How to check if new P-EBT card was mailed when mail delivery is unreliable?

I had this exact problem with the P-EBT! My mail carrier keeps delivering stuff to wrong addresses in my building. I finally got through to someone by calling the P-EBT hotline at 877-328-9677. You have to press option 4 right away, then wait (it took me like 20 min). They could tell me exactly when my card was mailed out. Turns out it was sent 3 weeks before I called and I never got it, so they had to issue a replacement. Good luck!!

The P-EBT information hotline (877-328-9677) can confirm if a card has been issued, but getting through can be challenging. Make sure you have your children's information ready including their school names, DOB, and your mailing address. For 2025 P-EBT cards, distribution is happening in phases by county and school district, so depending on your location, your card might not have been mailed yet. The official P-EBT website (ca.p-ebt.org) also has a lookup tool where you can check eligibility status and whether a card has been issued, though it doesn't always show delivery status.

my friend told me they r sending them out based on the first letter of the childs last name this time...so A-M already went out and N-Z is going out next week or something like that. not sure if thats true but might explain why some ppl got theirs already??

I've been trying to get info on my P-EBT card for THREE WEEKS with no luck! Called that number at least 10 times and either get disconnected or wait on hold forever. You might try using Claimyr (claimyr.com) - it's this service that waits on hold for you and calls you back when a real person is on the line. I found a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8. Worked for me after days of failed attempts, and the P-EBT worker told me my card had been returned to sender because my apartment number was missing!

To give you accurate information: The 2025 P-EBT cards are being mailed out on a rolling basis through May. If your mail is unreliable, there are three options: 1) Call the P-EBT hotline (877-328-9677) - wait times are long but they can confirm if a card was mailed 2) Check with your children's school - schools sometimes have lists of which students have had cards issued 3) If you believe your card was lost/stolen after checking, you can request a replacement, but only after confirming it was actually sent It's important to know that missing P-EBT cards do NOT affect your regular CalFresh benefits - they're completely separate programs with different administration. If you need to update your mailing address, you must do so through the P-EBT system specifically.

ppl saying call the pebt # r funny...that line NEVER answers!!! i tried for 2 weeks straight different times of day. if ur mail is bad maybe u can update ur address on the benefits cal website? but idk if that changes where they send pebt since its technically different program. this whole thing is so frustrating!!!

UPDATE: I finally got through to someone! For anyone with the same issue - I called right when they opened at 8am and still waited 30 mins. They confirmed my card was mailed last week but to my old address (even though my kids' school has the correct one). They're sending a replacement to the right address but said it could take up to 15 business days. The rep also mentioned they can check if benefits were already used in case the card was stolen, which was good to know. Thanks everyone for your help!

This is such a common problem! I had the same issue with unreliable mail delivery in my neighborhood. What really helped me was also checking with my local post office directly - sometimes they hold mail if there are delivery issues or if the carrier is unsure about the address. You can ask them to check if any government mail (like EBT cards) is being held for your address. Also, if you have a trusted neighbor who gets mail reliably, you might be able to temporarily have the replacement card sent there (with their permission of course). The P-EBT system is definitely frustrating but at least now you know the card was actually sent!

Great suggestion about checking with the post office directly! I never thought of that. My local post office has been having staffing issues which might explain why my mail delivery has been so inconsistent. I'll stop by there tomorrow to see if they're holding any government mail for my address. The replacement card should arrive in the next week or two, but I want to make sure I don't miss it again. Thanks for the tip about having it sent to a neighbor's address too - my next door neighbor gets her mail every day like clockwork, so that might be a good backup plan if the replacement doesn't show up.

I'm going through the exact same situation right now! My mail has been so unreliable - sometimes I don't get anything for days, then suddenly get a bunch of old mail all at once. I'm really worried about missing the P-EBT card for my daughter. Reading through all these comments has been super helpful, especially knowing that calling right at 8am seems to work better. I'm also going to try that tip about checking with the post office directly since our mail carrier has been inconsistent lately. It's so frustrating that the P-EBT system is separate from regular CalFresh - I wish they could just add the benefits to our existing card! Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences, it makes me feel less alone dealing with this mess.

