North Carolina EBT Card Balance
Program: Food and Nutrition Services · Administered by North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), Division of Social Services, administered locally through each county's Department of Social Services
Updated August 2026
North Carolina doesn't call its food assistance program SNAP in everyday use; it's officially known as Food and Nutrition Services (FNS), though it's the same federal program as SNAP elsewhere. It's overseen by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and delivered locally through each county's Department of Social Services, with benefits loaded onto an EBT card every month.
How to Check Your North Carolina EBT Balance
Check online
Log in with your card number to view your balance and transaction history.
https://www.ebtedge.comUse the mobile app
ebtEDGE is the official app for North Carolina EBT cardholders, available on iOS and Android.
Check your last receipt
Your remaining balance is printed at the bottom of the receipt from your most recent EBT purchase.
Where You Can Use Your North Carolina EBT Card
Your EBT card works like a debit card at any USDA-authorized retailer nationwide — major grocery chains and big-box stores such as Walmart, Target, Kroger, Costco, Sam's Club, Aldi, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and most local and regional supermarkets, plus many convenience stores and farmers markets. A growing number of retailers, including Walmart.com and Amazon, also accept SNAP EBT for online grocery orders in many areas, though delivery and service fees usually can't be paid with benefits.
SNAP benefits cover food and food-producing seeds or plants, but not hot prepared foods, alcohol, tobacco, or non-food items — some states also restrict specific items like soda or candy, noted below if it applies to North Carolina.
North Carolina SNAP Income Limits
Federal SNAP rules normally cap the gross income limit at 130% of the Federal Poverty Level. North Carolina uses Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE) to raise that limit to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level.
This means considerably more North Carolina households, including many working families, can qualify for FNS/SNAP benefits than the base federal rule would allow, and BBCE also generally removes the separate asset test, so savings and the value of a vehicle typically aren't counted against a household's eligibility.
| Household Size | Max Monthly Gross Income |
|---|---|
| 1 | $2,660 |
| 2 | $3,607 |
| 3 | $4,553 |
| 4 | $5,500 |
| 5 | $6,447 |
| 6 | $7,393 |
| 7 | $8,340 |
| 8 | $9,287 |
For each additional household member beyond 8, add about $947/month. Based on 2026 federal poverty guidelines at 200% — figures update annually and individual eligibility depends on more than gross income, so confirm your exact amount with North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), Division of Social Services, administered locally through each county's Department of Social Services.
EBT Fraud & Card Skimming Protection
Protect your benefits from theft
Card skimming and cloning, where scammers steal an EBT card's stripe data and PIN to create a duplicate, has become a widespread problem for SNAP and FNS recipients nationally. Federal law required states to reimburse households for benefits stolen this way between October 2022 and December 20, 2024, but that reimbursement authority has since expired, and Congress has not renewed it, so there's no guarantee that benefits stolen now will be automatically replaced.
If you think your North Carolina EBT card has been skimmed, call the EBT Customer Service line at 1-888-622-7328 immediately to report the card lost or stolen and request a replacement. Protect yourself by never sharing your PIN, changing it now and then, checking your balance often to catch unauthorized transactions early, and asking your county DSS office about a chip-enabled card if one is available.
North Carolina-Specific EBT Information
North Carolina runs FNS through what the state describes as a federally mandated, state-supervised, county-administered social services system, meaning each of the state's 100 counties, through its own Department of Social Services, actually processes applications and manages cases rather than a single centralized state office. That local structure means processing times and in-person office details can vary somewhat depending on which North Carolina county you live in.