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Title 7: SNAP Page 26 Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Employees’ Manual Chapter A: Administration Electronic Benefit Transfer Revised June 20, 2025 Establishing Cardholders When opening a SNAP case or making changes because the household composition changed, make sure you intend to replace the current cardholders. If you do not wish to replace a current primary cardholder, remember that overwriting the current primary cardholder’s information in ABC will deactivate the current primary cardholder’s EBT card. The following sections give more information on:  The primary cardholder  The secondary cardholder  Authorized representatives  Establishing secondary cardholders or authorized representatives  Removing secondary cardholders or authorized representatives The Primary Cardholder The person who is established as the ABC case name is the primary cardholder. To prepare to set up your case, ask at the application interview who does the household’s primary grocery shopping. Establish the primary grocery shopper as the ABC case name. Document in the case record the household’s choice of grocery shopper. Tell the person interviewed:  The grocery shopper will receive the Iowa EBT card in the shopper’s name and is the only one who should use it.  If SNAP is lost (misused) or stolen from an EBT food account, the assistance will not be replaced. EXCEPTION: See 7-H for when a household can appeal a request for a replacement. EBT follows the same rules that apply to credit cards and bank debit cards. The card owner signs the back of the card. Generally, only the primary cardholder can add more cardholders to the household’s food account. See Emergency Authorized Representative for exceptions. If the primary cardholder leaves the home and the remaining household members still want benefits, you will need to determine how to handle the separation on a case-by-case basis depending on the circumstances of the household(s).