SNAP Work Rules 2026: Who Must Work and Who Is Exempt

USDA calls this the SNAP time limit. It used to cover adults ages 18 to 54 without dependents.

Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21), it covers adults ages 18 through 64 unless they meet an exception. USDA says the changes took effect July 4, 2025, the day the law was signed, and told states to apply them to every application and recertification.

Two changes reach the most people. First, adults 55 to 64 are now covered. If you're 60 to 64, you still skip SNAP's general work rules and can't be required to join a job training program, but the time limit applies unless you meet an exception.

Second, the parent exception got smaller. It now covers a parent or other household member responsible for a child under 14. If your youngest child at home is 14 to 17, the rule now applies to you. The child must be part of your SNAP household for the exception to count.

The time limit does not apply to you if any of these is true. Tell your SNAP office which one fits, and bring proof if you have it.

• Age: you are under 18, or 65 or older.
• Pregnancy: you are pregnant.
• A child under 14: you are a parent or other household member responsible for a child under 14 in your SNAP household.
• Health: you are medically certified as physically or mentally unable to work. That includes getting disability benefits from a government or private source, having a condition that is obvious, or giving a statement from a doctor, physician assistant, nurse, nurse practitioner, licensed or certified psychologist, social worker, or other medical professional your state accepts.
• Tribal status: you are an Indian, Urban Indian or California Indian as federal Indian health law defines those terms. Members of Alaska Native villages are included. USDA lists proof such as a tribal enrollment card, a Degree of Indian Blood card, or Indian Health Service eligibility papers.
• An exemption from the general work rules: you work at least 30 hours a week (or earn at least the federal minimum wage times 30 hours a week), care for a child under 6 or a person who cannot care for themselves, get unemployment benefits, regularly take part in a drug or alcohol treatment program, meet TANF work rules, or attend school or job training at least half-time. College students face separate SNAP rules.

Social Security retirement or survivor benefits alone do not exempt you, USDA says. SSDI or SSI does point to the medical exception.

You meet the rule in any month you do one of these:

• Work 80 hours. That is 20 hours a week, averaged over the month. Paid work, work traded for goods or services, and unpaid work your state verifies, such as volunteering, all count.
• Join a work program for 80 hours. This includes SNAP Employment and Training (E&T), Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act programs, Trade Act programs, and Labor Department or VA job programs for veterans. Job search can be part of the program, but it must be less than half the hours.
• Combine work and a work program for 80 hours total.
• Do workfare for the hours your state assigns, which depend on the size of your SNAP benefit.

Keep pay stubs, timesheets, or a signed letter from the place you volunteer.

If you miss hours for a short-term reason outside your control, such as illness, caring for a sick household member, a household emergency, or no transportation, your state can count the month as met for good cause. If your work drops below 20 hours a week, averaged monthly, you must report it.

If the rule applies and you don't meet it, you can get SNAP for only 3 full months in a 3-year period. The months don't have to be in a row.

A month counts against you only if you got a full month of benefits while you were not exempt, not meeting the 80 hours, and not living in an area with a waiver. A month with a partial benefit doesn't count.

Your state chooses whether the 3 years are a fixed or a rolling period, so ask your caseworker how many months you have used.

USDA can now waive the time limit only for areas with unemployment over 10 percent, or, in Alaska and Hawaii, areas with unemployment at least 1.5 times the national rate. The old option for areas without enough jobs is gone.

USDA's list of waivers in effect on October 1, 2026, shows no statewide waivers. Twelve states have waivers for certain areas only: Alaska, Arizona, California, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Wisconsin. Every other state, and the District of Columbia, has none.

If you live in one of the 12, ask your SNAP office whether your county or city is covered. A waiver does not excuse you from the general work rules.

1. Find the date. During your certification period, the state must mail notice at least 10 days before it cuts or stops your benefits. The notice must explain what will happen, why, your right to a fair hearing, and a phone number to call.
2. Check every exception. USDA requires a time limit notice to explain how you can get SNAP back, including by meeting an exception. If you are pregnant, care for a child under 14, have a health condition, or are working, call the number on the notice and send proof.
3. Ask for a fair hearing before the effective date if you think the state is wrong. You can ask out loud or in writing. If you ask within the notice period and your certification period has not ended, your benefits continue at the same level until the decision, unless you say you do not want them. If you lose the hearing, you may have to pay back the benefits you got while you waited.
4. Missed that window? You can still ask for a hearing on any action from the past 90 days. At a state hearing, the state must decide within 60 days of your request. You have the right to see your case file before the hearing.
5. Ask about free legal help. If free legal services are available near you, the notice must say so.

You can get SNAP again if, in any 30 days in a row, you work 80 hours, spend 80 hours in a work program, combine the two for 80 hours, or do workfare.

You also get it back if you become exempt, for example if a medical professional certifies you cannot work. Some states also let you back on if you show you will meet the 80 hours within 30 days after you apply. There is no limit on how many times you can regain SNAP this way.

If you regained SNAP by working and then lose your hours, you get one more period of 3 months in a row, once in any 3 years. That period starts when you tell the state your hours dropped, so tell them right away.

States also have a small number of exemptions, each covering one person for one month, that they can grant at their choice. Ask if yours will use one for you.

The same law narrowed which noncitizens can get SNAP, starting July 4, 2025. The eligible groups are U.S. citizens and nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), Cuban and Haitian entrants, and citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau who live here lawfully under the Compacts of Free Association.

Green card holders usually wait 5 years, unless an exception applies, such as being under 18, being blind or disabled, or having 40 qualifying quarters of work.

Refugees, people granted asylum, and parolees are no longer eligible unless they become green card holders.

For people already on SNAP, states apply the change at recertification. USDA says people removed at recertification for this reason do not have to pay back benefits they got after the law changed. Other eligible members of the household can keep getting SNAP, and the state still counts the removed person's income.

From October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027, the most SNAP pays in the 48 states and DC is $306 a month for one person, $808 for a household of three, and $1,023 for a household of four.

For one adult at the maximum, losing SNAP to the time limit means losing up to $3,672 a year (our math: $306 times 12).

Our SNAP by state pages list each state agency's apply link and help line, for example SNAP in Georgia and SNAP in New York. Call and ask: does the time limit apply to me, how many months have I used, and which programs near me count toward 80 hours?