SNAP Work Requirements and Who Is Exempt

What Are SNAP Work Requirements

SNAP work requirements are rules that limit how long some adults can get food benefits unless they work, volunteer, or join a training program for at least 80 hours a month. An adult who is covered and does not meet the rule can get SNAP for only 3 months in a 36-month period. The 2025 budget law, signed July 4, 2025, expanded who the rule covers and made it harder for states to waive it.

What to Do if the Rules Apply to You

The rule counts hours you may already work, and some exceptions apply only if you tell the office. Start with the situation closest to yours.

Find your situation

Open the one closest to yours. Each gives the current rule, its status, and a next step.

I got a notice that my SNAP will end or has a time limit

1. Read the date on the notice. If you ask for a fair hearing before that date, your benefits generally continue while you wait for the decision.
2. You can ask for a hearing on any loss of benefits in the past 90 days, even if you missed the notice date.
3. Tell the office about any exception that fits you: a health problem that limits work, pregnancy, a child under 14 in your household, or being American Indian or Alaska Native.
4. Find your state SNAP office in the USDA state directory. For food help today, call the USDA National Hunger Hotline at 1-866-348-6479, weekdays 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern.

Status: federal regulation. Hearing rights and continued benefits come from 7 CFR 273.15.

I am 55 to 64 and have no children at home

1. You are newly covered. Unless an exception fits, you get 3 months of SNAP in 36 months unless you log 80 hours a month.
2. If you are 60 to 64, your state cannot make you join a SNAP training program. You can still meet the rule with work or volunteering.
3. If a health problem limits the work you can do, say so and ask what proof the office needs. Being unable to work is an exception at any age.

Status: law since July 4, 2025. USDA told states to apply it at every new application and renewal.

I am a parent and my youngest child is 14 or older

1. You are now covered by the time limit. Parents are exempt only when a child in the SNAP household is under 14.
2. Your children keep their own SNAP. The time limit applies to the covered adult, not to the kids.
3. Count the hours you already work. Part-time jobs, gig work, and paid-in-kind work all count toward 80 hours.

Status: law since July 4, 2025. The exception for children under 18 ended.

I am a veteran, homeless, or aged out of foster care

1. Your automatic exemption ended on July 4, 2025. You are covered unless another exception fits.
2. Ask about the other exceptions. A health condition that limits work, including one tied to military service, still counts.
3. Ask your SNAP office which volunteer and training programs count. Many shelters and veteran service groups offer hours that qualify.

Status: law. A bill to restore these three exemptions, H.R. 5718, has sat in a House subcommittee since December 2, 2025.

I work or volunteer part-time

1. Add up all your hours each month. Paid work, unpaid work, volunteering, and SNAP Employment and Training all count, alone or combined.
2. Keep proof: pay stubs, a schedule, or a signed note from the place you volunteer. Report your hours the way your state asks.
3. If your hours drop below 80 because of illness or a lost shift, tell the office right away and ask whether you qualify for more months.

Status: federal rule, unchanged by the 2025 law. Workfare hours assigned by your state also count.

General information, not legal advice. How states apply the rules varies. Sources: Public Law 119-21; USDA implementation memos of October 3, 2025; 7 CFR 273.15; USDA state directory.

Who Is Exempt From SNAP Work Requirements Now

The 2025 law changed four exceptions and added one. Five other exceptions stayed the same. USDA’s own work-requirements page still listed the older rules as of its July 16, 2026 update, with a note that new guidance was coming (USDA), so check this table against your state’s notice.

People who are excused from SNAP’s general work rules are also excused from the time limit. That group includes people already working 30 hours a week, people meeting another program’s work rules, and people in drug or alcohol treatment (USDA).

The veteran, homeless, and foster youth exceptions were new. Congress added them in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, and the 2025 law removed them less than two years later.

How the 80-Hour Rule Works

The rule is about hours, and almost any kind of work counts. A covered adult keeps SNAP past 3 months by doing any one of these each month (USDA):

• Working at least 80 hours, paid or unpaid, including volunteer work.
• Joining a work or training program, such as SNAP Employment and Training, for at least 80 hours.
• Combining work and training to reach 80 hours.
• Doing workfare for the hours the state assigns, which depend on the size of the benefit.

