New York EBT and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

myBenefits upstate, ACCESS HRA in the five boroughs

New York has two online front doors. Outside New York City you apply and recertify at myBenefits.ny.gov; first-time users choose "Apply for SNAP" and create a username and password, returning users log in and choose "Recertify Benefits"¹¹. The "Am I Eligible?" tool screens you but is not an application². myBenefits also holds the claim form for stolen Temporary Assistance cash, and its alert box states that applications to replace stolen SNAP benefits are no longer accepted^5,4.

In the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island you use ACCESS HRA. Your filing date is the day you sign and submit, even with blanks (after business hours, the next business day), and answering the "Verify your Identity" questions saves mailing proof of identity. "View My Cases" shows 12 months of SNAP and Cash Assistance cases once you link the account with the primary contact's date of birth and Social Security number or Client Identification Number (CIN)⁷.

myBenefits

The CBIC: balance, PIN, freezing and stolen benefits

New York's EBT card is the Common Benefit Identification Card (CBIC). It carries SNAP and cash benefits, and HRA notes it also serves as identification for Medicaid^3,9. Check the balance and six months of transactions at ebtEDGE.com or in the ebtEDGE app (one registration covers both), or call 1-888-328-6399 at any hour in Arabic, Chinese, English, Haitian Creole, Italian, Korean, Russian or Spanish³. A PIN cannot use repeated or consecutive digits such as 2222 or 1234⁴. Report a lost, stolen or damaged card by phone, online or in the app, and a replacement is mailed³. In New York City, if your first card has not arrived, HRA issues a permanent card at its Brooklyn over-the-counter site or a temporary "vault card" at a Benefits Access Center, and two-parent SNAP households can ask for a second card on form FIA-1270⁹.

OTDA's first advice against skimming is the "Freeze Card" button in ebtEDGE: keep the card frozen and unfreeze it only to pay. You can also block out-of-state and online purchases⁴. Stolen SNAP benefits are not replaced. Stolen Temporary Assistance cash can be, under state rules: theft on or after January 1, 2022, up to the smaller of the amount stolen or twice the last monthly cash grant, once per federal fiscal year since October 1, 2024, with a claim filed within 30 days of discovering the theft⁴. On July 13, 2026 Governor Hochul announced that FIS will supply about two million chip cards, with issuing to begin in the first quarter of 2027; cardholders will be told before their new card is sent⁶.

• Card customer service: 1-888-328-6399
• Cardholder website: ebtEDGE
• Cardholder app: ebtEDGE
• EBT processor: FIS

New York SNAP and EBT phone numbers

Applying in a county office or through HRA

1. File online with your filing date. Use myBenefits.ny.gov outside New York City or ACCESS HRA in the five boroughs. An application with your name, address, phone number (if any) and signature must be accepted, so file early and finish the rest at the interview².
2. Or use the paper form LDSS-4826. Print the SNAP Application/Recertification (LDSS-4826) from OTDA's forms page and mail, fax or hand it to your county department of social services or, in New York City, a SNAP Center. The office must register it the same day. To find your county office, call 1-800-342-3009².
3. Do the eligibility interview. Outside the city your county may interview you the day you apply or set another date². In New York City you call the On Demand line, 929-273-1872, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; HRA will not call you. You may ask for a face-to-face interview at a SNAP Center instead^7,8.
4. Send proof without a trip to the office. Participating counties take photos of documents through the NYDocSubmit app¹¹. HRA takes uploads in the ACCESS HRA app, faxes to 917-639-2544, or mail to SNAP, P.O. Box 29008, Brooklyn, NY 11202, with the name and case number on each page⁷.

If you qualify, benefits must start within 30 days of the date the office got your application, and every applicant is screened for expedited SNAP, which pays a household with little or no money within seven days². HRA's guide says its expedited benefit arrives within five calendar days of filing, often covering more than one month⁷.

