South Carolina EBT and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

Using the DSS Benefits Portal

The DSS Benefits Portal, which DSS also calls SCCES, is where South Carolinians apply for food and cash assistance (SNAP and TANF). It starts with a short eligibility form, then the full application. With an account you can save an application and finish it later, see its status, and scan and send documents²¹. The portal sends status updates by text message and email. Allow up to 30 days for a decision; you can also ask the DSS Connect Call Center at 1-800-616-1309, with your case number ready². Your case number is printed at the top right of DSS notices².

A separate SNAP/TANF Benefit Inquiry page in the same portal shows your SNAP and TANF benefit issuance information¹.

DSS Benefits Portal (SCCES)

The South Carolina EBT card and the April 2026 card block

The card vendor mails the South Carolina EBT Card by first-class mail³. DSS's manual names Conduent as the company behind the toll-free card line³. To pick a PIN by phone at 1-800-554-5268, have the 16-digit card number, your birth date as six digits and your nine-digit Social Security number ready (enter zeros if you have none)³. Check your balance on your last receipt, in the ConnectEBT app or portal²², or by phone at any hour^7,8. Order a replacement card in the portal, the app or by phone². A replacement card needs a new PIN; the old one does not carry over⁷.

Since Tuesday, April 28, 2026, DSS has placed every South Carolina card in "Block High Risk Transactions" status. In-state purchases work as before. Online orders and purchases outside South Carolina are refused until you unlock the card in ConnectEBT, the app or by phone; the unlock lasts 30, 60 or 90 minutes and then the card locks again by itself^7,8. Returns always go through. Store balance checks are blocked in states DSS lists as high risk, but the phone balance line always works⁸. You can also turn on text or email alerts⁷.

Federal replacement of skimmed SNAP benefits ended December 20, 2024⁹. DSS's fraud page, checked October 16, 2026, tells victims to cancel the card at once and order a new one, and describes no state program that repays stolen benefits⁷. Under the manual, a household that did not keep its card and PIN secure is responsible for losses; report a stolen wallet to the police³.

• Card customer service: 1-800-554-5268
• Cardholder website: ConnectEBT (South Carolina EBT Cardholder Portal)
• Cardholder app: ConnectEBT (iPhone, Android)
• EBT processor: Conduent

South Carolina SNAP and EBT phone numbers

Applying for SNAP through South Carolina DSS

1. Apply online in the DSS Benefits Portal. Create an account, complete the short eligibility form and submit the application. One application can request SNAP and TANF together^4,21.
2. Or use DSS Form 3800 on paper. Print the Form 3800 application in English or Spanish from the DSS apply page, then mail or fax it to your county DSS office, or bring it to a county office⁴.
3. Use a short form if you are 65+ or on SSI. Households where everyone is 65 or older with no earned income can use Form 16176 (ESAP). People on SSI who live alone or buy and cook meals separately can use Form 1205 (SCCAP). Both are mailed to P.O. Box 100203, Columbia, SC 29202^5,6.
4. Do the interview, usually by phone. DSS sets an interview date automatically: 10 days after you file, or 4 days if you may qualify for expedited benefits. Under a waiver, South Carolina may hold every interview by phone; ask your county office if you want to meet in person^3,2.
5. Send proof and watch for the decision. Upload or mail the documents DSS asks for. Approved households get benefits the day after approval, then on their regular day each month^2,3.

DSS must decide within 30 days. Households with little or no money, or whose rent and utilities exceed their income and cash, can get benefits within 7 days under expedited service^1,2. DSS runs SNAP through its county offices, where eligibility caseworkers interview applicants and approve cases¹.

South Carolina SNAP income limits from October 1, 2026

Gross limit: as published by South Carolina Department of Social Services (SCDSS)³. Net limit and maximum benefit: USDA FY2027 cost-of-living adjustments. All states compared.

South Carolina's gross limit stays at the federal 130% of poverty. Its broad-based categorical eligibility ties SNAP to a state information and referral service offered to households at or below 130%. Those households count as categorically eligible, so they skip the asset test, but the 130% income line itself does not move³. The October 2026 manual repeats the federal FY2027 chart: $1,729 a month for one person and $3,575 for four³. The DSS FAQ page still showed an older income table on October 16, 2026; rely on the manual's chart^2,3.

Net income test. Households with gross income at or below 130% of poverty qualify through Family Independence Information and Referral Services and face no separate gross or net test. Above 130%, only a household with an elderly (60+) or disabled member can still qualify, and it must pass the net income test at 100% of poverty ($1,330 for one person)³.

Assets. No asset test for households that qualify through Family Independence Information and Referral Services. Otherwise the limit is $3,000, or $4,750 if a member is 60 or older or disabled³. A separate $4,750 lottery or gambling win makes a household ineligible³.

South Carolina SNAP deposit days

On the same day each month between the 1st and 19th, set by the last digit of your case number; new households get their first benefits the day after approval.

The table applies to cases opened from September 1, 2012 onward. If you have received SNAP since before that date without a break, your day equals the last digit instead: 1 on the 1st, 2 on the 2nd, through 0 on the 10th. A break of a month or more moves you to the newer table^2,3. Set a text alert for deposits in ConnectEBT².

