EBT AND SNAP GUIDE
How to accept EBT at your store and get ready for chip cards
Apply to the USDA for free, set up your card machine with your FNA number and get ready for the new chip cards in Maryland and Virginia. Truvana Tech sets up store registers that check SNAP items.
- Free to apply
- Sources linked
- English or Spanish
How to accept EBT at your store in 4 steps
These are the USDA's own steps. Applying costs nothing, and only the USDA can approve your store.
- 01
Create a Login.gov account
You need an email address, a password and a second way to sign in, such as texts to your phone.
- 02
Complete the SNAP retailer application
Finish it within 30 days or it is deleted. Have each owner's name, home address and Social Security number, and your sales data.
- 03
Wait for your SNAP permit
You can't take EBT until the USDA authorizes your store. The permit shows your FNA number, and you can check your status online.
- 04
Set up your EBT equipment
Give your FNA number to your card processor, who programs the card machine for EBT. Most stores pay for EBT equipment and service.
Is my store eligible to accept EBT?
A store qualifies in one of two ways (USDA):
- Stocking: at least seven varieties in each staple category (dairy, grains, protein, fruits or vegetables), every day you're open
- Sales: most of your sales come from staple foods
The stocking rule from November 4, 2026
Seven varieties in each of the four staple categories, a perishable variety in at least three of them and at least three units of each variety: 84 units in all.
What doesn't count
Hot foods aren't SNAP-eligible, and cold foods you make in the store don't count toward the stocking rule. Specialty stores, such as butcher shops, don't have to meet it.
What SNAP covers, and what it doesn't
SNAP pays for food to eat at home (USDA).
| SNAP covers | SNAP doesn't cover |
|---|---|
| Fruits and vegetables | Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes and tobacco |
| Meat, poultry and fish | Vitamins, medicines and supplements |
| Dairy | Food that is hot at the register |
| Breads and cereals | Pet food, cleaning supplies, paper products, hygiene items and cosmetics |
| Snacks and drinks without alcohol (in Virginia, not sweetened soda from October 1, 2026) | Live animals, with a few exceptions |
| Seeds and plants that grow food |
Other stores: convenience stores, small grocers, liquor stores and smoke shops.
What you need at the counter to take EBT
A card machine set up for EBT, a register that knows what SNAP covers and shelves that meet the stocking rule.
Staple foods on the shelf
- ■Seven varieties in each staple category
- ■A fresh variety in three of the four
EBT chip cards and Virginia's soda rule
EBT cards are changing in 2026, and Virginia changed what SNAP can buy.
Maryland: chip-and-tap cards since July 2026
Maryland began a statewide rollout of chip-and-tap EBT cards in July 2026 (Maryland DHS). Customers insert or tap the card, then enter a PIN.
Virginia: new cards through the end of 2026
Virginia began mailing chip-and-tap EBT cards in September 2026 and asks stores to update their payment equipment (Virginia).
Virginia: no SNAP for soda from October 1, 2026
SNAP can't buy carbonated drinks with added sugar or artificial sweeteners, including diet soda and carbonated energy drinks; other drinks still qualify. Stores must block them at the register (VDSS).
A national chip rule is proposed
On October 23, 2026, the USDA proposed that every state issue chip-and-tap EBT cards and every SNAP store accept them. Comments close December 22, 2026 (Federal Register).
Before the new cards arrive
Ask whether your card machine is certified for EBT chip and tap, run a test EBT sale and show your cashiers the new cards.
How Truvana Tech helps stores take EBT
Truvana Tech sets up store registers in DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia and trains cashiers on EBT sales, in English or Spanish.
The register
SNAP items checked at checkout
The store POS knows what SNAP covers and checks each item at the register, so ineligible items never ring up on EBT.
- 500,000+ items ready to scan
- Each item keeps its own tax and SNAP setting
Your language
Cashiers trained in English or Spanish
We train your cashiers on EBT sales and PINs at the counter, and a local team answers when the register stops.
- Setup on site
- Support in English or Spanish
No contract
Free hardware, and no contract
The register hardware is free when you process your card sales with us, and the quote lists the card processing fee and the monthly fee. There is no contract.
- Free hardware with processing
- No contract
EBT questions store owners ask
How do I accept EBT at my store?
Create a Login.gov account, complete the USDA's SNAP retailer application within 30 days and wait for your SNAP permit. Then give its FNA number to your card processor, who programs your card machine for EBT (USDA).
How much does it cost to accept EBT?
Applying is free. Most stores pay for their EBT equipment and service, so compare at least three processors, as the USDA suggests (USDA). With Truvana Tech the register hardware is free when you process your card sales with us, and there is no contract.
How long does SNAP approval take?
The USDA doesn't promise a set time. It processes your application, contacts you if it needs more, and you can check your status online. You can't accept EBT until you receive your SNAP permit.
Do I need a special machine to accept EBT?
You need a card machine with a PIN pad that your processor has set up for EBT with your FNA number. With chip cards arriving in Maryland and Virginia, also check that it is certified for EBT chip and tap.
Can a restaurant accept EBT?
Only through a state's Restaurant Meals Program, where a state runs one, and only for the customers that program covers. Otherwise SNAP doesn't pay for hot food. Ask your state's SNAP agency.
What is an FNA number?
The number on your SNAP permit, which used to be called the FNS number. You use it to order your EBT equipment and to program your card machine.
Do you help in Spanish?
Yes. Truvana Tech sets up registers and card machines and trains cashiers in English or Spanish, on site across our service area. Only the USDA approves stores, and applying is free.
Get your store ready for EBT
Tell us about your store and whether you already take EBT. A person replies in English or Spanish.
Tell us about your business
Your name and email are enough to start. Write in English or Spanish.