Food stamps (SNAP) in
Arizona.

Arizona's policy manual sets expanded categorical eligibility at 200% of the federal poverty level, effective March 1, 2026. The dollar limits for the year starting October 1, 2026 are in the income table near the top of this page.

Passing the 200% test also counts as meeting the resource and net income tests. Your benefit is still worked out from net income, so a household near the limit can qualify for a small amount. DES notes that categorically eligible households of three or more get their actual amount, which can be $0.

Households where every member gets SSI, Cash Assistance, Tribal TANF or similar help qualify through basic categorical eligibility instead, which also counts as passing the resource test.

Every new application is screened for expedited service. You may qualify if your income this month is under $150 and your cash and bank money is $100 or less, if income plus that money is less than your rent or mortgage and utilities, or if you are a destitute migrant or seasonal farmworker with $100 or less.

DES must decide by the seventh calendar day after it gets your application, and benefits are on the card by then. You must finish your interview within those seven days. Only the main applicant's identity has to be proven first; other proof can wait.

There is no limit on how many times a household can get expedited service. The exception: if proof postponed at your last expedited approval never reached DES, the regular 30-day timeline applies.

The Elderly Simplified Application Project is for households where everyone applying is 65 or older with no earned or self-employment income. Work traded for meals or housing does not count. ESAP uses a shorter form (FAA-1821A) and simpler interview and proof steps.

ESAP households are approved for 36 months, have no mid-approval contact with DES, may not need an interview to renew, and report fewer changes. They must report if gross monthly income goes over 130% of the poverty level.

Apply by phone at 855-234-4960, in person, on HEAplus, or by mailing or faxing FAA-1821A to the ESAP Unit, PO Box 19009, Phoenix, AZ 85005-9009. The fax is 602-257-7031 in the 602, 480 and 623 area codes, or 844-680-9840 toll free.

If someone in your household is 60 or older or gets disability benefits, out-of-pocket medical costs over $35 a month lower your countable income. From October 1, 2026, costs from $35.01 to $195 earn a flat $160 deduction, and costs above $195 are deducted in full, minus $35.

Costs that count include prescriptions, Medicare and insurance premiums, dental care, rides to the doctor, dentures, glasses, hearing aids and a service animal. DES asks for proof when the household total is over $35.

DES uses a fixed utility allowance, not your actual bill, in the shelter deduction. From October 1, 2026, the Standard Utility Allowance is $335 for 1 to 3 people and $454 for 4 or more if you pay for heating or cooling, including an evaporative cooler or room air conditioner.

Households with two other utilities, such as non-cooling electricity and trash, get $154 or $208. If your only utility is a phone, the allowance is $46. Report any heating or cooling cost on your application, since it raises the deduction.

Check your balance and last 60 days of purchases in the free ebtEDGE app or at ebtedge.us, and freeze the card there when you are not shopping. DES suggests changing your PIN the day before benefits arrive each month. Arizona EBT cards are not insured.

Report a lost or stolen card to FIS at 1-888-997-9333 right away. Your first replacement card each calendar year is free, and each one after that costs $5. Four or more replacements in 12 months trigger fraud monitoring.

Federal law let DES replace skimmed or cloned benefits only for thefts through December 20, 2024, and the last day to report them in Arizona was February 4, 2025. Benefits stolen after that cannot be replaced.

Under H.R. 1, Arizona applies the time limit to adults 18 to 64. Arizona uses one fixed three-year period for everyone, January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2027. Without an exemption or qualifying hours, an adult gets 3 full months in that period, and a prorated first month does not count.

To keep benefits, work at least 20 hours a week (80 a month) in paid, self-employed, volunteer or in-kind work, or spend 20 hours a week in SNAP CAN, a WIOA program or a veterans training program. Working 30 hours a week or earning $217.50 a week also exempts you.

Other exemptions include caring for a child under 14 or an incapacitated person at home, pregnancy, being unfit for work, getting or applying for unemployment, half-time school, and being an Indian, Urban Indian or California Indian. Report a drop below 80 hours by the 10th of the next month on form FAA-1530A.

USDA approved Arizona's waiver on March 12, 2026, for March 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027. It covers Yuma County, where unemployment averaged 13.0% from June 2024 to May 2025, plus the Cocopah, Hualapai, Maricopa (Ak Chin), Salt River, San Carlos and Pascua Pueblo Yaqui reservation areas.

If you live in one of these areas and meet no other exemption, the three-month limit does not apply to you while the waiver lasts. DES applies this geographic exemption last, after checking every other exemption.

SUN Bucks gives a one-time $120 for each eligible school-age child, run with the Arizona Department of Education. Families already getting Nutrition or Cash Assistance get it on their existing EBT card, and other eligible families are mailed a card. Summer 2026 benefits went out in June.

Students at a National School Lunch Program school who were not automatically eligible could apply until August 3, 2026. SUN Bucks expire 122 days after they are made available, so keep the card for next summer. Questions go to the SUN Bucks hotline at 1-833-648-4406.

For Nutrition Assistance you have 90 days from the date on the decision notice to ask for an appeal. You can ask in your HEAplus account, on the Fair Hearing Request Form (FAA-0098A), with the form sent with your notice, in writing, or by asking DES verbally.

Ask within 10 days of the notice to keep benefits during the appeal, unless your application was denied or your approval period ended. DES first offers a pre-hearing meeting, and an Administrative Law Judge hears the case if it is not resolved. If you lose, you may have to repay benefits.