Students aged 18 to 49 face the federal student rule, with two New York additions: students in a qualifying career and technical education program at a SUNY or CUNY community college, technology college or other listed SUNY or CUNY college, and students at any of the state's 10 Educational Opportunity Centers in career, remedial, adult basic education, literacy or English classes, can qualify^1,2.

New York's three FY2027 income tiers

Gross limit: as published by New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA)¹. Net limit and maximum benefit: USDA FY2027 cost-of-living adjustments. All states compared.

The table shows New York's lowest limit, 130% of poverty, which applies to households with no earnings and no member who is 60 or older or disabled¹. Two higher limits apply from October 1, 2026¹. A household with earnings (and no one 60+ or disabled and no dependent care costs) may have gross income up to 150% of poverty: $1,995 a month for one person, $2,705 for two, $3,415 for three and $4,125 for four, plus $710 for each extra person¹.

Households with a member aged 60+ or disabled, and households paying out-of-pocket dependent care costs, get 200% of poverty: $2,660 for one, $3,607 for two, $4,553 for three and $5,500 for four, plus $947 for each extra person¹. The federal FY2027 standards add a $217 standard deduction for one to three people, a $769 cap on the excess shelter deduction and a $205.66 homeless shelter deduction²⁵.

Net income test. The net income limit is 100% of poverty, $1,330 a month for one person in FY2027²⁵. New York's own pages do not spell out which households must pass it, so ask your caseworker how your budget is figured. One- and two-person households get at least $25 a month in the 48 states and D.C.²⁵.

Assets. OTDA says most households have no resource test, a rule it dates to January 1, 2008². The federal FY2027 limits that apply where a test still exists are $3,000, or $4,750 when the household has a member who is 60 or older or disabled²⁵.

Deposit days: upstate digits and the NYC pickup chart

Outside New York City, on the 1st to the 9th of the month by the last digit of the case number; in the city, on one of 13 days in the first two weeks, from a chart the city publishes every six months^26,10.

Outside the five boroughs, USDA's issuance schedule lists the days by the last digit of the case number: 0 or 1 on the 1st, then 2 through 9 on the 2nd through the 9th²⁶. New York City spreads deposits over 13 days that are not Sundays or holidays, and SNAP is paid in the chart's "A" cycle²⁶. The NYC dates above are the A-cycle dates from the city's pick-up schedule (Form EBT-52, revised June 16, 2026), which covers July to December 2026. The chart also lists B-cycle dates; USDA's schedule says SNAP is deposited in the A cycle^10,26. If benefits have not posted by your date, the OTDA hotline, 1-800-342-3009, can direct you to your local office¹⁸.

The recertification packet and the six-month report

About two months before your certification period ends, a recertification packet arrives by mail with an application and, on page one, a phone interview appointment; a form in the packet lets you reschedule or ask for a face-to-face interview^1,11. Send the application before that appointment through myBenefits, ACCESS HRA, mail, fax or in person. If it goes in later, rescheduling the interview before the period ends is up to you. You get at least 10 days to supply proof requested after the interview¹¹.

HRA's reporting guide puts households with earnings, and most others, on simplified reporting: between renewals you report only if gross income goes over 130% of poverty, by the 10th day after the end of that month, plus a Periodic Report at the six-month point if your certification is longer than six months, due within 10 days of receiving it. Households certified for three months or less, households where every adult is disabled or 60+, and households with no income report listed changes within 10 days after the end of the month¹². Use the SNAP Change Report Form (LDSS-3151); a case cannot be closed online².

Rules specific to New York

Work-rule time limit in every county since March 1, 2026; clock reset October 1, 2026

The three-month time limit for able-bodied adults aged 18 to 64 with no child under 14 in the household applies in all counties from March 1, 2026; only the Tuscarora Nation Reservation and Poospatuck Reservation are waived, through February 28, 2027^2,13. In New York City, HRA was required to implement the rules on November 1, 2025, and identified individuals must comply from March 1, 2026²⁴. The clock reset on October 1, 2026: anyone who lost SNAP between June 1 and September 30, 2026 under this rule can reapply. You meet it with 80 hours a month of work or approved training, by earning at least $217.50 a week, or with community service hours equal to your benefit divided by the state minimum wage for your area (OTDA's example: $300 at $16 an hour is 18 hours)¹³.

