You can apply for Texas SNAP benefits online at YourTexasBenefits.com, by mailing or faxing a completed Form H1010 to the Health and Human Services Commission, or in person at a local HHSC benefits office. Most households with gross monthly income at or below 165 percent of the federal poverty level qualify, and the state must act on your application within 30 days. If you’re in a food emergency, you may receive benefits in as few as seven days.
Who Qualifies in Texas
Texas uses a gross income test set at 165 percent of the federal poverty level. For fiscal year 2026, that’s roughly $2,149 per month for a single person and about $4,420 per month for a family of four, with the limit rising by about $757 for each additional household member.1Texas Health and Human Services. SNAP Food Benefits
A “household” for SNAP purposes is the people who live together and buy or prepare food together. If you share meals with the people in your home, you all count as one household and your incomes are combined for the test.
Most Texas SNAP households qualify through categorical eligibility. If your gross income falls at or below the 165 percent threshold and you meet the resource criteria for certain non-cash services, the state waives both the net income test and the asset test entirely.2Texas Health and Human Services. Texas Works Handbook B-470, Categorically Eligible Households Households that don’t qualify categorically face a $5,000 limit on countable resources such as cash and bank balances. Your primary home and certain vehicle values don’t count toward that limit.3Texas Health and Human Services. Texas Works Handbook A-1220, Limits
You must live in Texas and be a U.S. citizen or qualified immigrant. Undocumented household members cannot receive benefits, but their income may still be counted when figuring the household total.
Work Rules That May Affect You
Every recipient between 16 and 59 who is able to work must register for work, accept suitable employment, and not voluntarily quit without good cause. A stricter federal rule applies to able-bodied adults without dependents ages 18 through 54: they can only receive SNAP for three months in a three-year period unless they work or participate in a qualifying program at least 80 hours a month.4Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements Texas applies its own version of this rule to recipients ages 18 through 64 without dependents under 14, with exemptions for pregnancy, documented disability, and other circumstances.5Texas Health and Human Services. SNAP Work Rules
Students enrolled at least half-time in higher education are generally ineligible unless they meet a federal exemption, such as working 20 hours a week, participating in work-study, caring for a child under 6, or being placed in school through a SNAP Employment and Training program.6Food and Nutrition Service. Students Students under 18 or age 50 and older aren’t subject to the student restrictions at all.
Gather These Documents First
Pulling your paperwork together before you start the application prevents the delays that come from piecemeal submissions. HHSC publishes Form H1858 with a full list, but the essentials fall into three groups.7Texas Health and Human Services. H1858, List of Required Documentation
For identity and residency, have a current driver’s license or Texas DPS identification card, plus a utility bill, lease, or voter registration card showing a Texas address. Every household member applying needs a Social Security number on file.8Texas Health and Human Services. Benefits Application Next Steps
For income, bring your last two or three pay stubs or a written statement from your employer. Self-employed applicants need their own records. If you receive Social Security, SSI, a pension, or child support, bring the award letter or a document showing the amount, frequency, and source.
For deductions, document everything you can. Rent or mortgage, property taxes, utility bills, child care costs, and the cost of caring for a disabled adult household member while you work or job-hunt all lower your countable income. Households with a member who is 60 or older or has a disability should also document medical expenses over $35 a month, including prescriptions, co-pays, equipment, and transportation to appointments. The more deductions you can prove, the higher your benefit is likely to be.
How to Submit Your Application
Texas gives you four ways to file. Choose whichever is most practical.
- Online at YourTexasBenefits.com. You create an account, complete the application, and upload supporting documents directly through the portal.
- Through the Your Texas Benefits mobile app, which also lets you upload documents from your phone.
- By mail or fax. Print and complete Form H1010, then mail it to Texas Health and Human Services Commission, P.O. Box 149025, Austin, TX 78714-9025, or fax it to 877-447-2839.9Texas Health and Human Services. Form H1010, Texas Works Application for Assistance – Your Texas Benefits
- In person at your local HHSC benefits office during business hours.
The online portal gives you a confirmation number after submission. If you file in person, ask for a date-stamped receipt. Keep that proof. It establishes your filing date, which starts the 30-day clock and determines whether you qualify for expedited service. The filing date is the day HHSC receives your application, not the day you finish gathering your documents, so get the application in even if some paperwork is still outstanding.
The Interview and the 30-Day Timeline
Every SNAP application requires an eligibility interview with a caseworker. Texas usually conducts these by phone. HHSC will attempt to call you, and if they can’t reach you they’ll mail an appointment notice. You can request an in-person interview at your local office if you’d rather do it that way. Missing the interview without rescheduling results in denial.10Texas Health and Human Services. Texas Works Handbook A-130, Interview Procedures
During the interview, the caseworker verifies your household, income, and expenses. If you don’t have every document ready, you get at least 10 days to produce what’s missing. The state must either approve or deny your application within 30 days of your filing date.11Texas Health and Human Services. Texas Works Handbook B-160, SNAP Timeliness Charts for Applications and All Redeterminations
Expedited Benefits in Seven Days
Households in crisis can receive benefits within seven calendar days instead of 30. You qualify for expedited processing if any of these describe you:12eCFR. Title 7 Section 273.2
- Your household has less than $150 in gross monthly income and $100 or less in liquid resources (cash plus checking and savings).
- Your combined gross monthly income and liquid resources are less than your rent or mortgage plus utilities.
- You are a migrant or seasonal farmworker who is destitute with $100 or less in liquid resources.
Mention expedited eligibility when you submit your application. The state is required to screen for it on the day you file.13Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Application Processing Timeliness
After You’re Approved
Once approved, you receive a Lone Star Card, Texas’s version of an EBT card, either by mail or at your local HHSC office. You set up a PIN by calling the number on the card or using the Your Texas Benefits portal, and then it works like a debit card at authorized grocery stores and retailers. Your monthly benefit is loaded onto the card for as long as you remain eligible.14Texas Health and Human Services. Lone Star Card
SNAP covers most food items: bread, cereal, fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, and seeds or plants that produce food for the household. It has always excluded alcohol, tobacco, vitamins, medicines, and non-food items. As of April 1, 2026, Texas added two new categories under a federal waiver. You can no longer use SNAP in Texas to buy:15Texas Health and Human Services. SNAP Purchase Restrictions
- Candy, including candy bars, gum, taffy, and nuts, raisins, or fruits coated with chocolate, yogurt, or caramel.
- Sweetened beverages containing 5 grams or more of added sugar or any amount of artificial sweetener, including soda and juice drinks made with less than 50 percent real fruit or vegetable juice.
These restrictions apply in physical stores and to online grocery orders, and every Texas SNAP retailer is required to enforce them.
Your benefits are not permanent. HHSC assigns a certification period, typically six months for most households, and you must recertify before it ends by returning Form H1010-R and completing another phone interview. Missing that renewal deadline is one of the most common reasons people lose benefits they’d still qualify for.
If You’re Denied
If HHSC denies your application, reduces your benefits, or cuts you off, you can request a fair hearing. The deadline is 90 calendar days from the effective date of the action or the date on the notice, whichever is later.16Texas Health and Human Services. Fair Fraud Hearings Handbook 1400, Submitting a Fair Hearing Request Summary Filing before the adverse action takes effect may entitle you to keep receiving your current benefits while the appeal is pending. Request a hearing by calling 2-1-1, contacting your local HHSC office, or sending a written request to the agency.