Ohio EBT and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

Using the Ohio Benefits portal and your OHID

The Self-Service Portal is where you apply for SNAP, cash, medical and child care help in one application¹. You sign in with an OHID, the state's single login for its online services²⁹. Once your case is linked to your account, you can report changes there instead of calling your county¹. The portal's help videos walk through applying and reporting a change step by step²⁹.

If you would rather not use the website, call the Ohio Benefits call center at 1-844-640-6446²¹. You can apply by phone at the same number¹. When a caseworker takes your application by phone, the portal's E-Signature option lets you sign without a paper form²⁹. Paper applications go to your county JFS office, not to Columbus²¹.

Ohio Benefits Self-Service Portal

The Ohio Direction Card and its lock settings

Ohio's EBT card is the Ohio Direction Card, once called the Ohio EBT Card¹. It comes by mail. Before you use it, call 1-866-386-3071 to choose a 4-digit PIN. Have the 16-digit card number, your Social Security number and your date of birth ready⁷. Check your balance on your last receipt, in ConnectEBT²⁰, or at the same number⁷. Four wrong PIN tries stop the card until the next day⁷. If the card is lost, stolen or damaged, call. The old card is shut off, and ODJFS's card booklet says the new one should arrive within 7 days⁷. Under Ohio's rule, a fifth replacement in 12 months is only sent after you call your county office to explain⁸.

Conduent runs the ConnectEBT website and app⁶. The app has two locks. Lock Everywhere blocks every purchase until you unlock the card. Block High-Risk Transactions blocks only out-of-state and online purchases, so it can stay on while you shop in Ohio stores⁶. An unlock can last 30, 60 or 90 minutes and then locks again by itself⁶. Since May 2026, ODJFS has required you to unlock the card before any out-of-state or online purchase. It made the change because so much fraud came through those purchases⁵.

Ohio's rule says lost or stolen benefits cannot be replaced⁸. That includes benefits taken with a skimmer. Only food that spoiled or was destroyed by a household disaster, such as a fire, a flood or a power outage of 4 hours or more, can be replaced. You must report it to your county within 10 days. The most you can get back is one month's benefit⁸. Ohio Direction Cards use a magnetic stripe, not a chip⁷. H.B. 163 would require chip cards. The House passed it on June 3, 2026, and on June 10 it went to the Senate Finance Committee^25,26.

• Card customer service: 1-866-386-3071
• Cardholder website: ConnectEBT
• Cardholder app: ConnectEBT (iPhone, Android)
• EBT processor: Conduent

Ohio SNAP and EBT phone numbers

Applying for SNAP through your county JFS office

1. File online, by phone, by mail or in person. Apply in the Ohio Benefits Self-Service Portal or by calling 1-844-640-6446. You can also print form JFS 07200 and mail, fax or hand it to your county JFS office. That form also covers cash, medical and child care help^1,22.
2. Send at least your name, address and signature. A form with only those three items still counts as filed, and your 30 days start that day. You can leave questions blank. A friend or relative 18 or older can be your authorized representative if you name them in writing¹.
3. Answer the phone interview. A notice in the mail gives the date and time. Your county calls you, and you can ask for an in-person interview instead¹.
4. Return the Verification Request Checklist. After the interview, the county sends form JFS 07105. It lists the papers it needs and the due date. If you cannot get a document in time, ask the county for help before that date¹.
5. Watch for the approval notice and card. The approval notice tells you your monthly deposit date. The Ohio Direction Card comes by mail if you have never had one¹.

Your county must decide within 30 days of the day it got your application. Some households qualify to be processed faster, within 24 hours or 7 days¹.

Since the 2025 federal law, refugees, asylees and parolees are no longer eligible unless they also fall in an eligible group, such as lawful permanent residents, Cuban and Haitian entrants, or people from the Compact of Free Association nations. Ohio Benefits began applying these rules on January 25, 2026. Noncitizens who had applied or recertified since July 4, 2025 and no longer qualified lost SNAP effective February 28, 2026¹⁵. Other members of the household can keep SNAP, and the person may still qualify for Medicaid or child care¹⁵.

