day you contact the office⁸.
2. Collect proof while you wait. MDHS lists the documents it accepts: ID, proof of address, pay stubs or award letters, bank statements, rent and utility bills, Social Security numbers, child care receipts, and medical bills for members 60 or older or on disability⁵. You do not need all of them before you apply.
3. Do the interview. A caseworker schedules your interview and tells you the date by letter, email or both⁵. MDHS's manual says most interviews are done by phone. You can still ask for a face-to-face interview at the county office, or a home visit if you meet the hardship rules⁹.
4. Send what the caseworker asks for. Return requested papers online, by email, in person, by mail or by fax. Your county office's contact details are on your notices⁵. The MDHS upload site takes SNAP and TANF documents⁵.
5. Watch for the decision and your card. You get a decision letter within 30 calendar days of the date MDHS received your application, as long as you completed the interview and sent your papers⁵. If you are approved, your caseworker orders an EBT card. It comes by mail 7 to 10 days later⁶.

Expedited service pays benefits within 7 calendar days. It covers three kinds of households. The first has monthly gross income under $150 and $100 or less in cash and savings. The second is a destitute migrant or seasonal farmworker household with $100 or less. The third has income and cash that together come to less than its rent or mortgage plus utilities⁵.

Parents should know about one Mississippi condition. Custodial parents of children under 18 must cooperate with the Division of Child Support Enforcement to get SNAP, and so must parents who live apart from their children. A parent who does not cooperate without good cause is disqualified, but the rest of the household is not. A parent who lives apart and is behind on court-ordered support is barred from SNAP for each month the support is late. This does not apply if a court allows the delay, if the parent is on an approved payment plan, or if there is good cause^7,9.

Mississippi's 130% income test and asset limit for FY2027

Gross limit: as published by Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS), Division of Economic Assistance Eligibility¹. Net limit and maximum benefit: USDA FY2027 cost-of-living adjustments. All states compared.

The only way around these limits in Mississippi is categorical eligibility. That applies when every member of the household receives, or is eligible for, TANF or SSI. Those households skip the gross, net and asset tests⁹. Every other household is measured against the chart above, which MDHS lists as effective October 1, 2026^1,8. Lottery or gambling winnings of $4,750 or more make a household ineligible for as long as its assets stay over the limit⁸.

The manual names three utility standards: heating or cooling, a basic allowance for at least two other utilities, and telephone. It does not print the dollar amounts⁹. A LIHEAP payment over $20 qualifies a household for the heating and cooling allowance only if it has an elderly or disabled member⁹.

Net income test. A household with no member who is 60 or older or disabled must pass two tests: gross income at or below 130% of poverty, and net income at or below 100% ($1,330 a month for one person from October 1, 2026). A household with an elderly or disabled member only has to pass the net test^9,1.

Assets. Mississippi applies the national resource limits USDA sets each October 1: $3,000 for most households and $4,750 when a member is 60 or older or disabled⁹. MDHS exempts most vehicles used for everyday transportation. It counts recreational vehicles not used as a home, ATVs, and off-road vehicles that do not produce income⁹. Households where everyone gets TANF or SSI have no asset limit⁹.

Mississippi SNAP deposit days (4th to 21st)

Benefits load on the same day each month, from the 4th to the 21st, set by the last two digits of your case number. Weekends and holidays do not change the day.

MDHS says benefits are available on your day each month regardless of weekends and holidays^2,6. Unused benefits roll over. If an account goes unused for more than 90 days and the household owes MDHS for an earlier overpayment, the balance can be applied to that debt. After 274 days with no use, benefits are removed from the card².

Renewals, the 15th-of-the-month deadline and $150 changes

MDHS mails a notice of expiration in the month before your certification period ends. Renewing means filling out the same application again with a new signature^9,6. To keep benefits without a gap, file by the 15th of your last certification month. Households certified for only one or two months get 15 days from the notice instead⁹. Most households have an interview at least once every 12 months, and MDHS must allow at least 10 days to return papers⁹. If you file within 30 days after your period ends, that month's benefits are prorated from the day you file⁹.

Between renewals, Mississippi uses change reporting. Within 10 days, report a change of more than $150 in earned or unearned income. The same deadline covers a new source of income, someone moving in or out, a move or new shelter costs, a change in court-ordered child support, and a change in cash or bank accounts^7,8. Adults on the time limit must also report when their work falls below 20 hours a week⁷. ESAP households get a yearly interim contact form that they only return if something changed. MSCAP households report changes to the Social Security Administration⁹.

