Wisconsin EBT and FoodShare (SNAP)

ACCESS and the MyACCESS app

DHS tells members to use only ACCESS to apply for and manage FoodShare¹. One ACCESS application can cover FoodShare, BadgerCare Plus and other programs at once, and a short questionnaire lets you see which programs might fit before you apply⁵. Inside your account you renew from the "Benefit Renewals Due For" alert, report an exemption from the work requirement, ask for replacement of food lost in a fire or power outage, and opt in to text and email messages^11,13,28,18.

The free MyACCESS app shows your QUEST balance, your next deposit and 90 days of past activity. It also shows renewal due dates and letters, takes photos or PDFs of proof, and lets you change your address and phone numbers^19,18. It needs Android 10 or iOS 13 or newer; email changes still go through the ACCESS website. ForwardHealth Member Services at 1-800-362-3002 answers app questions¹⁹.

ACCESS · MyACCESS: iPhone, Android

The QUEST card: PINs, replacements and theft

The QUEST card comes by mail with instructions for choosing a four-digit PIN². DHS blocks some of the most common PINs and advises against repeating numbers, runs like 4567, patterns like 1212 and birthdates⁹. Three wrong PIN entries lock the card until the next day⁸. Check your balance by signing in at ebtEDGE ("Cardholder Login"), in the ebtEDGE or MyACCESS app, on your last receipt, or by calling QUEST Card Service at 1-877-415-5164^2,8,18.

Report a lost or stolen card to that number at once. The card is canceled during the call and a new one is mailed the next business day⁸. Each cardholder gets one free replacement per calendar year; after that, $2.70 comes out of your benefits. Five or more replacements in 12 months can trigger a review by the Office of the Inspector General⁸. If you were just approved for expedited benefits, or cannot wait for the mail, your agency may issue a temporary card in person with form F-02260A. It works for 30 days or until the new permanent card is activated².

In ebtEDGE you can freeze the card between trips and block internet purchases⁹. DHS's news page reports skimming at four stores in eight counties, including Dane and Milwaukee; DHS removed the PINs from nearly 6,000 cards, which need a new PIN before they work¹⁸. DHS's card pages describe a swipe card and do not mention chip cards^2,8.

DHS's handbook (release 26-02, August 2026) replaces skimmed or cloned benefits only for thefts between October 1, 2022 and September 30, 2024 that were discovered by October 30, 2024¹⁰. Benefits spent before you report a lost card are not replaced⁸. Food bought with FoodShare and destroyed in a fire, flood or power outage can be replaced if you ask within 10 days²⁸.

• Card customer service: 1-877-415-5164
• Cardholder website: ebtEDGE
• Cardholder app: ebtEDGE (iPhone, Android)
• EBT processor: FIS

Wisconsin SNAP and EBT phone numbers

Applying for FoodShare through ACCESS or your agency

1. Gather the basics. For each person applying, have the birth date, Social Security number, citizenship or immigration status, job details with the employer's address and phone, and any other income such as Social Security or unemployment pay⁵.
2. Apply in ACCESS. ACCESS is the fastest route and lets you ask for several programs in one application⁵. The date your application is filed sets when benefits can start²¹.
3. Or apply by phone, mail or in person. Call or visit your county or Tribal agency during office hours, or mail the Wisconsin FoodShare Application, F-16019B^5,6. In Milwaukee County, MilES takes applications at 6055 N. 64th St. and at UMOS, 2701 S. Chase Ave.; it closes at noon on Thursdays, and on Thursday afternoons you can apply by calling 262-288-3584 or through ACCESS²¹.
4. Complete the interview. Every FoodShare application needs an interview. Call your agency or wait for its call; it is done by phone unless you ask to meet in person^5,6.
5. Send the proof your letter asks for. Typical proof is a driver's license or passport, pay stubs or last year's taxes if self-employed, medical bills, and a lease, mortgage statement or utility bill⁶. Upload photos or PDFs in MyACCESS or ACCESS¹⁹.