Ohio's 200% income limit for FY2027

Gross limit: as published by Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) and county Job and Family Services offices². Net limit and maximum benefit: USDA FY2027 cost-of-living adjustments. All states compared.

In Ohio, 200% of poverty works through a TANF-funded referral. A household with gross income at or below 200% gets a notice and a text message with a link to Ohio careline services, and that makes it categorically eligible³. Ohio added this sliding scale on October 1, 2024. Before that, the limit was 130%⁴. ODJFS's annual report for state fiscal year 2026 describes the limit the same way: you can qualify, and stay on, until gross income goes over 200%⁵. USDA's national chart, updated June 29, 2026, still shows Ohio at 130%²⁷. For FY2027, Ohio's own FACT 112 lists both tables. The 130% one is for households that do not qualify under the 200% rule².

If you are 60 or older and cannot buy and cook your own food because of a permanent disability, you and your spouse can be a separate household. The people you live with must have income at or below 165% of poverty, which is $2,195 a month for one person in FY2027^2,28.

Net income test. Households that qualify under the 200% rule have no separate net income test or asset test. Benefits are still worked out from net income, so a household near 200% may get a small amount or none³. A household that cannot use the rule, for example one with a member disqualified for an intentional program violation, must pass the 130% gross test ($1,729 for one person) and the 100% net test ($1,330 for one person) for FY2027^2,3.

Assets. Under the 200% rule there is no asset limit³. Households outside it face the FY2027 resource limits of $3,000, or $4,750 if a member is 60 or older or disabled².

Ohio deposit dates, from the 1st to the 20th

Each household gets one assigned day between the 1st and the 20th of the month. Ohio does not publish a public digit-by-date chart, and your approval notice gives your day.

ODJFS spreads deposits over the first 20 days of the month^1,23. Your day stays the same each month. If it falls on a weekend or holiday, benefits are still posted that day⁷. To find your date, read your approval notice or ask your county JFS office^1,7. Unspent benefits roll over to the next month. Benefits left unused for 365 days are taken off the card and cannot be replaced⁷.

Interim Reports and recertification in Ohio

Most Ohio households are certified for 12 months. If every adult is 60 or older or disabled and nobody has earned income, the period is 36 months. A household with an able-bodied adult who must meet the work rule gets 6 months¹⁸. With a 12-month period, an Interim Report comes in the mail in month 5. Return it signed, with proof of any change, by the 15th of that month, or you will get a reminder. If it is not done by the end of the month, your SNAP can stop¹.

Before your period ends, Ohio Benefits mails a notice. It comes during the month before your last month. Your renewal counts as on time if your county gets it by the 15th of your last month. You can renew in the portal, by phone, or on form JFS 07200 or JFS 07204. The renewal interview is by phone unless you ask to come in¹⁷. Between renewals, you must report if your income goes over the limit on your approval letter or you win $4,500 or more in one game or bet. An adult under the work rule must also report if work hours drop below 20 a week. You can report on the portal, on form JFS 04196, or to your county¹.

Rules specific to Ohio

Sugary drink ban approved, then put on hold

USDA approved Ohio's waiver in March 2026, and ODJFS set it to start October 1, 2026^24,5. The ban covers fountain drinks and any drink whose main ingredient is sugar, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup or a similar sweetener. It also covers a drink with one of those listed second, after carbonated water⁹. FNA then asked Ohio to wait while it takes public comment in the Federal Register, and ODJFS paused the start until it gets more guidance⁹. FNA's waiver page, updated October 13, 2026, lists April 1, 2027 as Ohio's target date¹⁰. Until the ban starts, SNAP still buys these drinks in Ohio¹¹.

Work rule for "able-bodied adults" from October 1, 2026

Ohio's rule for able-bodied adults (ABAs, formerly ABAWDs) was last revised effective October 1, 2026¹². It covers ages 18 to 64 unless you are pregnant, you are a parent of or live with a household member under 14, you meet another work exemption, or you are an Indian or Urban Indian as defined in federal law¹³. You need 20 hours a week, or 80 a month, of paid work, in-kind work, a work program, or volunteer work for the community, which Ohio counts if you log it on form JFS 07410. Otherwise SNAP stops after 3 months in 36¹². USDA's list for the first quarter of FY2027 shows no time-limit waiver for any part of Ohio¹⁴.