Restaurant Meals Program with a 10% discount

If every member of the household is 60 or older, disabled or homeless (spouses included), you can use SNAP at participating restaurants. There is nothing to apply for: the case is flagged automatically, and ebtEDGE shows "Account is Restaurant Meal Program Eligible" under Account Information. OTDA's terms include a 10% discount on the meal and no tax or tip on meals paid with SNAP. Restaurants are listed by county, and not every county has one¹⁴.

No soda or candy restriction

New York has no SNAP food restriction waiver. New York is not among the states listed with an approved waiver on USDA's food restriction waiver page (page updated October 2, 2026, in the copy checked), so standard federal SNAP food rules apply here¹⁶. SNAP still cannot buy alcohol, tobacco, hot foods, food eaten in the store, pet food, vitamins or household supplies².

Summer EBT 2026: $120 per child on a separate card

Summer EBT paid a one-time $120 per eligible child in 2026, on the child's own Summer EBT card. Children aged 6 to 16 on SNAP, Temporary Assistance or Medicaid between July 1, 2025 and September 8, 2026, and children directly certified for free or reduced-price school meals, were enrolled automatically; others could apply with income within 185% of poverty. Benefits are removed 122 days after issue and are not replaced if stolen. Keep the card: it is reused in later years¹⁵.

Other assistance in New York

Sources

1. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): benefits, income guidelines effective October 1, 2026, recertification, New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Checked 16 October 2026.
2. SNAP Questions and Answers, New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Checked 16 October 2026.
3. Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) Card, New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Checked 16 October 2026.
4. EBT Scam Alert, New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Checked 16 October 2026.
5. myBenefits (alerts on stolen benefit replacement), New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Checked 16 October 2026.
6. Governor Hochul Announces New Chip-Based Benefit Cards for SNAP Recipients to Be Issued in Early 2027 (July 13, 2026), Office of the Governor of New York. Checked 16 October 2026.
7. SNAP Application Frequently Asked Questions, NYC Human Resources Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
8. SNAP Interview Instructions, NYC Human Resources Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
9. Electronic Benefit Transfer Cards, NYC Human Resources Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
10. EBT Pick-up Schedule, July - December 2026 (Form EBT-52, Rev. 06/16/2026), NYC Department of Social Services, via New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Checked 16 October 2026.
11. SNAP Recertification Frequently Asked Questions, New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Checked 16 October 2026.
12. SNAP Frequently Asked Questions: what changes to report and when, NYC Human Resources Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
13. SNAP Work Requirements, New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Checked 16 October 2026.
14. Restaurant Meals Program: Frequently Asked Questions, New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Checked 16 October 2026.
15. Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT), New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Checked 16 October 2026.
16. SNAP Food Restriction Waivers (page updated October 13, 2026), USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
17. Local Departments of Social Services, New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Checked 16 October 2026.
18. Contact OTDA, New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Checked 16 October 2026.
19. Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Checked 16 October 2026.
20. Temporary Assistance, New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Checked 16 October 2026.
21. New York State Medicaid, New York State Department of Health. Checked 16 October 2026.
22. NY State of Health, The Official Health Plan Marketplace, NY State of Health. Checked 16 October 2026.
23. WIC Program - Women, Infants, Children, New York State Department of Health. Checked 16 October 2026.
24. SNAP Benefits Information (ABAWD notice), NYC Human Resources Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
25. SNAP – Fiscal Year 2027 Cost-of-Living Adjustments (memo, August 21, 2026), U.S. Department of Agriculture. Checked 17 October 2026.
26. SNAP Monthly Issuance Schedule for All States, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 17 October 2026.