Agencies must finish a regular application within 30 days of the filing date. Households that qualify for expedited service must get benefits by the seventh day after they apply¹⁰. A newly approved expedited household can ask the agency for a temporary QUEST card the same day instead of waiting for the mail².

If you disagree with a decision, request a fair hearing with the Request for Fair Hearing form linked from DHS's apply page⁵.

FoodShare's 200% income chart for FY2027

Gross limit: as published by Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), with county and Tribal income maintenance agencies⁴. Net limit and maximum benefit: USDA FY2027 cost-of-living adjustments. All states compared.

The 200% chart above applies from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027⁴. Wisconsin's eligibility rests on a partly TANF-funded service: approval notices carry a paragraph about Job Center of Wisconsin, and that notice is what makes a household eligible under the 200% rule¹⁰. A household that loses that status, for example after an intentional program violation disqualification, faces the federal 130% gross test, the net test and the asset limit¹⁰.

After approval, watch the 130% line on the same chart (from $1,729 for one person): tell your agency if your household's gross monthly income goes above it⁴. Benefits are figured after deductions; for FY2027 the standard deduction is $217 for one to three people and the excess shelter cap is $769³. A home energy (WHEAP/LIHEAP) payment counts toward the heating allowance only for households with an elderly or disabled member¹⁰.

Net income test. Households that qualify under the 200% rule do not take the net income test, though a group of three or more whose net income is over 100% of poverty may get no benefit¹⁰. A household with an elderly, blind or disabled member whose gross income is over 200% is tested under regular SNAP rules: no gross income limit, but it must pass the 100% net test (from $1,330 for one person on October 1, 2026) and the $4,750 asset limit^10,3.

Assets. Households that meet the 200% rule have no asset test, and agencies may not ask about assets¹⁰. Under regular SNAP rules the limit is $3,000, or $4,750 for a household with an elderly, blind or disabled member whose gross income is over 200% of poverty (from October 1, 2026)^3,10.

FoodShare deposit days by Social Security number

Benefits load between the 2nd and the 15th of each month, on a day set by the eighth digit of the Social Security number on the case⁷.

In DHS's example, 123-45-6789 has 8 as its eighth digit, so benefits come on the 14th⁷. Deposits arrive on schedule even when the day falls on a weekend or holiday⁸. The MyACCESS app shows your next deposit¹⁸.

Unused benefits roll over. If you do not use the card for a year, benefits older than 274 days are removed⁸.

Renewals, six-month reports and 36-month cases

Most households renew every 12 months. Households where everyone is homeless, or that include a migrant or seasonal farmworker, renew every six months. Households whose adults are all 60 or older, blind or disabled, with no job earnings, are certified for 36 months, complete a six-month report only if something changes, and may not need a renewal interview^10,12. The renewal letter arrives about two weeks before your renewal month. Renew in ACCESS, by returning the prefilled letter, or by phone or in person¹¹. The renewal, any interview and all proof are due by the last business day of the month; anything late cuts the next month's benefit. Up to one month late you can still renew without a new application, but there will be a gap; after that you must reapply¹¹.

Many 12-month households get a Six-Month Report, form F-16076, about a month before it is due. Submit it in ACCESS, by mail, or by phone or in person¹². From October 1, 2026, a change in unearned income of $150 or more must be reported on it³. A report more than a month late closes the case¹².

Rules specific to Wisconsin

Card works only in Wisconsin and four neighbors since March 1, 2026

By default the QUEST card works only in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota. For online orders, the delivery or pickup address counts. To shop elsewhere, call 1-877-415-5164 and say "Card Security," or choose "Protect My Account" in ebtEDGE. The setting resets to the five states at midnight on the first of every month^2,9.