Someone who runs out of months can get SNAP again by meeting the rule for 30 days or by qualifying for an exception. Otherwise they wait until the 36-month period ends, when a new set of 3 months starts.

The 2025 law did not change SNAP’s separate general work rules for people 16 to 59. Those still require registering for work and not quitting a job without good reason. It also did not let states force people 60 to 64 into training programs, even though that age group is now covered by the time limit (USDA).

The Fight Over Waivers

Lost waivers are the largest source of expected cuts. Before the 2025 law, a state could suspend the time limit in an area with unemployment over 10% or with too few jobs for the people who lived there. The law kept only the 10% test, plus a looser test for Alaska and Hawaii tied to 1.5 times the national rate.

USDA moved fast. Its October 3, 2025 memo said it would end every waiver approved under the “lack of sufficient jobs” test 30 days later, on November 2. The memo also urged states “to fully implement the work requirements and not seek waivers,” arguing that “able-bodied adults have ample opportunities to re-engage with their communities even in areas with relatively high unemployment” (USDA).

Eight cities and several other groups sued in federal court in Rhode Island on October 30, 2025. They argued that USDA ended the waivers early “without any statutory authorization or consideration of the effects on people trying to keep up with those requirements” (Ballotpedia).

The 18 waivers USDA ended early were restored in February 2026, but only until each one’s original end date.

1. Jul 4, 2025 Budget law signed Expands the time limit to adults up to 64 and parents of teens, and drops the "too few jobs" waiver test.
2. Oct 3, 2025 USDA sets a cutoff Tells states that waivers under the old test will end on November 2.
3. Oct 31, 2025 Court pauses the cutoff A federal judge in Rhode Island orders USDA to stay the early terminations.
4. Feb 26, 2026 Waivers restored USDA tells states the 18 ended waivers run to their original expiration dates.
5. Mar 1, 2026 Nevada cuts 43,000 people The guidance arrives too late in Nevada, and about 43,000 adults lose benefits.
6. Mar 3, 2026 Nevada restores benefits The state reissues benefits and extends its waiver through April 30.

Sources: USDA memos of October 3, 2025; Ballotpedia News, April 2, 2026; Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, March 3, 2026.

SNAP Work Requirement Waivers, 2025 to 2026: Jul 4, 2025: Budget law signed (Expands the time limit to adults up to 64 and parents of teens, and drops the "too few jobs" waiver test.). Oct 3, 2025: USDA sets a cutoff (Tells states that waivers under the old test will end on November 2.). Oct 31, 2025: Court pauses the cutoff (A federal judge in Rhode Island orders USDA to stay the early terminations.). Feb 26, 2026: Waivers restored (USDA tells states the 18 ended waivers run to their original expiration dates.). Mar 1, 2026: Nevada cuts 43,000 people (The guidance arrives too late in Nevada, and about 43,000 adults lose benefits.). Mar 3, 2026: Nevada restores benefits (The state reissues benefits and extends its waiver through April 30.).

July 4, 2025: the law took effect, and USDA told states the new exceptions applied right away to every application and renewal. October 3: USDA announced the November 2 cutoff for older waivers. October 31: the Rhode Island court’s temporary restraining order stayed that cutoff. February 26, 2026: citing “ongoing litigation and a order from the District Court of Rhode Island,” USDA told states the terminated waivers “will remain in effect through their original expiration date” (Ballotpedia). A separate fight hit everyone on SNAP that fall: the government shutdown held up November 2025 benefits until Congress reopened the government on November 12.

Nevada shows what that looked like for families. The state had begun enforcing the time limit on December 1, 2025. On March 1, 2026, about 43,000 adults lost SNAP for not meeting it. Two days later the state issued about $7.3 million in benefits to more than 25,000 of them, and it kept the waiver through April 30. Starting May 1, adults who did not meet the rule would lose benefits again (Nevada DHHS).

Where Each SNAP Change Stands

Some changes are already in force and others start on a set date. The dates below come from the law and USDA’s guidance to states.

