Quick answer
A farm, farm stand or farmers market accepts SNAP by filing the SNAP retailer application online with USDA's Food and Nutrition Administration (FNA), which costs nothing and can take as little as 15 minutes to fill in. Most produce sellers qualify because staple foods make up more than 50% of total gross retail sales, and FNA has up to 45 days from the date a completed application is received to decide. Once approved, eligible farmers markets and direct-marketing farmers may continue to qualify for free EBT equipment and services until further notice.
Nation, an AI store builder, publishes this page. It is pre-launch, with a waitlist on withnation.ai, and it does not process SNAP or EBT payments. See where Nation fits.
SNAP retailer requirements: who can accept SNAP
The SNAP retailer application is how a business gets permission to take SNAP benefits on an EBT card. USDA's Food and Nutrition Administration (FNA) runs it, and its pages still sit at fns.usda.gov. FNA is the only source that authorizes retailers, so no processor, market app or consultant can approve you. The application costs nothing.
Eligibility depends on staple foods: vegetables or fruits; dairy products; meat, poultry or fish; and breads or cereals. Staple foods exclude prepared or heated foods and accessory foods, so a stand that sells only jam, pies or hot food will struggle to qualify on staples alone. A business qualifies under one of two tests, and most farms use the second one.
Rules about licenses, health permits and food sales vary by state and city. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. For your own case, call the SNAP Retailer Service Center on 1-877-823-4369.
How to become a SNAP retailer: the FNS retailer application, step by step
The online application is the same for a single farmer and for a farmers market. Each step below follows FNA's own instructions.
Check that you sell enough staple foods
Add up last year's sales. If staple foods such as vegetables, fruit, meat or dairy are more than 50% of total gross retail sales, you meet Criterion B. Accessory foods do not count, including baked desserts such as cookies, muffins, pastries, pies and cakes, jams, jelly, marmalade, preserves and compote, and sugar, honey, maple syrup and other sweeteners.
Create a Login.gov account
FNA's online application requires a Login.gov account with an email address, a password and a second sign-in method such as a phone number.
Gather your documents
Have names, home addresses and Social Security Numbers for each owner, plus your sales figures. The documents FNA asks for are listed in the next section.
Complete the application
The form can take as little as 15 minutes. You have 30 days, after which an unfinished application is deleted. The paper version is Form FNS-252; ask the Retailer Service Center for it if you cannot apply online.
Wait for a decision
FNA has up to 45 days from the date a completed application is received to decide. Your farm or stand may also be visited as part of the review. You can check the status online while you wait.
Receive your SNAP Permit
Approval comes as an FNA-issued SNAP Permit with your FNA number on it. You need that number to order or program EBT equipment.
Documents for the SNAP retailer application
Most retail applicants send FNA the same set of papers. Farmers markets have a slightly different list, because many are nonprofits or run by a town.
- Farm or stand: a copy of a current license in your name, such as a health permit, sales tax permit or business license.
- Farm or stand: photo ID and Social Security Number verification for every owner, partner, corporate officer and shareholder.
- Farmers market: photo ID, Social Security cards for responsible officials unless the market is a nonprofit, an EIN for nonprofit or government markets, a business license, and an IRS determination letter for nonprofits.
- No license at all: call the Retailer Service Center on 1-877-823-4369 before you apply. It answers 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern, Monday to Friday.
How to accept EBT: free and low-cost equipment
Every authorized retailer must use EBT equipment and transaction services. Most retailers are required to purchase EBT equipment and services on their own, but farmers markets and direct-marketing farmers are an exception: they may continue to qualify for free EBT equipment and services until further notice.
EBT works like a debit card with one difference: Without a PIN, an EBT transaction cannot be approved. Card readers for phones and tablets are typically not designed to accept a PIN, so a regular card reader app cannot take SNAP. FNA has worked with a developer on a secure software-based method for PIN entry.
Ask your state's EBT contact which of these your state offers. State-funded equipment handles SNAP only, so a farm that also takes credit and debit cards needs a separate card reader for those.
SNAP at farmers markets: one market token system or your own authorization
There are two ways SNAP can reach your booth. The market can hold one authorization and run a scrip system, or you can apply as a direct-marketing farmer with your own permit and equipment.
With a scrip system, a market is approved on behalf of all the farmers that sell eligible food items at the market, including farmers who are not authorized themselves. The shopper swipes the EBT card at one central booth and gets tokens or paper scrip in whole dollar amounts such as $1, $5 or $10, then spends them at vendor stalls. Some markets use receipts instead: the vendor sets the food aside, the shopper pays at the central booth and brings back the receipt.
