Revision 18-1; Effective December 19, 2018
The EBT card reserve must be maintained in a secure storage location with limited access as further described below. Inventory control and records through point of issuance must be maintained along with periodic third-party review and validation of inventory.
Secure Storage and Limited Access
Reserve EBT cards will be secured in a limited-access space. The EBT cards will be sealed in sleeves containing 250 cards each and will be stored in locked file cabinets. The locked file cabinets will be secured with a serialized, tamper-evident seal signed by the regional EBT coordinator. Policy and procedures for secure storage are found in 4300, Storing.
Inventory and Point of Issuance Controls
The inventory record for each file cabinet will include the EBT card numbers and the associated seal serial number. The regional EBT coordinator and a second individual included on the EBT Security Plan will verify the signature, integrity and serial number of the tamper-evident seals on a monthly basis.
In the event of a disaster where Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) has been authorized, Eligibility Operations will utilize the reserve EBT cards before leveraging the vendor’s reserve supply. Cards distributed for D-SNAP use will be accounted for using Form H1177, Transmittal and Receipt for Controlled EBT Documents.
Third-Party Periodic Review
Annually, a group of individuals on the EBT Security Plan will remove the seals, conduct functional testing on a sample of the EBT cards, complete a detailed inventory, and reseal the card sleeves and file cabinets.