Where Each SNAP Change From the 2025 Law Stands

As of September 25, 2026

• Time limit for adults up to 64 and parents of teens Law

  In effect since July 4, 2025. USDA told states to apply it at each new application and renewal. (source)

• End of veteran, homeless and foster youth exceptions Law

  In effect since July 4, 2025. (source)

• Early end of older waivers In litigation, reversed for now

  USDA restored the 18 waivers to their original end dates on February 26, 2026, after a court order. The case was still open in April 2026. (source)

• New waivers Law, narrowed

  Only areas with unemployment over 10%, or 1.5 times the national rate in Alaska and Hawaii. USDA caps new waivers at 12 months. (source)

• States pay 75% of running SNAP Law, starts October 1, 2026

  The federal share of administrative costs drops from 50% to 25% in fiscal 2027. (source)

• States pay part of benefits Law, starts October 2027

  States with payment error rates of 6% or more pay 5% to 15% of benefit costs from fiscal 2028. High-error states start a year or two later. (source)

• Refugees and asylees removed from SNAP Law

  Section 10108 limits SNAP to citizens, green card holders, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and Compact of Free Association migrants. (source)

• SNAP Back Act (H.R. 5718) Proposal

  Would restore the veteran, homeless and foster youth exceptions. Three cosponsors. In subcommittee since December 2, 2025. (source)

Source: Public Law 119-21, sections 10102, 10105, 10106 and 10108; USDA memos of September 4 and October 3, 2025; Ballotpedia; govinfo

How Many People Could Lose SNAP

The Congressional Budget Office expects the work rule changes to cut SNAP by about 2.4 million people in an average month through 2034. The biggest group is people in areas that would have kept a waiver under the old rules.

People off SNAP in an average month, 2025 to 2034, by group (millions)

Category	Value
Lost area waivers (ages 18-54)	1
Adults without kids, through 64	0.8
Parents of children 14 and older	0.3
Veterans, homeless, foster youth (net)	0.3

Source: Congressional Budget Office, Estimated Effects of Public Law 119-21 on SNAP (August 11, 2025). The four groups sum to CBO's 2.4 million total.

The veterans, homeless adults, and former foster youth figure is a net number. CBO subtracted the people it expects to gain SNAP under the new exceptions for American Indians.

CBO also expects two changes to shrink benefits for people who stay on SNAP. Ending the automatic utility allowance for households that get energy help but have no elderly or disabled member cuts about $100 a month for roughly 3% of households. Dropping internet costs from the shelter deduction cuts about $10 a month for roughly 65% of households (CBO).

What States Will Pay Starting in 2027

States are about to carry more of SNAP’s cost, and CBO expects some to cut benefits in response. Starting October 1, 2026, the federal government pays 25% of the cost of running SNAP instead of 50%. Starting in fiscal 2028, states with high payment error rates also pay part of the benefits themselves, for the first time.

The benefit share depends on the error rate, which counts both overpayments and underpayments. A rate under 6% means no state share. From there the share rises to 5%, 10%, and 15% at 10% or higher. The national rate for fiscal 2025 was 10.62% (USDA).

At fiscal 2025 error rates, 20 states and D.C. would pay the top 15% share.

9

6

16

20

• No state share (under 6%) (9 states) ID, IA, KY, NE, SD, UT, VT, WI, WY
• 5% share (6 states) NV, NJ, NC, OH, WA, WV
• 10% share (16 states) AL, AR, CT, IN, KS, LA, MI, MS, MO, MT, NH, ND, PA, SC, TN, TX
• 15% share (20 states) AK, AZ, CA, CO, DE, DC, FL, GA, HI, IL, ME, MD, MA, MN, NM, NY, OK, OR, RI, VA

The 50 states and D.C., sorted by the share owed under fiscal 2025 error rates. For fiscal 2028, a state may choose the 2025 or 2026 rate. Seven with 2025 rates of 13.33% or higher (AK, DC, NM, DE, GA, IL, OR) start in fiscal 2029 instead. Derived from USDA's fiscal 2025 payment error rates (June 24, 2026) and Public Law 119-21, section 10105.

