P-EBT eligibility confusion for under 6 year olds - conflicting enrollment deadlines?

The eligibility dates for P-EBT have been super confusing because they keep changing with different phases of the program. For the current 2024-2025 phase, children under 6 need to have been enrolled in CalFresh before August 2022 AND still be active on CalFresh as of May 31, 2025. Your son should qualify since he was enrolled in March 2022, assuming you've maintained continuous eligibility or re-enrolled before the May 2025 deadline. Make sure your address is updated in the system so you receive the card.

my daughter was in the same situation and we DID get a p-ebt card in the mail without having to apply but that was for the last phase. not sure if its the same this time around? the whole p-ebt thing is so confusing!!!!

The P-EBT program has changed requirements several times, which is why you're seeing conflicting information. Here's the accurate information for 2024-2025: 1. Children under 6 must have been enrolled in CalFresh BEFORE August 31, 2022 2. They must STILL be actively receiving CalFresh benefits as of May 31, 2025 3. Benefits are issued automatically - no separate application needed 4. The P-EBT cards are mailed to the address on file with your CalFresh account Based on your timeline, your son should qualify since he was enrolled in March 2022. Just make sure your address is current with the county!

my kid was born in 2020 and i didnt get any p-ebt even though we've been on snap since forever!!!! the system is rigged and they just make up rules to deny people benefits. good luck getting a straight answer from anyone at the county office they just want to get you off the phone

FYI, P-EBT is actually run by the Department of Education, not regular CalFresh, even though eligibility is tied to SNAP/CalFresh. That's why county workers give confusing answers - it's not actually their program! But they use CalFresh enrollment data to determine eligibility. Your son def qualifies based on what you said. The cards should be mailed out starting in July according to the timeline on the state website.

I work with eligible families and the confusion is understandable. The current P-EBT phase requires children under 6 to have been on CalFresh before August 2022 AND still active as of May 31, 2025. The benefits are distributed automatically to the address on file. If you're having trouble reaching someone at the county to confirm your eligibility, I'd recommend using Claimyr. It's a service that helps you skip the phone wait times when calling county benefit offices. They'll call and wait on hold for you, then connect you when a real person answers. Saved me hours of frustration! Check it out at claimyr.com - they have a video demo too at https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8

I've been through the entire P-EBT process with my twins. Here's what happens: if your son qualifies (which it sounds like he does), they'll automatically mail a P-EBT card to your address. The card comes in a nondescript white envelope that looks like junk mail, so be careful not to throw it away! You'll need to activate it with your son's birthday and a PIN you create. The current phase benefits should start arriving in July, but they send them in batches based on the first letter of the child's last name, so it could be August or September before you receive it. If you don't get one by October, that's when you should follow up.

i think the deadline for being on calfresh was def august 2022 cause my neighbors kid was born sept 2022 and they were denied even tho they applied for calfresh right away!! its super unfair how they cut it off like that

One more important point - make sure your son's Social Security Number is correctly entered in your CalFresh case. I've seen several cases where eligible children didn't receive P-EBT because of data mismatches between their CalFresh record and their school/birth records. If you can access your BenefitsCal account online, verify all his information is correct. This will save you headaches down the road!