The Maryland EBT customer service number is 1-800-997-2222. The line is automated, staffed around the clock, and operates every day of the year, including holidays. Call it to check the balance on your Independence Card, change your PIN, or report the card lost, stolen, or damaged. The Independence Card carries both SNAP food benefits and any cash assistance you receive from the Maryland Department of Human Services, and this one number handles both accounts.
What to Have Ready Before You Call
The automated system moves faster when you have your information within reach. After you choose English or Spanish, it asks for your card number, then verifies you with two more details. Get these three things together before dialing:
- Your 16-digit card number, printed on the front of the Independence Card.
- Your Social Security Number, used as a secondary identity check.
- Your date of birth, the final verification step before the system opens your account.
If you enter the card number wrong twice, the system offers a different path: you can identify yourself using personal information instead, check the status of a card you already ordered, or report a card as lost, stolen, or damaged.1Montgomery County, Maryland. Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) That branch is useful when your card is missing and you don’t have the number written down anywhere.
Checking Your Balance by Phone
Once the system verifies your identity, choose the balance inquiry option from the automated menu. It reads out your SNAP (food) balance and your cash balance as two separate figures.2Department of Human Services. New and Improved EBT Cards are Coming Because the line runs 24/7, this is the quickest way to get a number in your ear before a shopping trip, especially outside business hours.
If you’d rather not call, you have three other options for the same information. Your remaining balance prints at the bottom of the receipt every time you use the card at a store. You can log in at cardholder.ebtedge.com through the ebtEdge Cardholder Portal, which also shows your transaction history; first-time users register an account with the card number.2Department of Human Services. New and Improved EBT Cards are Coming The ebtEdge mobile app for iOS and Android shows the same balance and transaction data on your phone, which is handy for checking funds while you’re already at the store.
Changing Your PIN
The 1-800-997-2222 line handles PIN resets at any hour. After identity verification, navigate to the PIN management option. The system asks for a new four-digit code, then asks you to enter it again to confirm. The change takes effect right away, so you can use the card at a store or ATM as soon as you hang up.
Pick a PIN that you’ll remember but that someone else can’t guess. Avoid the year you were born, the last four digits of your Social Security Number, and simple runs like 1234. If another person learns your PIN and spends your benefits, those transactions are extremely difficult to reverse.
Reporting a Lost, Stolen, or Damaged Card
Call 1-800-997-2222 the moment you realize the card is missing or no longer works. The system lets you report the card as lost, stolen, or damaged, which immediately freezes the account so nobody else can spend your benefits.1Montgomery County, Maryland. Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) Federal rules require the state to mail your replacement within two business days of the report.3eCFR. 7 CFR 274.6 – Replacement Issuances and Cards to Households Most replacements land in the mailbox within about a week from that point.
While you’re on the call, confirm the mailing address on file. If you’ve moved and haven’t updated your address, the replacement card goes to the old one and you’ll have to start over. Speed matters for another reason too: once the state places a hold on the old card, it takes on liability for unauthorized charges that happen after that moment. Transactions completed before you reported the card missing generally cannot be reimbursed.3eCFR. 7 CFR 274.6 – Replacement Issuances and Cards to Households
Setting Up a PIN on a New Card
A brand-new Independence Card arrives by mail in a plain envelope and doesn’t work until you set the PIN. Call 1-800-997-2222, verify yourself with your card number, Social Security Number, and date of birth, and pick a four-digit code. This is the same procedure used for a PIN change, and it’s required whether the card is your first one or a replacement for one you reported lost.
Avoiding Fees When Withdrawing Cash
If you receive Temporary Cash Assistance or another cash benefit on the Independence Card, the EBT program gives you three free cash withdrawals per month. Each additional withdrawal after that costs 85 cents, deducted from your cash balance automatically. ATM owners may add their own surcharge on top of that, though some banks and credit unions waive it for EBT cards. To keep fees down, take out what you need in fewer trips rather than several small ones, or ask for cash back at the register when you make a grocery purchase; that route often skips both the vendor fee and the ATM surcharge.
What the EBT Line Cannot Do
The 1-800-997-2222 line is a card-management service, not a case-management service. It won’t take a new benefits application, adjust the deposit schedule tied to your last name, run an eligibility interview, or expedite benefits for a household in an emergency. It also can’t reverse a disputed purchase after the fact or update your household case file. Anything tied to your underlying eligibility, income reporting, address changes on the case record, or program enrollment goes through the Maryland Department of Human Services, either online at benefits.maryland.gov or through your local department of social services, which must give or mail you a paper application the same day you ask.4Maryland Department of Human Services. Applying for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
One more thing the EBT line can’t fix, and it comes up often enough to flag: benefits that have aged off the card. Under federal rules, any SNAP allotment that goes untouched for nine months (274 days) is expunged from the account and cannot be restored.5eCFR. 7 CFR 274.2 – Providing Benefits to Participants Any transaction on the account resets that clock. If you know you won’t be using the card for a stretch, a small purchase or even a balance check keeps the account active and your oldest benefits from aging out.