No! You do not need to continuously use your benefits to qualify. DTA will terminate your account if you have not used the SNAP/food stamp benefits in your account for more than 270 days. DTA will identify cases where the EBT benefits have not been active for 90 days and contact you. DTA will send you a letter before they take action and then DTA will "purge" your account and prevent you from getting benefits. 106 C.M.R. § 364.900(E).
Advocacy Reminders
- If you wish, you can pick someone else to buy food for you with your Bay State Access card, either on a regular basis or in an emergency. This person is called an "authorized representative." If you want, you can have DTA issue two Bay State Access cards— one for you and one for your authorized representative. An authorized representative has access to all your SNAP/food stamp benefits, so be sure you trust the person you pick. 106 C.M.R. §§ 361.300-361.370.
- If you have problems with accessing your SNAP/food stamp benefits— for example, if the store's machine tells you the wrong amount of your benefits— call EBT Customer Service at 800-997-2555. Contact an advocate if your problems are not fixed.
- You can use your Bay State Access card at stores in most other states, if you are visiting out of state or you move out of Massachusetts and there are benefits left in your account.
Additional Policy Guidance on EBT Accounts
Additional Policy Guidance on EBT Accounts
- DTA client pamphlet on how to use EBT card and fix problems.
- Information on how DTA tracks EBT accounts not active for 90 days. Workers should contact client to find out why EBT account inactive. DTA Transitions (Aug. 2007); Beacon User's Guide, Ch. XVI-C, pp. 25-26
- USDA Guidance that states may not terminate benefits just because an EBT account is inactive for 90 days. State must allow household to continue through certification period, household entitled to benefits for up to a year (9 months in some states).
Produced by Patricia Baker, Laura Gallant, Deborah Harris, Rochelle Hahn Massachusetts Law Reform Institute Last updated January 2011
