EBT Cash Withdrawal Issues - ATMs showing 'Maintenance Error' but card works for food purchases?

Same thing happening to me since yesterday!!! Tried 4 different ATMs and NOTHING - just 'system maintenance' errors. Card works fine for food but I NEED my cash benefits for bus fare and laundry. Called the EBT customer service number on the back of the card and waited for 45 minutes before giving up. This is ridiculous, they can't just shut down cash access without warning us!!!

I just got cash out at the Chase ATM on Main Street about an hour ago with no problems. Maybe it's only affecting certain banks?

This happens sometimes when they're updating the EBT system. What's likely happening is that the CalFresh (food) side and the cash benefit side run on slightly different systems. That's why your food purchases work fine while cash access is limited. According to the last system status update from the Department of Social Services, they were scheduled for maintenance on the cash benefits platform from June 15-17, 2025 between midnight and 4am each day, but it looks like the maintenance window might be running longer than planned. If you need immediate cash access, try these options: 1. Some retailers like Walmart and grocery stores offer 'cash back' when making a purchase with EBT cash benefits 2. Try ATMs that are directly inside county welfare offices - these often remain functional during maintenance 3. Some credit unions may still process EBT cash withdrawals even when major banks cannot The system should be back up by tomorrow morning at the latest based on previous maintenance periods.

have u tried turning the card off and on again in the app? that worked for me once when my card wasnt working

I work for a community services organization that assists CalFresh and CalWORKs recipients, and we've been getting calls about this issue since yesterday afternoon. From what we understand, it's a planned maintenance that was supposed to be completed by 6am today but they're having technical difficulties. The cash function should be fully restored by tomorrow morning. If you absolutely need emergency cash access today, I'd suggest calling your county worker directly. They can sometimes authorize emergency funds when system issues are preventing access to benefits. Unfortunately, reaching workers can be difficult with the current hold times. I recently learned about a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that can help you get through to a CalFresh/CalWORKs worker much faster. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8. Several of our clients have used it to resolve urgent benefit access issues without spending hours on hold.

UPDATE: Using the cashback option at the grocery store WORKED!!! I bought a $1 pack of gum and was able to get $60 cash back using my EBT card. Thank you SO MUCH to whoever suggested that!!

this happens every few months tbh. the system always gose down and nobody tells us. my worker said they cant ever predict when maintenance happens they just get told last min too

Just checking back - are people still experiencing this issue today? The maintenance should have been completed overnight according to the DSS status page. If you're still unable to access cash benefits through ATMs, you should contact your county office as this might indicate a problem with your specific account rather than a system-wide issue.

I'm so glad to see this got resolved! I was about to post my own question about this exact same issue. I had problems yesterday too but figured it was just my local ATM acting up. It's really helpful to know that the grocery store cashback option works during these maintenance periods - I'll definitely remember that for next time. Does anyone know if there's a way to sign up for text alerts about planned system maintenance? It would save us all a lot of stress and confusion when these outages happen.

Hey is anyone still having trouble withdrawing cash from the ATMs or is it just me only?