Unused SNAP benefits sitting on an EBT card are permanently deleted after 274 days, roughly nine months. That deletion is called SNAP benefit expungement, and once it happens the funds cannot be reissued. Before then, at 91 days of inactivity, your entire balance can be moved into off-line storage, which locks the card until you contact your state agency. A single qualifying purchase avoids both problems.
The 274-Day Rule and Which Version Your State Uses
Federal regulations require every state to pick one of two expungement methods and apply it to all households in the state.1eCFR. 7 CFR 274.2 – Providing Benefits to Participants Which one your state chose decides whether card use actually protects your older benefits.
Under the inactive account approach, the state watches the account as a whole. If 274 days pass with no transactions, the state starts expunging the oldest allotment first and works forward. Any qualifying transaction stops the process and restarts the clock for every remaining allotment in the account. One grocery trip can protect the entire balance.
Under the unused benefits approach, each monthly allotment has its own 274-day expiration date counted from the day it was issued. Card activity does not matter. Even a household that shops every week can lose an individual allotment if that particular allotment sits untouched for 274 days. This method is stricter because no amount of usage protects older deposits.
Your state SNAP office can tell you which method applies, and the information is often posted on the state’s EBT website. The expungement rules still apply even after a case is closed or a household is found ineligible. Any remaining balance runs out the same 274-day clock.
The 91-Day Off-Line Storage Warning
Well before expungement, states move benefits into off-line storage once an account has been inactive for 91 days. When that happens, the entire balance becomes inaccessible, and any new monthly deposits go straight to off-line status until the household takes action.1eCFR. 7 CFR 274.2 – Providing Benefits to Participants
Restoring off-line benefits is quick. Contact your state agency by phone, in person, or through recertification or reapplication, and the state must make the benefits available within 48 hours. Even a general request for assistance is enough to trigger restoration. The state must send written notice before or at the same time it moves benefits off-line, and that notice has to explain how to get the benefits back and describe the state’s permanent expungement policy.
Off-line storage is not expungement. Benefits held off-line can still be recovered as long as they have not hit the 274-day mark. Once they do, they are gone.
What Actually Counts as Account Activity
Only transactions that change your EBT balance count. Buying food at a SNAP-authorized retailer counts. Returning an item for credit counts. Checking your balance at an ATM, calling the customer service line, or logging into a mobile app does not, because none of those actions change the balance.1eCFR. 7 CFR 274.2 – Providing Benefits to Participants
This is where people get caught. A household might check the balance online every week and assume the account is active. From the state’s perspective, that account has been dormant the entire time. A single small purchase clears the bar.
The Notice You Should Receive First
State agencies must give at least 30 days’ notice before expungement begins. The notice has to include the date benefits will be deleted and the steps the household can take to prevent it, including asking for off-line benefits to be restored.1eCFR. 7 CFR 274.2 – Providing Benefits to Participants
Federal regulations describe these as written notices and do not explicitly authorize text or email as substitutes for mail. If your address on file is out of date, you may never see the notice, and expungement will proceed on schedule regardless. Keeping your contact information current with your local SNAP office is one of the easiest ways to avoid losing benefits.
There is one exception. If the state verifies that all certified members of a household have died, the case closes and any remaining balance is expunged immediately, with no 30-day notice.
Can Expunged Benefits Be Restored?
No. Once the 274-day threshold passes and benefits are formally expunged, the regulation is explicit: the funds are deleted and cannot be reissued.1eCFR. 7 CFR 274.2 – Providing Benefits to Participants
The only realistic path to getting benefits back is showing the state made a mistake. If the agency miscounted the 274 days, skipped the 30-day notice, or expunged an account that actually had qualifying activity during the period, the household can request a fair hearing. Federal rules give every SNAP household the right to a hearing on any state action affecting participation, and the request can be filed within 90 days.2eCFR. 7 CFR 273.15 – Fair Hearings
A hearing is not a guarantee of restoration. The household has to prove the state broke its own rules. If the timeline was correct, the notice was sent, and the account really was inactive, there is no legal basis to reverse the expungement.
How to Keep Benefits From Expiring
Use the card at least once every two to three months. That single transaction prevents off-line storage at 91 days and, if your state uses the inactive account method, resets the expungement clock for the whole account. Even one inexpensive food item at a SNAP-authorized retailer is enough.
If your state uses the unused benefits method, regular use still helps because SNAP purchases draw down the oldest allotment first. Steady spending means no single allotment sits around long enough to hit 274 days. The real risk is months where deposits outpace spending, letting older benefits accumulate untouched.
If hospitalization, travel, or another disruption makes card use difficult, call your state SNAP office. Federal rules do not create hardship exceptions to the 274-day timeline, but contacting the agency at least prevents off-line storage and confirms the address where any required notices will land.