WIC at farmers markets: how the voucher rules work

Who may accept the voucher

The Women, Infants and Children program runs through State agencies, and each one decides which sellers may redeem WIC benefits. Section 246.12(v) says the State agency may authorize farmers, farmers’ markets and roadside stands to accept the cash-value voucher for eligible fruits and vegetables. It is a permission, not a duty: a State can run the program without any farmers’ markets. Where it does authorize them, it must sign a written agreement with each one, signed by a person with legal authority to bind the farmer or market and by a State representative.

Only a farmer or market with that authorization may redeem the voucher. The agreement cannot run longer than three years, the seller must reapply when it ends, and the State must give at least 15 days of advance written notice that the agreement is about to expire. Neither side has to renew, and either side may end the agreement for cause after written notice.

What the participant can expect at the stall

The agreement must include a list of duties. The seller must redeem the voucher only for eligible fruits and vegetables as the State defines them, and must charge WIC customers the current price or less than the current price charged to other customers. Vouchers have validity dates, and the seller must accept them within those dates and submit them for payment within the time the State sets. The seller must also offer WIC participants, parents, caretakers and proxies the same courtesies it offers other customers, and must follow the nondiscrimination provisions of USDA regulations.

In practice that means the price on the sign is the price you pay, a voucher cannot be turned down because you are using WIC, and the seller owes you the same service as the next person in line. If the experience falls short, the State agency must have complaint procedures, and it must tell participants that they have the right to complain about improper vendor, farmer and farmers’ market practices.

Split tender and the no-change rule

Two rules decide most checkout questions. First, the State’s redemption procedure must require the seller to let the participant, an authorized representative or a proxy pay the difference when the purchase is worth more than the voucher. The regulation calls this a split tender transaction. If your voucher is worth $24 and your basket comes to $29.50, you owe the $5.50 difference in your own money.

Second, the seller must not issue cash change when the purchase is less than the voucher value. If the basket comes to $18, the seller cannot hand back $6. The unused value is not returned as cash, which is why shoppers often choose a few more items to use the balance. The calculator on this page applies both rules to the figures you enter. Voucher values change, so use the amount printed on your own voucher or shown in your WIC account.

What a seller may not do

The same list of prohibitions bars sellers from collecting sales tax on voucher purchases and from seeking repayment from participants for a voucher the State agency did not pay or only partly paid. In other words, a dispute between the seller and the State over a voucher is not the participant’s problem. The seller also has to pay the State for any voucher transacted in violation of the agreement, must be accountable for what employees do, must accept training on voucher procedures, and must train its own staff who handle vouchers.

The agreement also requires the seller to agree to monitoring, both overt and covert. The State must design a monitoring system for authorized farmers and markets and document each visit with the seller’s name, the reviewers’ names and signatures, the date and any problems found.

When the State can act against a seller

The State agency may deny payment for improperly redeemed vouchers and may demand refunds on payments already made. It may disqualify a farmer or market for program abuse. The seller has the right to appeal a denied application, a disqualification or a sanction, but not the expiration of an agreement or a claims action under § 246.23. A seller that commits fraud or other illegal activity is liable to prosecution under federal, State or local law.

Where a State authorizes farmers’ markets but not individual farmers, it must require each authorized market to sign a written agreement with each farmer in the market who accepts vouchers, using the terms of § 246.12(v)(1) and (2) and a sample agreement from the State.

Payment, equipment and EBT

Section 246.12 also covers how sellers get paid. For paper systems the State must pay vendors, farmers and home food delivery contractors promptly, and payment must be made within 60 days after valid food instruments or vouchers are submitted. In an electronic benefit transfer system, each EBT purchase must be matched to an authorized vendor, farmer or farmers’ market before payment, and the State decides how many point-of-sale terminals a farmer or market needs.

The cost rules protect small sellers. Once a State has implemented WIC EBT statewide, it generally may not charge farmers or markets for single-function equipment, and where equipment serves several purposes the State and the seller share costs in proportion to WIC use under Federal cost principles.

What this page does not cover

This page explains the federal floor. It does not tell you which markets in your State are authorized, which fruits and vegetables count, the current voucher amount, the dates your voucher is valid, or whether your State also runs the separate Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program. Those come from your State WIC agency. The federal text sets the minimum protections above; a State can add its own procedures if they are consistent with the rule.

Sources

• 7 CFR 246.12, Food delivery methods: eCFR text current through the October 29, 2026 issue date. Read November 2, 2026.

Edition read: 7 CFR 246.12 (eCFR, current through the October 29, 2026 issue date). This page summarizes the rule and does not replace it.