I'm new to this community but dealing with the same exact issue! My mail delivery has been absolutely terrible lately - our regular carrier is out and the substitute keeps skipping our street entirely some days. I've been stressing about missing the P-EBT card for my two kids. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly helpful, especially knowing that the 8am call strategy seems to work best. I'm also going to try checking with my local post office since they've been having their own staffing issues. It's so frustrating that this program is completely separate from regular EBT - you'd think they could just load the benefits onto our existing cards! Thanks to everyone who shared their tips and experiences. It's reassuring to know other parents are navigating the same challenges and actually finding solutions.

I'm new to this community and currently going through this exact same situation! My mail delivery has been incredibly inconsistent - some days nothing arrives, then I'll get a huge pile of mail that's clearly been sitting somewhere for over a week. I have three kids who should be getting P-EBT benefits and I'm terrified the cards will get lost in this mess. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been so helpful, especially the tip about calling right at 8am when the lines open. I had no idea that the P-EBT system was completely separate from regular CalFresh - that explains why updating my address in BenefitsCal didn't help! I'm definitely going to try calling tomorrow morning and also check with my local post office to see if they're holding any government mail. It's such a relief to find other parents dealing with the same challenges and actually finding solutions. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - it makes this whole frustrating process feel a lot less overwhelming!

I'm new to this community but experiencing the exact same mail delivery issues with my P-EBT card! My mail has been so spotty lately - sometimes nothing for days, then a huge batch of old mail shows up all at once. I have two kids who qualify through the school lunch program and I'm really worried about missing their cards. After reading through all these helpful responses, I'm definitely going to try calling the P-EBT hotline (877-328-9677) first thing at 8am tomorrow morning since that seems to be when people have the most success getting through. I had no idea the P-EBT system was completely separate from regular CalFresh - that explains so much confusion! I'm also going to check with my local post office to see if they're holding any government mail, since our regular mail carrier has been out sick and the substitutes keep missing our street entirely. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and tips - it's such a relief to know other parents are dealing with the same challenges and finding ways to work through them!

I'm new to this community but dealing with the exact same frustrating situation! My mail delivery has been absolutely terrible - our carrier keeps delivering to the wrong addresses and I'm constantly getting my neighbors' mail instead of my own. I have one child who should be getting P-EBT benefits and I'm so worried the card will end up at someone else's house or get completely lost. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly helpful, especially learning that calling right at 8am seems to be the most successful approach. I had no idea that P-EBT was completely separate from regular CalFresh - that explains why I've been so confused about the whole process! I'm definitely going to try the hotline tomorrow morning and also check with my post office since they've been having their own delivery issues lately. It's such a relief to find other parents going through the same challenges and actually sharing solutions that work. Thank you all for taking the time to help each other navigate this complicated system!

I'm new to this community but going through the exact same frustrating situation with my P-EBT card! My mail delivery has been incredibly unreliable lately - sometimes I don't get anything for 3-4 days, then suddenly get a massive pile of mail that's clearly been sitting somewhere. I have two kids who qualify through their school's free lunch program and I'm really stressed about missing their cards. After reading through all these incredibly helpful responses, I'm definitely going to try the 8am calling strategy tomorrow since that seems to be when people have the most success getting through to a real person. I had absolutely no idea that P-EBT was completely separate from regular CalFresh - that explains why I was so confused when updating my address in BenefitsCal didn't seem to affect anything! I'm also going to check with my local post office since they've been having major staffing issues and our regular carrier has been out for weeks. It's such a huge relief to find other parents dealing with the same challenges and actually sharing practical solutions. Thank you everyone for taking the time to help each other navigate this complicated system - it makes this whole stressful process feel much more manageable!

I'm new to this community and dealing with the exact same P-EBT mail delivery nightmare! My mail has been so inconsistent - our regular carrier retired and the substitutes keep missing entire streets some days. I have three kids who should be getting benefits and I've been panicking about the cards getting lost or delivered to wrong addresses. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly reassuring - I had no idea so many families were facing the same challenges! The 8am calling strategy that multiple people have mentioned seems to be the golden ticket, so I'm definitely setting my alarm tomorrow to try the hotline right when they open. I also had no clue that P-EBT was completely separate from regular CalFresh - that explains why updating my address through BenefitsCal didn't help at all! I'm going to check with my local post office too since they've been having major staffing shortages. Thank you to everyone who's shared their tips and success stories - it's such a relief to know there are actual solutions and that other parents have figured out how to navigate this confusing system!