Is my family eligible for Summer EBT Benefits?

What is Summer EBT?

Summer EBT is a food benefit program that helps families buy food for their school-aged children during the summer. For summer 2025, each eligible child will receive a one-time payment of $120 in food benefits on an EBT card. Benefits will begin to be available on June 18, 2025, and will be available to use for 122 days (with the benefits beginning to expire on or around October 17, 2025). The Summer EBT food benefit is issued by the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) and is only for children.

Who is eligible for Summer EBT?

Eligible families can enroll from July 1, 2024, to September 4, 2025. There are two main ways that a household is eligible for Summer EBT:

1. “Streamline Certified” = Automatically Enrolled

People who are “streamline certified” are automatically eligible for Summer EBT. You are “streamline certified” if you fall into one of two different categories. 

• Children (ages 6-16) who receive or have received SNAP, cash public assistance, or Medicaid from July 1, 2024, through September 4, 2025, or
•  Children (ages 6-16) who have been certified for free/reduced-price meals by their school.

All streamline certified children who were on SNAP, Medicaid, cash public assistance, or attended a public school should receive letters, texts, and benefits by the end of July.

2. Eligible but Need to Submit an Application

Other children (ages 6-16), who are not automatically enrolled/streamline certified as described above, may be eligible but need to submit an application. Eligibility requires if they attend a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) AND the household income is at or below the amounts listed in the chart below.

If you are unsure if your children’s school participates in the NSLP, reach out to your school directly or call the OTDA Summer EBT helpline at 1-833-452-0096.

Who is automatically enrolled in Summer EBT?

As explained above in “Who is eligible for Summer EBT?”, the following children will be “automatically” enrolled in Summer EBT:

• Children Receiving Public Benefits: Children will be automatically enrolled in Summer EBT if they are 6 to 16 years old and they have received SNAP benefits or cash public assistance at any time between July 1, 2024 and September 4, 2025. Children in this age group will also be automatically enrolled in Summer EBT if they receive Medicaid and their household meets certain income requirements, https://otda.ny.gov/programs/summer-ebt/SEBT-Income-Guidelines-by-Pay-Period-2025.pdf
• Children Eligible for Free or Reduced-Price School Lunches: Regardless of their age, children will also be automatically enrolled in Summer EBT if they attend a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and your children have been directly certified as being eligible for free or reduced-price meals by their school during the 2024-2025 school year. 

The NSLP is a meal program that provides free or reduced-price lunches to children at school.  Direct certification can involve submitting an application to your child’s school for free or reduced-cost lunches, but many children are automatically directly certified without applying based on certain factors, including receiving certain public benefits.  If your child was automatically and directly certified, your child’s school should have notified you.

My child attends NYC public schools and receives free lunch/breakfast. Is my child automatically eligible for Summer EBT?

Maybe. All children in NYC public schools are able to receive free meals without having to meet individual eligibility requirements. However, eligibility for Summer EBT requires that each child have been certified as eligible for free/reduced-price school lunch.  If your child attends a NYC public school or any other school where free meals are given to all students, your child will not be automatically enrolled in Summer EBT unless they (1) were individually and directly certified by the school as eligible for free/reduced-price meals, or (2) meet the requirements discussed in the “Children Receiving Public Benefits” section above.

You should contact your child’s school to confirm whether your child has been individually certified as eligible for free/reduced-price meals.

Who Should Apply for Summer EBT?

Students who are not automatically enrolled may complete an application. You should complete an application if your child meets the following criteria: 

• Attends a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
• Does NOT receive SNAP, Cash Public Assistance (TA), or Medicaid
• Is NOT directly certified for free/reduced-price meals by their school 
• Household income is at or below the income amounts below:

*Summer EBT Gross Income Eligibility Guidelines July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026

How do I Apply for Summer EBT?

Summer EBT 2025 applications must be submitted or postmarked by September 4, 2025. Families should submit only ONE application per household and include all children on the same application. The application must be completed by a parent/guardian. You can apply online at: https://summerebt.ny.gov/en-US/

Before starting, you’ll need a NY.gov ID. If you don’t have one, you can create an account at: https://my.ny.gov/LoginV4/login.xhtml

What Information Will I Need to Apply?

