Pennsylvania EBT Card Balance
Program: SNAP · Administered by Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS)
Updated August 2026
Pennsylvania administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through the Department of Human Services, and residents simply know it as SNAP or food stamps, without a separate marketing name for the program itself. Benefits are loaded monthly onto the Pennsylvania ACCESS Card, an EBT card that also carries Cash Assistance and Medical Assistance for many households.
How to Check Your Pennsylvania EBT Balance
Check online
Log in with your card number to view your balance and transaction history.
https://www.connectebt.comUse the mobile app
ConnectEBT is the official app for Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania SNAP Income Limits
Federal rules normally limit SNAP eligibility to households earning 130% of the Federal Poverty Level, but Pennsylvania has adopted Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE), which raises the gross income limit to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level.
This means significantly more Pennsylvania households, including many with modest but tight budgets, can qualify for food assistance than the federal floor would otherwise allow, and most applicants don't need to worry about an asset test on savings or a vehicle.
| 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 Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS).
EBT Fraud & Card Skimming Protection
Protect your benefits from theft
EBT card skimming, where criminals plant a hidden device on a store's card reader to steal your card number and PIN, has hit SNAP households across Pennsylvania hard. A federal law once allowed states to reimburse victims of this kind of theft, but that authority only applied to benefits stolen between October 1, 2022, and December 20, 2024; it lapsed at the end of that window and has not been extended into 2025 or 2026, so newly stolen benefits generally cannot be replaced with federal funds.
If your Pennsylvania ACCESS Card is compromised, call the DHS EBT Recipient Hotline at 1-888-328-7366 (1-888-EBT-PENN), available 24/7, to cancel the card and request a replacement, and report the fraud to your county assistance office. DHS also runs a Fraud Tip Hotline at 1-844-347-8477 for reporting suspicious activity. To protect yourself, never share your PIN, check your balance often through the ConnectEBT website or app, and consider freezing your card when you aren't actively shopping.
Pennsylvania-Specific EBT Information
A distinguishing feature of Pennsylvania's system is that the ACCESS Card isn't only a SNAP card; it's the same card DHS uses to deliver Cash Assistance and Medical Assistance benefits to many households, rather than issuing a separate card for each program. That makes protecting the card especially important, since a single compromised ACCESS Card can affect more than just a family's food budget.