If your market already takes SNAP, ask the manager how vendors are reimbursed for tokens and which of your products count as eligible. If you sell at a farm stand or at markets without SNAP, your own authorization is the route.
What SNAP shoppers can buy from your stall
Eligible foods are wider than staple foods. SNAP can buy fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry and fish, dairy, breads and cereals, snack foods and non-alcoholic beverages, plus seeds and plants which produce food for the household to eat. That covers jam, honey and pies, which SNAP shoppers can buy even though they do not count toward your eligibility.
SNAP cannot buy foods that are hot at the point of sale, vitamins, medicines and supplements, including anything with a Supplement Facts label, or pet foods, cleaning supplies, hygiene items, cosmetics and other non-food items. Scrip bought with SNAP follows the same limits: it buys only eligible foods, and shoppers must be able to get a refund back to the EBT card for any unused SNAP scrip. Retailers must also follow any applicable policies regarding food restrictions in effect for each state, so check with your state SNAP agency.
Incentive programs such as Double Up Food Bucks
Some markets run bonus incentives, often called Double Up Food Bucks, that give SNAP shoppers matching dollars in the form of tokens or paper coupons for purchases of fruits and vegetables. These bonus projects are usually funded by private foundations, non-profit organizations or local government. A market that runs one must inform FNA by calling 1-877-823-4369, so that SNAP shoppers are treated the same as other customers.
The main federal funder is USDA's Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), run by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Its nutrition incentive grants fund projects that increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables by SNAP participants, and it reports over $330 million to over 250 projects from 2019 to 2024. Ask your market manager whether an incentive program runs at your market and how vendors redeem its tokens.
Keeping your SNAP authorization
Once approved, you are responsible for your actions and the actions of everyone who works in your store, paid or not. Train anyone who works your stall on which items SNAP can buy. A market must report changes to its location, operating days and times, or responsible official to the Retailer Service Center.
Keep sales records that show your staple food share, because Criterion B is measured on sales. If you rely on the inventory test instead, check the updated stocking standards before Nov. 4, 2026, for all retailers other than specialty food stores such as produce stands.
Where Nation fits
Nation
Category: an AI store builder
Nation says one description of what you make builds the store, then agents handle orders, customers and delivery and run ads, content and social posts, with you approving the work. It does not process SNAP or EBT payments, and pricing is not announced yet.
Limits today
- Status: pre-launch, with a waitlist on withnation.ai.
- Pricing and fees: not announced yet.
- Shopper marketplace: no shopper marketplace has been announced.
- Track record: no independent reviews or public stores yet.
Nation publishes this page. SNAP authorization comes only from USDA, and Nation has no part in it.
Describe what you makeQuestions about the SNAP retailer application
How do I become a SNAP retailer?
To become a SNAP retailer, create a Login.gov account and file the SNAP retailer application online with USDA's Food and Nutrition Administration. The application costs nothing, and FNA has up to 45 days from the date a completed application is received to decide. You need staple foods to make up more than 50% of total gross retail sales, or to meet the inventory test.
How do I accept EBT at a farmers market?
To accept EBT at a farmers market, either sell at a market that runs a SNAP token system, or get your own authorization as a direct-marketing farmer. Farmers markets and direct-marketing farmers may continue to qualify for free EBT equipment and services until further notice, through a state program or a mobile app that is free of cost for one year.
What are the SNAP retailer requirements for a farm stand?
SNAP retailer requirements for a farm stand come down to staple foods. Fruit and vegetable stands often qualify under Criterion B, which needs staple foods to be more than 50% of total gross retail sales. Produce stands are specialty stores, so the updated stocking standards that start Nov. 4, 2026, for all retailers other than specialty food stores such as produce stands do not apply to them.
Can a farmer use a phone card reader to accept SNAP?
A farmer cannot take SNAP through a standard phone card reader, because Without a PIN, an EBT transaction cannot be approved, and phone card readers are typically not designed to accept a PIN. Farmers use a state-funded EBT terminal, the USDA-supported SNAP mobile app, or a processor that programs a terminal for EBT with their FNA number.
Can I accept SNAP while my application is pending?
You cannot accept SNAP while your application is pending. You cannot accept EBT until you are authorized by FNA, and approval comes as an FNA-issued SNAP Permit. If you sell at a market that already runs a token system, you can take that market's SNAP tokens for eligible food in the meantime.
Do pie bakers and jam makers qualify to accept SNAP?
Pie bakers and jam makers can sell to SNAP shoppers but rarely qualify alone, because staple foods exclude prepared or heated foods and accessory foods. FNA lists jams, jelly, marmalade, preserves and compote as accessory foods. A market with a SNAP token system lets SNAP shoppers buy these items from your stall.