Summer EBT (SUN Bucks) in 2026

Ohio paid a one-time $120 per eligible child¹⁶. Children ages 6 to 18 in SNAP, Ohio Works First or income-eligible Medicaid households got it automatically. So did students approved for free or reduced-price school meals¹⁶. Families on SNAP got it on their Direction Card. Others got a separate card in a plain white envelope addressed to the child. Keep that card for future summers¹⁶. If your child got benefits from two states, call 1-866-244-0071 and press 1¹⁶.

No Restaurant Meals Program

Ohio is not on USDA's list of states that run the Restaurant Meals Program (list updated August 7, 2026)¹⁹. Hot, ready-to-eat food from restaurants or grocery delis cannot be bought with SNAP in Ohio¹.

Other assistance in Ohio

Sources

1. SNAP (program page: eligibility, how to apply, reporting changes, Ohio Direction Card), Ohio Benefits (State of Ohio). Checked 16 October 2026.
2. Food Assistance Change Transmittal No. 112: October 1, 2026, Mass Change (August 31, 2026), Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
3. Ohio Administrative Code 5101:4-2-02, Food assistance: categorical eligibility, State of Ohio (codes.ohio.gov). Checked 16 October 2026.
4. SNAP changes help recipients transition off food assistance (news release, October 1, 2024), Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
5. ODJFS Annual Report, State Fiscal Year 2026, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
6. EBT Card Lock options help Secure Benefits, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
7. Ohio EBT Direction Card booklet: a safe and easy way to use your SNAP benefits, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
8. Ohio Administrative Code 5101:4-7-11, Food assistance: replacement issuance and benefit card replacement, State of Ohio (codes.ohio.gov). Checked 16 October 2026.
9. Ohio SNAP Sugary Beverage Ban Delayed (news release), Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
10. SNAP Food Restriction Waivers (page updated October 13, 2026), USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
11. Resources for SNAP Retailers (Sugary Beverage Ban Delayed), Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
12. Ohio Administrative Code 5101:4-3-13, ABA work requirement and time-limited participation (effective October 1, 2026), State of Ohio (codes.ohio.gov). Checked 16 October 2026.
13. Ohio Administrative Code 5101:4-3-11, Screening for exemptions from work requirements (effective October 1, 2026), State of Ohio (codes.ohio.gov). Checked 16 October 2026.
14. Status of State ABAWD Time Limit Waivers, Fiscal Year 2027, 1st Quarter, USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
15. Food Assistance Change Transmittal No. 106-A: Changes due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (December 4, 2025), Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
16. Ohio Summer EBT: FAQs, State of Ohio (sebt.ohio.gov). Checked 16 October 2026.
17. Ohio Administrative Code 5101:4-7-07, Food assistance: recertification, State of Ohio (codes.ohio.gov). Checked 16 October 2026.
18. Ohio Administrative Code 5101:4-5-03, Food assistance: certification periods, State of Ohio (codes.ohio.gov). Checked 16 October 2026.
19. Restaurant Meals Program (page updated August 7, 2026), USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
20. ConnectEBT: Ohio EBT cardholder portal, Conduent, for the State of Ohio. Checked 16 October 2026.
21. Contact Us (Ohio Benefits call center), Ohio Benefits (State of Ohio). Checked 16 October 2026.
22. How To Apply for Food Assistance, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
23. Ohio to Begin Distribution of Partial November SNAP Benefits (news release, November 10, 2025), Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
24. Ohio Receives Federal Approval to Prohibit Carbonated Sugary Drink Purchases through SNAP (news release), Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
25. H.B. 163 Fiscal Note and Local Impact Statement, as passed by the House (June 3, 2026), Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Checked 16 October 2026.
26. House Bill 163 status, Ohio General Assembly. Checked 16 October 2026.
27. Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility chart (page updated June 29, 2026), USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
28. Ohio Administrative Code 5101:4-6-29, separate assistance group for elderly and disabled individuals, State of Ohio (codes.ohio.gov). Checked 16 October 2026.
29. Ohio Benefits home page (OHID login, help videos, E-Signature), Ohio Benefits (State of Ohio). Checked 16 October 2026.