Rules specific to Mississippi

Online and out-of-state SNAP purchases blocked by default since June 11, 2026

On June 11, 2026, MDHS set every Mississippi EBT card to "Block High-Risk Transactions." That setting refuses online SNAP orders, including delivery and store pickup ordered online, and any purchase outside Mississippi. Purchases at Mississippi stores still go through^4,3. To shop online or use SNAP while traveling, change the setting in the ConnectEBT app or website, or call 1-866-512-5087, which offers fewer options^3,4. "Unlock My Card" allows purchases anywhere. When you choose it, the app asks whether the card should lock again automatically²³. "Lock My Card Everywhere" blocks every transaction, including in-state purchases, until you change it⁴. Mississippi is on USDA's list of states where SNAP can be used online¹⁸.

No soda or candy restriction and no Restaurant Meals Program

Mississippi is not on USDA's list of approved SNAP food restriction waivers (page updated October 13, 2026)¹⁵. In FY2027, SNAP here buys the same foods as the federal list. Hot foods, alcohol, tobacco, vitamins, and energy drinks with a Supplement Facts label stay excluded⁶. Mississippi does not run a Restaurant Meals Program, so SNAP cannot pay for prepared restaurant meals¹⁶.

Time limit for adults 18 through 64, with no waived areas

Adults aged 18 through 64 who are not raising a child under 14, are not pregnant and are able to work can get SNAP for only 3 months in 36. After that, they must work or join a work program at least 80 hours a month^7,9. People 60 to 64 are covered unless another exception applies⁹. Mississippi had no time-limit waiver for any area as of October 2026¹⁷. State law lets MDHS ask for one only during a declared natural disaster, and only with the Governor's approval (Miss. Code Ann. 43-12-19)⁹.

Simpler paths for people 65 and older and for SSI recipients

Households where everyone is 65 or older and no one has earnings go through the Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP). They get a 36-month certification, an interview that need not be in person, and no renewal interview unless the case is being denied or they ask for one⁹. SSI recipients who live alone, or buy and cook separately, and have no earnings may get a standard benefit through the Mississippi Combined Application Project (MSCAP). They can apply at a Social Security office, and their certification also lasts 36 months⁹. Either group can call 1-800-948-4060¹¹.

No Summer EBT (SUN Bucks) in 2026

Mississippi did not take part in USDA's Summer EBT program in 2026, so children here did not receive the $120 summer grocery benefit. USDA's participation map links Mississippi to its "not available" page¹⁴.

Other assistance in Mississippi

Sources

1. SNAP - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (income limits effective October 1, 2026), Mississippi Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
2. EBT Card, Mississippi Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
3. Upcoming SNAP Updates, Mississippi Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
4. MDHS Launches New ConnectEBT App and Card Lock Feature (June 2026), Mississippi Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
5. Applying for SNAP, Mississippi Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
6. Current SNAP Recipients, Mississippi Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
7. SNAP Rights and Responsibilities, Mississippi Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
8. MDHS-EA-530 Rights and Responsibilities of SNAP Households (revised October 1, 2026), Mississippi Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
9. Title 18, Part 14: SNAP Policy Manual (revised December 20, 2025), Mississippi Department of Human Services, via Mississippi Secretary of State Administrative Code. Checked 16 October 2026.
10. Reporting Stolen SNAP Benefits, Mississippi Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
11. Contact Us, Mississippi Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
12. Mississippi EBT Login (EBT Connect Client Portal), Conduent, for the State of Mississippi. Checked 16 October 2026.
13. MDHS wants to make it easier to stay connected with you (Promise text reminders), Mississippi Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
14. Summer EBT Participating Areas (2026), U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
15. SNAP Food Restriction Waivers (page updated October 13, 2026), U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
16. SNAP Restaurant Meals Program (page updated August 7, 2026), U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
17. Time Limit Waivers FY 2025-2029 (page updated October 5, 2026), U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
18. SNAP Online Purchasing (page updated February 17, 2026), U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
19. TANF - Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Mississippi Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
20. Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Mississippi Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
21. Mississippi Division of Medicaid (Apply for Medicaid), Mississippi Division of Medicaid. Checked 16 October 2026.
22. About WIC and How to Apply, Mississippi State Department of Health. Checked 16 October 2026.
23. Mississippi EBT Card Out of State Blocking Instructions (ConnectEBT app), Mississippi Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
24. Mississippi Common Web Portal (AccessMS), State of Mississippi. Checked 16 October 2026.
25. SNAP Replacement Benefits, Mississippi Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.