A state cannot quietly erase unspent SNAP food stamp money, according to guidance the U.S. Department of Agriculture sent to every state agency. The memo says the federal law behind SNAP “requires States to provide sufficient notice to the household before expungement,” which means the household has to be told before the balance is wiped.

The guidance came from Ronald Ward, acting associate administrator of the SNAP program at USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, and is dated November 18, 2025. It matters because benefits that sit unused on an EBT card do not last forever.

Can they wipe my balance without telling me?

Not under the memo. The USDA guidance on EBT expungement says Section 7(c) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 requires states to expunge SNAP benefits after nine months, and it pairs that with the notice rule. A household that is about to lose benefits has to get notice first.

The memo does not print a minimum number of days for that notice, and it does not set a date by which states must comply. What it does say is that notice is a step that comes before the expungement, not after it.

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When does unused SNAP money disappear?

States have two ways to meet the nine-month rule, and USDA’s memo explains both. Federal regulation 7 CFR 274.2(i)(1) lets a state choose between them.

Under the first, a state expunges benefit allotments that have been inactive for nine months. An EBT account counts as inactive when the household has not started any activity that affects the balance, which in plain terms means no purchases. Under the second, a state expunges allotments that have aged nine months from the date they were issued, regardless of account activity.

That difference is not small. The memo says the second approach “will generally result in a higher value of expungements,” and it says states are “strongly encouraged” to expunge nine months after issuance. A household that shops regularly could be safe under the first approach and still lose older benefits under the second.

How would the two approaches treat the same household?

Picture a household that is issued $200 on January 1 and shops every month. Under the first approach, regular purchases keep the account active, so nothing is expunged for inactivity. Under the second approach, the allotment issued on January 1 reaches nine months old on October 1 and any part of it still unspent is expunged, whatever the card has been doing since.

That is only an illustration, and the numbers are made up. The memo does not say which approach any state uses. It says each state picks one under federal regulation, so a household has to ask its own state agency which one applies.

What happens if a state changes its approach?

The memo covers that case as well. A state that intends to change its expungement approach should update its State Plan of Operation and notify SNAP households. So a switch from the first method to the second is also supposed to come with a notice to the people it affects.

The memo is written to SNAP state agency directors and regional directors, and it applies nationwide rather than to one state. Each state runs its own EBT system, though, so the wording of the letter, the timing and the way a household receives it will differ by state.

Is the memo a binding rule?

USDA addressed the memo to SNAP state agency directors, all state agencies and all regional directors. It ties the nine-month limit and the notice requirement to the same section of the Food and Nutrition Act, so the clock and the warning are meant to travel together. A state that expunges without sending notice is not following the memo as written.

The memo itself says guidance documents “lack the force and effect of law, unless expressly authorized by statute or incorporated into a contract.” The notice requirement comes from how USDA reads Section 7(c), and a state’s own SNAP rules and notices remain the thing a household will actually see.

A household that wants to know how its state handles this can ask its state SNAP office what the expungement policy is and how notice is sent. USDA’s SNAP eligibility page is the free official starting point for the program’s rules.

What should a household do to protect its balance?

The simplest protection is to use the card. Under the first approach, any activity that affects the balance counts, and under the second, the clock runs from the date of issuance regardless, so benefits are best spent within nine months of arriving.

Keeping the notice address current with the state SNAP office matters too, since the notice is only useful if it arrives. The open question is how much warning a household will get, because the memo requires sufficient notice without saying how long that is.

Hasn’t used the SNAP card in a while?

A SNAP balance that sits for nine months can be expunged, and the memo prints no minimum notice period. A household that misses the state’s letter, or whose renewal date slips, can lose benefits it has not spent.

The SNAP & Medicaid Renewal Organizer includes 51 state packs and a renewal and reporting calendar, so the dates that keep a case active are in one place. It also holds a renewal document checklist for the paperwork a recertification needs.

Get the state SNAP pack and calendar for the expungement notice →

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.