Unused benefits roll over. After 274 days (9 months) with no use, DSS removes them; it mails a notice 45 days before².

Six-month renewals, 24- and 36-month cases

Most South Carolina households are approved for 6 months at a time and renew twice a year, but only one interview is needed every 12 months³. If every adult is elderly or disabled with no earned income, approval can last 24 months, with an Interim Contact form (3807A) at month 12. EDSAP households are approved for 36 months and get Form 3808 at months 12 and 24 and Form 3809 to renew; return them by the 15th of the month they are due, or the case closes³.

Between renewals most households report only three things, by the 10th of the next month: gross income going over 130% of poverty, a work-rule adult (ABAWD) dropping below 20 hours a week, or lottery or gambling winnings of $4,750 or more³. Report by phone at 1-800-616-1309, on Form 1620, by email to your county's DSS mailbox, or at any county office's drop box¹⁸.

Rules specific to South Carolina

Healthy Food SC: candy and soda ban from November 1, 2026

USDA approved Governor McMaster's food restriction waiver on December 10, 2025²⁷. DSS had planned to start on August 31, 2026, and in July 2026 asked USDA to amend its definition of a soft drink²⁸. After the Aragon v. Rollins ruling, USDA asked DSS on August 25, 2026 to move the start to November 1, 2026, so that a Federal Register notice could appear first¹¹; that notice ran on September 15, 2026²⁸. From November 1, 2026, SNAP cannot buy candy, soft drinks, energy drinks or sweetened beverages in South Carolina^10,12. Diet and zero-sugar sodas stay allowed, and so do protein and granola bars, baking chips, bakery items, milk drinks, juice that is at least 50% juice with no added sweetener, infant formula and sports drinks¹⁰. The rule covers anyone using SNAP at a South Carolina store, including cards from other states¹⁰.

Out-of-state and online purchases blocked since April 28, 2026

To stop skimming, DSS made every card refuse online and out-of-state purchases unless the cardholder unlocks it for 30, 60 or 90 minutes in ConnectEBT, the app or by phone^7,8. If you shop online at ALDI, Amazon, Food Lion, Publix, Walmart, Lowes Foods or another approved online retailer¹⁶, unlock the card before you pay.

Work rules: no waived areas in FY2027

USDA's list for October 1, 2026 shows no waived areas for South Carolina¹³. The three-month time limit applies across the state to adults 18 to 64 who must work or join a work program 20 hours a week. Parents are exempt only if a child in the household is under 14. Veterans, homeless people and former foster youth lost their separate exemptions¹. DSS estimated that about 3% of SNAP clients were ABAWDs before the change¹.

No Summer EBT in 2026 and no Restaurant Meals Program

South Carolina is not on USDA's list of states that ran Summer EBT (SUN Bucks) for summer 2026¹⁴, and it does not operate the Restaurant Meals Program that lets older, disabled or homeless people use SNAP at participating restaurants¹⁵.

Other assistance in South Carolina

Sources

1. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), South Carolina Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
2. SNAP Frequently Asked Questions, South Carolina Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
3. SNAP Policy Manual, Volume 73 (October 2026), South Carolina Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
4. How do I apply? (SNAP), South Carolina Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
5. Help for the Elderly (ESAP), South Carolina Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
6. Help for the Disabled (SCCAP), South Carolina Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
7. SNAP/EBT Fraud, South Carolina Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
8. How to unlock your SC EBT card for out-of-state or online purchases (April 21, 2026), South Carolina Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
9. DSS urges SNAP recipients to take steps to prevent stolen benefits (October 22, 2024), South Carolina Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
10. Healthy Food SC: information for SNAP households, South Carolina Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
11. Letter to SCDSS on the Healthy Food SC start date (August 25, 2026), USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
12. SNAP Food Restriction Waivers, USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
13. ABAWD Waiver Status, FY2027 Quarter 1, USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
14. Summer EBT: participating states and territories (updated August 14, 2026), USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
15. Restaurant Meals Program (updated August 7, 2026), USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
16. SNAP State Directory: South Carolina, USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
17. Healthy Bucks, South Carolina Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
18. Report a SNAP/TANF Change, South Carolina Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
19. Contact DSS, South Carolina Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
20. How do I appeal a SNAP decision?, South Carolina Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
21. DSS Benefits Portal (SCCES), South Carolina Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
22. ConnectEBT: South Carolina EBT Cardholder Portal, Conduent for SCDSS. Checked 16 October 2026.
23. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), South Carolina Department of Social Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
24. Healthy Connections Medicaid: Getting Started (site blocks scripts; read from the Internet Archive copy of October 9, 2026), South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
25. Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), South Carolina Office of Economic Opportunity. Checked 16 October 2026.
26. Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program, South Carolina Department of Public Health. Checked 16 October 2026.
27. USDA approves Gov. Henry McMaster's waiver to exclude candy, unhealthy drinks from SNAP program (December 10, 2025), Office of the Governor of South Carolina. Checked 16 October 2026.
28. State of South Carolina SNAP Demonstration Project, notice 2026-18896 (September 15, 2026), Federal Register (USDA Food and Nutrition Administration). Checked 16 October 2026.