Food stamps (SNAP) in
Arkansas.

USDA approved Arkansas's request on June 10, 2025 as a two-year demonstration starting July 1, 2026, and approved changes to its food definitions on May 12, 2026. Unlike the five state waivers a federal court vacated in June 2026, among them Iowa's and West Virginia's, Arkansas's rule is in force today.

Off limits: candy and gum, regular and diet soda, energy drinks, fruit and vegetable drinks under 50% real juice, and ready-to-drink coffee and tea with sugar or artificial sweeteners. DHS's rule of thumb is that anything in the checkout candy rack, or the same product in a multipack, is out.

Still allowed: baby formula, nutritional supplement drinks, 100% juice, milk, unsweetened coffee, sugar-free tea, mineral water and unsweetened sparkling water. Baking supplies such as flour, icing, sugar and cooking chocolate also stay eligible.

Restricted items in your cart must be paid for separately with cash or a card. Online grocery orders follow the rules of the state where the cardholder lives, while in-person shopping in another state follows that state's rules.

Most states use broad-based categorical eligibility to drop the savings test entirely. Arkansas uses it more narrowly: a household that gets the state's non-cash TANF brochure benefit may hold up to $5,500 in countable resources, but only for 12 consecutive months.

After those 12 months the standard limits return, $3,000 for most homes and $4,750 when a member is 60 or older or disabled, and the higher limit cannot be granted again for five years. The SNAP manual section adding this rule took effect July 1, 2025.

Countable resources include cash, checking and savings balances, stocks, bonds, mutual funds and property other than your home. Life insurance, burial plots, irrevocable burial plans, tax-preferred retirement and some education savings accounts are not counted.

Households where every member gets SSI, or where at least one member gets TEA cash assistance, are categorically eligible in the traditional sense and do not face the income or resource limits at all.

The General Work Requirements cover people 16 to 59: accept a job offer, keep at least 30 hours a week, answer DHS questions about work, and finish any assigned E&T hours. Caring for a child under 6, getting or applying for unemployment, or attending school half time are among the exemptions.

Breaking those rules without good cause stops SNAP for 1 month the first time, 6 months the second, and 12 months for each later violation. Good cause includes illness, or no transportation or child care for a child under 12.

The Requirement to Work applies to adults 18 through 64 who can work and have no child under 14 at home. They get 3 months of SNAP in 3 years unless they log 80 hours a month in work, volunteering, E&T or another work program, or join workfare.

If your hours fall under 80, call your county office within 10 days. After using the 3 months, you can earn 3 more, once per 3-year period, by working 80 hours within 30 days in a row; those months must be used back to back.

New cards are mailed automatically once a case is approved and should arrive within three to five business days. Pick a four-digit PIN by calling 800-997-9999. If your case closes and later reopens, you keep using the same card and PIN.

Entering a wrong PIN four times in a row locks the account until the next day. DHS warns that benefits taken after a PIN is shared will not be replaced, so never write the PIN on the card or keep it with the card.

After a change of EBT vendor, the free ebtEDGE New app replaced ConnectEBT for Arkansas users. It manages your SNAP balance and can lock the card against thieves; search for ebtEDGE New in the Apple or Google Play store.

Act 780 of 2021 required six-month certification periods for limited reporting households, and DHS moved those cases to six months starting September 1, 2022. The same rule change made face-to-face interviews something the household requests.

If your certification runs out or your case closes, reapply within 30 days of the last day of that month. After 30 days, DHS treats the form as a brand-new initial application. Late renewals inside the window are still screened for 7-day expedited service.

Applications that reach DHS through the Social Security Administration are also screened for Arkansas's Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP), and expedited cases from that route follow the same 7-day clock.

For a SNAP denial or a case closure, send your hearing request within 90 calendar days of the date on the letter. Use form DHS-1200 or write a letter, and email it to DHS.Appeals@dhs.arkansas.gov or mail it to the Office of Appeals and Hearings, P.O. Box 1437, Slot S101, Little Rock, AR 72203-1437.

Medicaid and TEA have a 30-day deadline, so if a single notice covers several programs, do not let the longer SNAP window lull you. The same DHS-1200 form works for all of them.

If DHS decides not to expedite your application, you can ask for an agency conference, which must be offered within two working days and is attended by a supervisor. It does not replace or delay a hearing you have requested.