Food stamps (SNAP) in
Colorado.
By Subha, Public Benefits Writer · Verified
Quick answer: In Colorado, county human services offices run SNAP under the Colorado Department of Human Services.
Most households qualify with gross income up to 200% of poverty, $5,500 a month for four from October 1, 2026, and most face no asset test. Apply on PEAK or the MyCOBenefits app; benefits post to the Colorado Quest card from the 1st to the 10th.
Eligibility
Colorado's 200% gross line, in FY2027 dollars
County workers hold a household's untaxed monthly total up to the left-hand column, set at 200% of poverty. Homes with someone 60 or older or disabled answer only to the middle column. The right-hand column is the most SNAP pays per month for each size, starting October 1, 2026.
| Household | Gross limit (200%) | Net limit | Max benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $2,660 | $1,330 | $306 |
| 2 people | $3,607 | $1,804 | $562 |
| 3 people | $4,554 | $2,277 | $808 |
| 4 people | $5,500 | $2,750 | $1,023 |
| 5 people | $6,447 | $3,224 | $1,217 |
| 6 people | $7,394 | $3,697 | $1,463 |
| 7 people | $8,340 | $4,170 | $1,616 |
| 8 people | $9,287 | $4,644 | $1,841 |
Each extra person adds $947 to the gross limit, $474 to the net limit and $225 to the maximum benefit.
Gross limit rule: USDA FNA: Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility chart. Net limits and maximum benefits: USDA Food and Nutrition Administration FY2027 standards. Verified October 30, 2026.
Colorado's 200% line comes from broad-based categorical eligibility, and FNA's chart says every Colorado household is eligible for it. Should the county have to set BBCE aside for a case, the federal 130% line applies instead, $1,729 a month for a single adult and $3,575 for a family of four.
Gross limits here are 200% of the 2026 federal poverty guidelines, the line FNA lists for Colorado. CDHS's own SNAP page still prints its October 2024 table ($5,360 for four), so its figures run lower than the FY2027 amounts in effect since October 1, 2026.
If anyone in the household is 60 or older or receives disability benefits, the county only applies the net income test, and the shelter deduction has no cap. CDHS asks these households for proof of medical bills, such as Medicare Part B premiums and mileage to appointments.
Meeting the income limit does not guarantee benefits. Your amount is figured from net income after deductions, so a household near the limit may get a small benefit or none.
- 1With both partners past 60, the county skips the gross test entirely. Retirement checks are unearned, so no 20% work deduction applies; subtracting the $217 two-person standard deduction leaves $1,700 before housing.
- 2Half of $1,700 is $850. The $1,250 rent tops that half by $400, and seniors get this deduction uncapped, so all $400 comes off. To keep the math short, this example leaves out a utility allowance and medical bills.
- 3Net income ends at $1,300, below the $1,804 line for two. SNAP counts $390, a rounded-up 30%, as the couple's own food spending, so roughly $172 of the $562 maximum would arrive, posted to the Colorado Quest card on the day matching the last digit of the cardholder's Social Security number.
Try the same benefit math on your own numbers.
The card pays for groceries and seeds or plants that grow food, not alcohol, tobacco, vitamins, hot prepared food, pet food or household supplies.
Payment schedule
Quest card deposit days by Social Security digit
Colorado loads SNAP over the first 10 days of each month, keyed to the last digit of the recipient's Social Security number.
A number ending in 1 is paid on the 1st, 2 on the 2nd, through 9 on the 9th, and a number ending in 0 is paid on the 10th. A first payment posts as soon as the county approves the case.
| SSN ends in | Benefits arrive |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1st |
| 2 | 2nd |
| 3 | 3rd |
| 4 | 4th |
| 5 | 5th |
| 6 | 6th |
| 7 | 7th |
| 8 | 8th |
| 9 | 9th |
| 0 | 10th |
Unused SNAP carries over month to month, but CDHS removes benefits left untouched for 274 days (nine months). Colorado cash aid follows a separate 1st to 3rd schedule.
Get started
PEAK, the MyCOBenefits app or a paper form at the county
Apply online on Colorado PEAK or in the MyCOBenefits phone app. You can also fill in the paper application and mail it, fax it or drop it off at your county human services office. Hunger Free Colorado (855-855-4626) and Benefits in Action (888-496-4252) help people fill it in.