• NY.gov ID username and password
• Each child’s:
  • Full name
  • Date of birth
  • School name
  • Student Identification System (NYSSIS) ID Number and/or local student ID number (optional but helpful to include)
• Names of all other household members (other than applying students)
• Income information for each person in the household including:
  • How much they earn
  • How often they get paid
• Current address, phone, and email
• Confirmation that all information is correct (you’ll e-sign before submitting)

No documents are required to apply, but you may be asked later to show proof of income. If you are unable to apply online, you may apply by mail. Summer EBT paper applications in multiple languages can be found at: https://otda.ny.gov/programs/applications/#summer-ebt

You should download, print, and complete the application and then mail to the address located at the top of the form: 

NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance 
Summer EBT 
40 North Pearl Street, 9th Floor 
Albany, NY 12243 

What Happens After I Apply?

You will get an email from OTDA to let you know:

• Your application was received
• If your child was approved or denied

How do I access Summer EBT benefits?

You have to use a specific Summer EBT card to access the benefit. Each eligible child will have their own Summer EBT card. The Summer EBT card looks like the usual EBT card with two important differences:

• The ID number begins with the letter “I” and
• The date of birth will be 01/01/1900

If approved, how do I get a Summer EBT card?

If your child received Summer EBT benefits last summer, you can and should still use that same card to access benefits. If you lost the Summer EBT card from summer 2024, you will need to contact the Summer EBT Helpline at 1-833-452-0096 to ask for a new card to be issued. For all other people who submitted an application, you will receive an EBT card in the mail.

Can I use my regular EBT card to access Summer EBT benefits?

No. You can only access Summer EBT benefits with the specific Summer EBT card – one issued per eligible child.

I am a noncitizen or immigrant. Will receiving Summer EBT affect my immigration status or my child’s immigration status?

There is no immigration status requirement for Summer EBT. All children, regardless of immigration status, qualify if otherwise eligible. Under current law, Summer EBT food benefits do NOT “count” against anyone’s immigration status.  Receiving Summer EBT should NOT affect your immigration status and does not make you a “public charge.” The Summer EBT food benefit is issued specifically for children by the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA).  Summer EBT is NOT a SNAP benefit. Summer EBT is NOT a CASH benefit. You do not have to pay back any Summer EBT food benefits.

Other Frequently Asked Questions:

I applied for Summer EBT and I was denied or never received a decision, what should I do? To request a conference or an appeal, you must call the Summer EBT Helpline at (833) 452-0096 within 30 days of the date you received your denial notice. If you received denial notices for multiple children within the same household, you only need to submit one request. Please make sure to provide your information (name, phone number, email address, street address) and the information of child(ren) whose application was denied (name, date of birth, school name) in your appeal request.

My children receive SNAP, Cash Public Assistance, or Medicaid, but they are younger than 6 and older than 16, am I still eligible? A child of any age who attends an NSLP school AND are directly certified for free/reduced-price lunch (FRPL) by their school, are automatically enrolled in Summer EBT. If they attend an NSLP school but are not directly certified for FRPL AND their household meets the income guidelines, regardless of their age, they may qualify for Summer EBT by filing an application. 

If my child attends a school that does NOT participate in the National School Lunch Program, can they still receive Summer EBT? Children who attend non-NSLP participating schools cannot apply for Summer EBT. If they attend non-NSLP schools and receive SNAP, cash public assistance, or Medicaid during the period of eligibility (7/1/2024-9/4/2025), they will be eligible for Summer EBT benefits; they must be between the ages of 6 and 16. These children will be automatically enrolled and do not have to apply.

Do Summer EBT food benefits expire? Yes. Summer EBT food benefits will remain on your Summer EBT Food Benefit card for 122 days from the date they were issued. ALL unused benefits will expire and be removed from the card. Expired benefits cannot be restored. You can check your Summer EBT food benefit balance online at EBTEdge or by calling 1-888-328-6399.

My Summer EBT was skimmed or stolen, can my benefits be replaced? Summer EBT food benefits cannot be replaced if stolen. You can take steps to help protect your benefits by changing your pin or freezing your card using EBTEdge.

When is the last day I can apply for Summer EBT? You must have submitted an application or before September 4^th (if by mail, the postmark must be on or before September 4).

How do I check on the status of my application? OTDA will send an emailconfirming the application has been received. Once OTDA has made a decision, you will receive a second email informing you that the application was approved or denied.  

If my children didn’t receive Summer EBT benefits and I think they qualify, what should I do? Call the Summer EBT Helpline at 1-833-452-0096. If they are unable to answer your questions or cannot resolve them, you can file an appeal.

For free legal help, call Legal Services NYC at 917-661-4500 Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Learn more about our intake process here.

* The information does not constitute legal advice. You should always consult an attorney regarding your matter. Legal help subject to capacity and location.