CBO expects states to respond in different ways. Some will keep benefits as they are, while others will cut benefits, tighten eligibility, or leave the program. CBO estimates that states together will reduce or end SNAP for about 300,000 people in an average month from 2028 through 2034 because of the cost share (CBO).

The Debate Over SNAP Work Requirements

Supporters and critics agree the rule removes people from SNAP. They disagree about whether it moves them into work.

USDA’s case is that work is available and the rule helps people reach it. Its October 2025 guidance said covered adults “have ample opportunities to re-engage with their communities even in areas with relatively high unemployment,” and it pushed states to steer people into training programs instead of seeking waivers (USDA).

The strongest evidence on the older version of the rule points the other way on jobs. Economists Colin Gray, Adam Leive, Elena Prager, Kelsey Pukelis, and Mary Zaki linked SNAP records to earnings data and found the time limit raised exits from the program by 23 percentage points among people already enrolled. Overall participation among covered adults fell 53%. They found “no effects on employment,” with “suggestive evidence of increased earnings in some specifications” (American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2023). Research on cash with no work rules at all, from Alaska’s dividend to a three-year, $1,000-a-month trial, is compared in what U.S. basic income studies found.

The rule is also hard to run. States must track hours, exceptions, and 36-month clocks for millions of people, and starting in fiscal 2028 their payment errors help set how much of SNAP’s benefit costs they pay.

What the Averages Leave Out

• States apply the rules differently. Notices, how hours are verified, and how fast offices screen for exceptions vary by state, so two people in the same situation can get different results.
• Waiver areas change. A county can qualify for a waiver when its unemployment passes 10% and lose it when the rate falls, so check your state’s current list.
• CBO’s numbers are estimates. They describe an average month over ten years and assume each change works on its own. The real count will depend on the economy and on what states do.
• This page covers SNAP only. The same law added work requirements to Medicaid for expansion adults, on a different schedule. See the Medicaid explainer for those rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the minimum work requirements for SNAP?

Covered adults ages 18 to 64 must work, volunteer, or join a training program for at least 80 hours a month, or they can get SNAP for only 3 months in 36 months. Separate general rules for people 16 to 59 require registering for work and not quitting a job without good reason.

Who is exempt from SNAP work requirements in 2026?

People under 18 or 65 and older, parents or caregivers of a child under 14 in the household, pregnant people, people who cannot work for a physical or mental reason, American Indians and Alaska Natives, and anyone excused from SNAP’s general work rules, such as people working 30 hours a week.

Where can I volunteer to meet SNAP work requirements?

Volunteer hours at nonprofits, food banks, shelters, and community groups can count. Ask your state SNAP office before you start, get the hours in writing, and report them the way your state requires.

What is the most income you can have and still get SNAP?

For most households, gross monthly income must be at or below 130% of the poverty line and net income at or below 100%. Starting October 1, 2026, that is about $1,729 gross for one person, $2,344 for two, $2,960 for three, and $3,575 for four, in the 48 contiguous states and D.C. Households with someone 60 or older or with a disability only have to meet the net limit, and many states allow higher gross income. Your state SNAP office has the exact figures.

Do SNAP work requirements apply if I get Social Security?

Age matters more than the check. Adults 62 to 64 drawing early retirement are still covered until 65 unless another exception fits. People who cannot work because of a disability are exempt, so tell the office if you get disability benefits.

What You Can Do

1. Check your status before your next renewal. Call your state SNAP office and ask whether the time limit applies to you and which exception or activity could keep your benefits.
2. Log your hours every month. Keep pay stubs, schedules, or volunteer notes, and turn them in on time.
3. Ask for a fair hearing if your benefits are cut. Ask before the date on your notice to keep benefits during the appeal. Local legal aid offices help with SNAP hearings for free.
4. Point people to food help today. The USDA National Hunger Hotline, 1-866-348-6479, connects callers with food banks and meal sites. Local groups share food too: find or start a mutual aid group.
5. Ask your representative to co-sponsor H.R. 5718. The SNAP Back Act would restore the exceptions for veterans, homeless adults, and former foster youth. Use the letter and call script below.