Your county office usually calls the phone number on your application for the interview. If it cannot reach you, it mails a notice with a set date and time and how to reschedule. You can ask to do the interview in person instead.
Interviews are normally by phone with the county human services office, and you can ask for a face-to-face one. A missed call is followed by a mailed appointment notice.
The county has 30 days to decide. If you have less than $100 in cash and under $150 in monthly earnings, or housing costs above your income, or you are a migrant or seasonal farmworker, you may get expedited SNAP within 7 days.
The soft drink ban that never started
USDA approved Colorado's request on August 4, 2025 to stop SNAP from paying for soft drinks, as Colorado tax law defines them, for two years starting March 1, 2026. By spring the start date stood at April 30, 2026, and on May 11, 2026 USDA approved moving it to October 30, 2026.
On June 22, 2026, a federal court in Washington, D.C. vacated the approval in Aragon v. Rollins, and FNA's waiver tracker, updated October 30, 2026, says the waiver may not proceed. The same order covered Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia; Nebraska has since filed a new request.
CDHS has since dropped the plan. It told stores to take down signs about SNAP beverage changes and keep registers unchanged, so soda, candy and other snack foods can still be bought with the Quest card.
Source: CDHS: SNAP Healthy Choice Waiver.
New Quest card design and the ebtEDGE switch
Since September 1, 2026, EBT customer service has been mailing a new card design with built-in safety features that make cards harder to copy. CDHS asks anyone still holding an old Colorado Quest Card to order a replacement, by phone at 888-328-2656 or in the MyCOBenefits or ebtEDGE apps.
On August 25, 2026, the old ebtEDGE app and site were retired. The new ebtEDGE app and ebtEDGE.us take the same user ID and password, and let you freeze the card, block online or out-of-state use, view transactions and file a dispute.
New cards may not be ready for pickup at county offices yet. If your card is lost or stolen, call 888-328-2656 (TTY 800-659-2656) to cancel it, and report suspected fraud to your county office and local police, since stolen benefits count as theft.
Source: CDHS: Colorado EBT.
Who gets out of Colorado's 80-hour rule
CDHS lists the exemptions: pregnancy, disability or disability benefits, being unable to work, school or training at least half-time, drug or alcohol treatment, applying for or getting unemployment, and caring for someone sick or disabled.
You are also exempt if you already work 30 hours a week or earn at least $217.50 a week, meet TANF work rules, or identify as an Indian, Urban Indian or California Indian. CDHS's examples of being unfit to work include homelessness, recent release from an institution and domestic violence.
Volunteer hours count. Report them once per certification period on the ABAWD Volunteer Verification Form; Employment First case managers confirm program hours for you. CDHS's online work rules screener checks whether the rule applies.
Disagreeing with the county: conference first, then the Hearings Unit
Start with the county. Staff must explain any action on your SNAP case, either informally or at a Dispute Resolution Conference where you can see the documents. You get a written result and then 10 calendar days from that notice to appeal.
Ask for a fair hearing at the county office out loud, in writing, on the SNAP Hearing Request form, or with CDHS's online form, which goes straight to the SNAP Hearings Unit. Federal rules allow a hearing on any action within the prior 90 days.
Ask before the cut takes effect to keep benefits at the old amount during the appeal; if you lose, you repay them. Hearings are usually by phone or video, with a face-to-face option, and the Unit is at 833-847-0345 or cdhs_snaphearings@state.co.us.
To object to the judge's Initial Decision, return the Notice of Intent to File Exceptions within 8 days of its mailing date. Skipping that step closes off a later appeal to Denver District Court.
Source: CDHS: SNAP Hearings Unit.
Only in Colorado
Assets, county offices and card rules in Colorado
Colorado's counties, not the state, decide SNAP cases. CDHS writes the rules and runs the EBT system, but your application, interview, documents and changes all go through your own county human services department.
Documents can be uploaded in your PEAK account or the MyCOBenefits app, handed to the county office, or mailed to the address on your county's letterhead.
Change your address with the county, not the EBT line. The number on the back of the card cannot update your address, though it can order a replacement card.