Work requirement and Tribal-land suspensions for FY2027

Since the 2025 federal law, adults 18 to 64 with no child 13 or younger at home must work, volunteer or train 80 hours a month, or they get only three months of benefits in a three-year period that runs January 2025 to December 2027¹³. Exemptions include pregnancy, health limits (including homelessness that prevents work), unemployment compensation, half-time school, W-2 and AODA treatment. All Tribal members are exempt^13,14. From October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, the time limit is suspended on the lands of 12 Tribal Nations, including Ho-Chunk, Menominee and Oneida; USDA lists Wisconsin among 12 states with partial waivers^14,15. FoodShare Employment and Training (FSET) is free and counts toward the 80 hours¹³.

No soda ban and no Restaurant Meals Program

Wisconsin is not on USDA's list of food restriction waivers (page updated October 13, 2026), so FoodShare still buys soft drinks, candy and snack foods^22,7. Wisconsin also does not appear on USDA's Restaurant Meals Program list (updated August 7, 2026), although neighbors Illinois and Michigan do²³. One local rule: benefits cannot pay container deposit fees on returnable bottles and cans in Wisconsin⁷.

Summer EBT: $120 per child in 2026

Wisconsin paid $120 per eligible child for summer 2026, $40 for each of June, July and August, with the main issuance on June 6, 2026^17,16. Benefits go on an existing QUEST or P-EBT card or a new QUEST card and must be used within 122 days³⁰. The 2026 deadline was August 27, 2026; applications filed later are considered for summer 2027¹⁶.

Online grocery orders with QUEST

DHS lists Amazon, Walmart, ALDI (through Instacart), Target, Meijer, Sam's Club Scan and Go, Schnucks, Woodman's Markets, Ptacek's IGA, Miller and Son's Supermarket and Lou Perrine's Gas and Grocery for online QUEST payments. Delivery fees must be paid another way².

Other assistance in Wisconsin

Sources

1. FoodShare: A Recipe for Good Health (last revised September 21, 2026), Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
2. FoodShare: Wisconsin QUEST Card (last revised April 30, 2026), Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
3. DMS Operations Memo 26-32, FoodShare Cost of Living Adjustments (September 16, 2026; effective October 1, 2026), Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
4. FoodShare: Income Limits (effective October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027), Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
5. Apply for Benefits (last revised June 25, 2026), Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
6. FoodShare: Interviews (last revised April 24, 2026), Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
7. FoodShare: Spending Your Benefits (last revised April 30, 2026), Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
8. Your Wisconsin QUEST Card, P-16088, Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
9. FoodShare: Protect Your Benefits, Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
10. FoodShare Wisconsin Handbook, Release 26-02 (August 2026), Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
11. FoodShare: Renewals (last revised April 24, 2026), Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
12. FoodShare: Six-Month Reporting (last revised April 24, 2026), Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
13. FoodShare: Work Requirement (last revised April 30, 2026), Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
14. DMS Operations Memo 26-31, FoodShare Work Requirement Time Limit Suspension for High Unemployment Areas for FFY 2027 (September 16, 2026), Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
15. Status of State ABAWD Time Limit Waivers, Fiscal Year 2027, 1st Quarter (in effect October 1, 2026), USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 17 October 2026.
16. Summer EBT (last revised September 3, 2026), Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
17. Summer EBT: Frequently Asked Questions, Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
18. FoodShare News and Updates (last revised October 16, 2026), Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
19. MyACCESS Mobile App (last revised February 24, 2026), Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
20. Local County and Tribal Agencies, Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
21. Milwaukee Enrollment Services (MilES), Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
22. SNAP Food Restriction Waivers (page updated October 13, 2026), USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 17 October 2026.
23. Restaurant Meals Program (page updated August 7, 2026), USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 17 October 2026.
24. Wisconsin Works (W-2) Overview, Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. Checked 17 October 2026.
25. Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program Open for Applications (news release, October 1, 2026), Wisconsin Department of Administration. Checked 17 October 2026.
26. Wisconsin WIC Program, Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
27. BadgerCare Plus, Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
28. FoodShare: Replacement Food Benefits (last revised April 24, 2026), Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
29. Renewals: BadgerCare Plus and Medicaid (last revised January 9, 2026), Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
30. Summer EBT: Using Your Benefits, Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Checked 17 October 2026.