WIC infant formula: food packages and documentation

The three infant packages

Section 246.10(e) sets up seven food packages. Three concern infants. Food Package I is for infants from birth through 5 months who do not have a qualifying medical condition. It comes in three feeding variations: fully breastfeeding (no WIC formula), partially or mostly breastfeeding (some formula up to a maximum), and fully formula fed. Food Package II covers infants 6 through 11 months and adds infant cereal, infant food fruits and vegetables and, for older infants, infant food meat for fully breastfed infants. Food Package III is reserved for women, infants and children with a documented qualifying condition that requires a WIC formula.

Package I allows infant formula as its only category of food. Package II allows infant formula, infant cereal and infant foods. Exempt infant formulas and WIC-eligible nutritionals can be issued only in Package III.

What kind of formula

The formula in Package I must be iron-fortified infant formula that is not an exempt infant formula and meets the requirements in Table 4. The rule bars issuing any contract or non-contract brand with less than 10 mg of iron per liter, equal to at least 1.5 mg per 100 kilocalories at standard dilution. The primary contract infant formula, the brand the State has contracted with the manufacturer, must be the first choice of issuance, with other formulas as alternatives.

Authorized infant formulas must meet the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act definition and the requirements of 21 CFR parts 106 and 107, and exempt infant formulas must meet the separate definition of an exempt formula in the same law. WIC formula is the umbrella term for infant formula, exempt infant formula and WIC-eligible nutritionals.

When medical documentation is required

Paragraph (d) lists what needs medical documentation: any non-contract brand infant formula, any infant formula prescribed to an infant, child or adult who receives Food Package III, any exempt infant formula, any WIC-eligible nutritional, any authorized food issued to Package III participants, and any contract brand formula that does not meet the Table 4 requirements. The calculator on this page applies that list.

Two exceptions soften it. A State agency may let local agencies issue a non-contract brand that meets Table 4 without documentation to meet religious eating patterns. And a State may require documentation for any contract brand other than the primary, or decide that some contract brands cannot be issued at all. Both are State options.

Documentation means a health care professional licensed to write prescriptions under State law has determined that a qualifying condition dictates the foods and has provided written documentation meeting the technical requirements; initial telephone documentation can be accepted if kept on file. It must be kept at the local clinic, electronically or on paper.

What counts as a qualifying condition

Package III is for conditions that preclude, restrict or inadequately address nutritional needs with conventional foods. Examples listed include premature birth, low birth weight, failure to thrive and inborn errors of metabolism, among others. The rule also says what is not authorized for Package III: infants whose only condition is a diagnosed intolerance or allergy to lactose, sucrose, milk protein or soy protein that does not require an exempt infant formula, or a non-specific formula or food intolerance; women and children whose lactose or milk protein intolerance can be managed with another package, and anyone seeking only to improve nutrient intake or manage weight without an underlying condition.

Whether a particular infant qualifies is for the prescriber and the competent professional authority to decide under these limits.

Forms and the ready-to-feed limit

Local agencies must issue WIC formulas in concentrated liquid or powder form. Ready-to-feed may be authorized only when the competent professional authority determines and documents that the household has an unsanitary or restricted water supply or poor refrigeration, that the caregiver may have difficulty diluting concentrate or powder correctly, or that the formula is available only as ready-to-feed. For Package III participants, there are two additional conditions, set out in the rule.

How much formula

Table 1 sets two numbers for formula. The full nutrition benefit (FNB) is the amount intended to provide close to 100 percent of a non-breastfed infant’s needs from birth to six months. The maximum monthly allowance (MMA) is the ceiling in reconstituted fluid ounces, which differs by form (liquid concentrate, ready-to-feed or powder). Formula in any form may not exceed the MMA. Non-breastfed infants must get at least the FNB, while a package tailored to support breastfeeding may provide an “up to” amount.

We do not reproduce the per-age figures here because the table’s columns depend on the feeding variation, and a misread cell would mislead. Use Table 1 in the eCFR or your clinic’s package. State agencies may round up to whole containers, and must issue whole containers of the same size and physical form.

Limits of this page

WIC clinics decide issuance based on assessment of the infant and mother. This page cannot say which formula your State’s contract covers, what your prescriber should write, or whether your State allows the religious-eating-pattern option. It is a reading of the federal text, not medical advice.

Sources

• 7 CFR 246.10, Supplemental foods: eCFR text current through the October 29, 2026 issue date. Read November 2, 2026.

Edition read: 7 CFR 246.10 (eCFR, current through the October 29, 2026 issue date). This page summarizes the rule and does not replace it.