A family member can use your EBT card without any special paperwork only if they are part of your SNAP household. If the relative lives elsewhere or isn’t on your case, they can’t legally use the card until you designate them as an authorized representative in writing through your SNAP office. Handing your card and PIN to an outside relative — even a parent, sibling, or adult child you trust completely — is treated as unauthorized use under federal law, and the consequences fall on you.
Which Family Members Can Use the Card Freely
SNAP benefits are issued to a household, not to one named cardholder. A SNAP household is a group of people who live together and buy and prepare food together.1Food and Nutrition Service. Facts About SNAP Federal regulations let the household permit any of its members to use the EBT card to buy food.2eCFR. 7 CFR 273.2
So a spouse, an adult child, a parent, or another relative who lives with you and appears on the same SNAP case can take your card to the store. No form, no phone call, no approval required. They’re spending the household’s benefits on the household’s food.
The rule changes the moment the family member isn’t on your case. A sister across town, a parent in another city, a cousin who doesn’t live with you, an adult child who has moved out — none of them can legally use your card just because you say it’s okay. Family relationship doesn’t create authorization. Case membership does.
Making It Legal: The Authorized Representative Process
If you need a relative outside your household to shop for you, the legal path is to designate that person as your authorized representative. Federal rules require the designation in writing, signed by the head of household, spouse, or another responsible household member.2eCFR. 7 CFR 273.2 A verbal request doesn’t count.
The steps are straightforward:
- Contact your local SNAP office and ask for the authorized representative designation form. Some states use a specific form; others accept a signed written statement.
- Specify what the representative is allowed to do. You can authorize them just for shopping, just for the application process, or both. The written designation must clearly state the scope.
- Provide the representative’s name and identifying detail so the state can record them in your case file.
- Wait for state approval. The representative’s name has to be on file before they use the card. Processing usually runs about a week to ten business days, though it varies by state.
Your authorized representative cannot pass their access along to someone else. If the person you designated can no longer help, contact the SNAP office to remove them and name someone new.
You’re Still on the Hook for What They Do
One point people routinely miss: designating a representative doesn’t transfer legal responsibility. You remain responsible for anything the representative does with your benefits.2eCFR. 7 CFR 273.2 If they buy ineligible items or misuse the card, the disqualification and repayment demands come to you. Choose carefully.
What Happens If an Unauthorized Family Member Uses Your Card
Letting a non-household relative use your card without going through the authorized representative process violates federal law. The consequences come in two tracks that can run at the same time: criminal prosecution and administrative disqualification from SNAP.
Federal Criminal Penalties
Under 7 U.S.C. § 2024(b), anyone who knowingly uses or transfers SNAP benefits against program rules faces criminal penalties that scale with the dollar amount involved.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2024
- Under $100 in benefits: a misdemeanor carrying up to a $1,000 fine, up to one year in jail, or both, for a first conviction.
- $100 to $4,999: a felony carrying up to a $10,000 fine, up to five years in prison, or both, for a first conviction. A second or subsequent conviction carries a mandatory minimum of six months.
- $5,000 or more: a felony carrying up to a $250,000 fine, up to 20 years in prison, or both.
A court can also suspend a convicted person from SNAP for up to 18 additional months beyond the administrative disqualification periods.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2024 These are the federal penalties. States can add their own, including repayment of misused benefits and required fraud prevention training.
SNAP Disqualification
Separately from any criminal case, SNAP imposes escalating disqualification periods for what the program calls intentional program violations. An administrative hearing finding is enough to trigger these; no criminal charge is required.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2015
- First violation: one-year disqualification.
- Second violation: two-year disqualification.
- Third violation: permanent disqualification, with no path back into the program.
Any conviction under the criminal statute involving benefits worth $500 or more also results in permanent disqualification.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2015
The disqualification applies to the individual who committed the violation, not the whole household. But the household’s benefit amount gets recalculated without that person, which usually means a meaningful cut.5eCFR. 7 CFR Part 273 Subpart F
The PIN Problem
Most unauthorized use starts with an informally shared PIN. Federal regulations put responsibility for safeguarding your PIN on you as the cardholder.1Food and Nutrition Service. Facts About SNAP You should only share it with household members on your SNAP case and with a formally designated authorized representative.
Sharing your PIN with any other relative creates a legal risk and a practical one. Legally, transactions made with your PIN are treated as your transactions. Practically, if that relative later misuses the card or someone else gets hold of the PIN through them, you have no way to prove the transactions weren’t yours. If you think your PIN has been shared too widely or compromised, call the number on the back of your card to reset it. Most states let you change the PIN through the customer service line or at a participating ATM.
If a Family Member Has Already Used the Card Without Permission
If you suspect a relative used your card without authorization, call the customer service number on the back of your card right away.6Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Should I Do If My EBT Card or PIN Is Lost or Stolen Ask for a new card and a new PIN, and identify which transactions you did not authorize. Then contact your local SNAP office to file a formal report. The state will review your transaction history for irregularities.
Reporting honestly is the safer route. Failing to report unauthorized use that you’re aware of can itself be treated as complicity in the violation, which puts your own eligibility at risk. If the relative in question is genuinely trying to help you shop and you want them to keep doing it, the fix isn’t to look the other way — it’s to file the authorized representative paperwork so the arrangement becomes legal going forward.