710.01 Expungement of EBT Benefits from Unused EBT Accounts (FSM)

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SNAP benefits are expunged from an EBT Account after 274 days of non-use. If an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) account is not used for a period 239 days, New HEIGHTS client letter BI0008, EBT Expired Benefits Letter, is generated and sent to the client indicating that any SNAP benefits remaining in the EBT account that have not been accessed for a period of* 274 days will be permanently removed from the EBT account. Benefits removed from the account are no longer available for spending and will not be returned to the recipient. No Advance Notice Period (ANP) is required.

The 274-day clock begins when the first SNAP benefit becomes available to the client, and then resets after each SNAP transaction. Any subsequent SNAP benefit that becomes available in the EBT account will not be expunged until the first SNAP benefit is removed from the system.

Example 1: A SNAP benefit becomes available on 1/25/2021. No transactions ever occur on this EBT account. This SNAP benefit will expunge on 10/26/2021, 274 days after the benefit is available.

Example 2: A SNAP benefit becomes available on 1/25/2021, and another SNAP benefit becomes available on 2/5/2021. A transaction occurs on 3/1/2021, using a portion of the 1/25/2021 benefit, triggering a new 274-day clock to begin. If no other transactions occur on this account, both the 1/25/2021 and the 2/5/2021 benefits will expunge on 11/30/2021, as this is 274 days after a portion of the 1/25/2021 benefit was used, and the 2/5/2021 benefit cannot expunge until the 1/25/2021 benefit is deleted from the system.

References: He-W 702.01, 7 CFR 274.2(i)(1)(i)