CalFresh EBT deposit time change? Still have to wait until 6am to access benefits?

As far as I know, nothing has changed with the deposit times for CalFresh. Benefits are still loaded according to your case number (the last digit determines your day), and they become available at 6am. They've been talking about potentially adjusting this schedule since 2023, but I haven't seen any official implementation yet. I've been on CalFresh for 5 years now, and every month it's consistently 6am on my benefit day.

ive tried at 5:30am before and it never works! always gotta wait till 6am exact and not a minute sooner lol

Just to clarify some information here: CalFresh benefits are made available at 6am on your assigned benefit day, which is based on the last digit of your case number. Some recipients confuse this with CalWORKs deposit times, which do sometimes vary. Your benefit issuance date usually falls between the 1st and 10th of the month. If your case number ends in: - 1: benefits on the 1st - 2: benefits on the 2nd - And so on through 0, which is the 10th The 6am release time has been consistent for years and there are no current plans to change it according to the latest CDSS communications.

Actually, I think they DID change something with the system recently. My benefits used to always come at exactly 6am, but last month they didn't show up until almost 7:15am. I called the EBT customer service and they said there was some kind of "system update" that caused delays. Maybe what you heard was about that? I don't think they changed the official time from 6am, but the actual deposit times seem less reliable lately.

I used to have this same problem trying to shop early! I actually had to call the county office about a different issue last month and asked about this while I had them on the phone. The worker confirmed that funds are supposed to be available at 6:00am on your benefit day and not before. If you need to reach someone at the county to verify your exact benefit day (since some people in the comments seem to have different experiences), I'd recommend trying Claimyr.com - it helped me get through to an actual person instead of waiting on hold forever. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8. Saved me so much frustration when I needed to talk to someone about my case!

wait do they deposit on weekends?? my day is the 8th but that falls on sunday next month

I think it depends on what county you're in! My sister lives in Los Angeles County and gets her CalFresh at midnight, but I'm in Sacramento County and have to wait till 6am. At least that's what she told me. Anyone else notice differences between counties?

Thank you everyone for the helpful responses! Looks like I'll stick with my plan to go shopping after 6am on the 11th. Good to know that the time hasn't changed, and I appreciate all the extra information about how the system works.

I've been on CalFresh for about 3 years and can confirm the 6am timing is still accurate. One tip I learned - if you're planning to shop right at 6am, I'd recommend waiting until at least 6:05am just to be safe. Sometimes there can be a few minutes delay in the system processing, especially on heavy benefit days like the 1st-3rd of the month when lots of people are accessing their benefits at once. Also, some store card readers seem to take a minute or two longer to connect with the EBT system in the early morning hours. Better to wait those extra few minutes than have an awkward declined transaction at checkout!