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Title 7: SNAP Page 24 Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Employees’ Manual Chapter A: Administration Electronic Benefit Transfer Revised June 20, 2025 Providing Access to the SNAP Account Providing Access to the SNAP Account Legal reference: 7 CFR 274.2 An Iowa EBT card is used to access the SNAP account. ABC entries to approve a new SNAP case will initiate the mailing of an Iowa EBT card to the primary cardholder authorized on the account. EPPIC® entries are required to issue replacement cards for the primary cardholder, or to issue any cards to secondary cardholders or authorized representatives. See policies in this chapter for when entries may or should be made directly to EPPIC® to establish a cardholder. Each Iowa EBT card is issued to a specific individual and has its own unique PAN and is permanently connected to a SNAP case. The card cannot be connected to a new SNAP account. The PAN identifies who the cardholder is, and identifies which card made transactions on the food account. A new Iowa EBT card is not issued for each monthly allotment of SNAP. All cards are valid until 2049 unless deactivated. If a cardholder still has the card, the card is still active, and the cardholder is reapproved for SNAP, the cardholder can access the assistance as soon as it becomes available. Cardholders are discouraged from allowing others to use their Iowa EBT cards to buy food for the household. However, there is no penalty for doing so. SNAP used from an account cannot be replaced. EXCEPTION: See 7-H for when a household can appeal a request for replacement. Selling or trading an EBT card is an illegal activity. If there is an indication that a cardholder sold or traded the Iowa EBT card, see Handling Complaints of Trafficking in this chapter. Mailing EBT Cards The EBT contractor mails all Iowa EBT cards on an EBT account to the household’s address as entered on ABC/EPPIC. Cards issued to secondary cardholders and authorized representatives are entered in EPPIC only. If the authorized representative does not live at the household’s address, it is the responsibility of the primary cardholder, not the Department, to give the authorized representative the card. EBT cards are mailed within one business day following the ABC batch process that authorizes the card. Cards are mailed on business days. Consider the batch process, mailing time, and weekends or holidays when determining system entry dates to ensure timely processing of a case.