CDHS says Colorado does not allow SNAP to buy hot or prepared foods meant to be eaten right away.
Bank balance no barrier for most Coloradans: Colorado's BBCE row at FNA reads 'No limit on assets,' so money in checking, a car or a retirement account will not stop most applicants. Anyone the county handles outside BBCE gets the federal cap of $3,000, raised to $4,750 for a home with a senior or a disabled member.
Work rules: Adults 18 to 64 who can work and do not live with a child under 14 get three months of SNAP in 36 unless they log 80 hours a month of paid work, volunteering or Colorado Employment First. FNA lists Colorado with no time limit waiver as of October 1, 2026.
- Colorado SNAP Produce BonusBuy fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen ones with nothing added, or dried beans at a participating store, farm stand or market and the same amount goes back on your card, up to $60 a month. No sign-up: any household on SNAP in the last 90 days qualifies.Official page
- Double Up Food Bucks ColoradoAt participating grocers and farmers markets, SNAP purchases earn up to $20 a day in vouchers for fresh Colorado-grown produce. Double Up vouchers stack with the Produce Bonus and do not count toward its $60 monthly cap.Official page
- Museum and cultural center discountsShow your Colorado EBT card at participating museums and cultural centers for discounted admission. CDHS keeps the list of places on its EBT discounts page.Official page
Related guides
Other help Colorado SNAP households often look up next:
Frequently asked questions
Colorado SNAP questions people ask CDHS and their county
From October 1, 2026, most households can have gross monthly income up to 200% of poverty: $2,660 for one person, $3,607 for two, $4,554 for three and $5,500 for four. Households with a member 60 or older or disabled only have to meet the net limit, $1,804 for two.
CDHS's SNAP page still carries its table dated October 1, 2024, which shows $5,360 for four. FY2027 figures, built on the 2026 poverty guidelines, have applied since October 1, 2026, so the current 200% line for four is $5,500.
Between the 1st and 10th of each month, by the last digit of the recipient's Social Security number. A number ending in 1 gets benefits on the 1st, 2 on the 2nd, and so on; a number ending in 0 gets them on the 10th.
No. USDA approved a soft drink restriction and Colorado set it to begin October 30, 2026, but a federal court vacated the approval on June 22, 2026. CDHS has dropped the plan and told stores to make no changes, so soda can still be bought with SNAP.
Not for most households. FNA lists Colorado's broad-based categorical eligibility with no limit on assets. A household that does not qualify through BBCE uses the federal limits of $3,000, or $4,750 when a member is 60 or older or disabled.
Call EBT Customer Service at 888-328-2656 (TTY 800-659-2656), or order one in the MyCOBenefits or ebtEDGE app. CDHS also asks anyone still using an old-design Colorado Quest Card to switch to the new card, mailed since September 1, 2026.
Your county human services department. CDHS sets the rules statewide, but the county takes the application, holds the interview, approves benefits and handles changes and dispute conferences. CDHS's county contact page lists every office.
A match on fruits and vegetables bought at participating locations. The amount you spend comes back on your card, up to $60 a month, and can be used on any SNAP food. Anyone who got SNAP in the last 90 days qualifies without signing up.
Federal rules allow a fair hearing request on any action within the prior 90 days. After a county Dispute Resolution Conference, you have 10 calendar days from the written result. File at the county office or with CDHS's online hearing request form.
Official resources
Official links
- Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS), with county human services departments
- CDHS: Colorado EBT
- CDHS: Colorado EBT Frequently Asked Questions
- CDHS: SNAP Healthy Choice Waiver
- CDHS: Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents
- CDHS: SNAP Hearings Unit
- CDHS: Colorado SNAP Produce Bonus
- USDA FNA: SNAP Food Restriction Waivers (updated October 30, 2026)
- USDA FNA: Colorado SNAP Food Restriction Waiver
- USDA FNA: Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility chart
- USDA FNA: Monthly Issuance Schedule, all states
- USDA FNA: ABAWD time limit waiver status, FY2027 Quarter 1
- USDA FNA: SNAP FY2027 cost-of-living adjustments
- 7 CFR 273.15: Fair hearings
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