How To Replace Arkansas EBT Card

If you have a Arkansas EBT Card and it has been lost, stolen or the magnetic stripe on the back of the card no longer reads at a EBT terminal, then it is important that you report it right away. You need your Arkansas EBT card in order to access your benefits to purchase food at stores that accept food stamps. Failure to report it lost or stolen right away could cause a delay in accessing your benefits, or allow someone else who has your card to use your Arkansas food stamp benefits to purchase items for themselves.

We provide the step by step process below for when reporting your Arkansas EBT card lost or stolen including the phone number to call and the website to report it online. If you think someone has attempted to use your card without permission, we also provide the contact information to report food stamp fraud.

Report EBT Card Lost or Stolen

The first step is to report the card as lost, stolen or damaged to the Arkansas EBT help desk or to the local food stamp office. The phone number is listed below.

Deactivate EBT Card

Once you have called in to report your card lost or stolen and request a replacement Arkansas EBT Card, the help desk or food stamp office must then deactivate that card so the system does not have multiple active cards for the same account, this is done for security reasons.

Replace Card From Inventory

Because it is important to replace your card as soon as possible, the office or help desk you called would normally have new Arkansas EBT cards in inventory on site. They would get one to replace your old one.

Configure Replacement EBT Card

The next step would be for them to assign the information about the card holder to the new replacement EBT card. This includes your PIN (selected or assigned), which must be added to the card's magnetic stripe.

Add New Card To EBT Database

Before sending off the replacement EBT card, they must add the information about the card itself (for example the card number), along with the PIN, to the EBT system's database and linked to the card holders food stamp benefits account.

Deliver New Card To Recipient

The help desk or food stamp office must now deliver the new EBT card to the card holder. Once the card holder receives the new card, they will need to contact the food stamp office to activate the card so they can continue using their food stamp balance.

Because it is very important for the recipient to get their new card right away, the state agency would need to replace the EBT card within 2 business days following notice by the household to the state agency. However, the state may request a waiver to allow for a longer replacement time. If you call to report your Arkansas EBT card lost or stolen, you should ask them how long it will take to receive the replacement card. Also, in some states they may charge a replacement fee, which usually is taken from your food stamp balance. We recommend to ask them to verify if there are fees involved for requesting a new replacement card.