SNAP Work Requirements in 2026

Many people on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) now need 80 hours a month of work, volunteering, or job training to keep their benefits for more than three months. SNAP has had a version of this rule since 1996. What’s new is who it covers.

A 2025 law raised the upper age limit from 54 to 64. The Congressional Budget Office expects the wider rules to leave about 2.4 million fewer people on SNAP in a typical month.

WorkMoney has your guide to who has to meet the rules, who’s exempt, what counts as work, and how to keep your benefits.

SNAP’s General Work Rules

Most adults on SNAP who are 16 to 59 and able to work must follow the general work rules. These rules mean you need to:

• Register for work.

• Take an appropriate job if you’re offered one.

• Join a job training program if your state assigns you to one.

• Keep working at least 30 hours a week if you already do, unless you have a good reason to cut back.

If you break these rules, you can lose SNAP for at least a month, and longer if it happens again. You’re excused if you already work 30 hours a week or earn at least what 30 hours at the federal minimum wage would pay. At the $7.25 federal minimum wage, that’s $217.50 a week.

Some adults also face a second, stricter rule: a time limit on how long they can get SNAP without working. USDA calls this group “able-bodied adults without dependents,” or ABAWDs.

Who Has to Meet the Time Limit?

The time limit applies if you’re 18 to 64, able to work, and not responsible for a child under 14. If it applies to you, you can get SNAP for only three months in three years unless you work or train at least 80 hours a month.

The 2025 law widened this rule in three ways:

• The upper age limit rose from 54 to 64.

• The exception for parents now covers only children under 14. It used to cover children under 18.

• Veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and young adults who aged out of foster care no longer get an automatic pass. A 35-year-old veteran with no kids at home, for example, now has to meet the 80-hour rule unless another exception fits.

Say you’re 62, healthy, and living alone. You’re past the age for SNAP’s general work rules, and your state can’t make you join a training program. You’d still need 80 hours a month of work, volunteering, or training to keep SNAP past three months, unless an exception below fits you.

Who’s Exempt From the Time Limit?

You don’t have to meet the time limit if you:

• Can’t work because of a physical or mental health condition.

• Are pregnant.

• Are responsible for a child under 14 in your SNAP household.

• Already meet an exception to the general work rules other than age, such as working 30 hours a week, caring for a child under 6 or an adult who can’t care for themselves, being in a drug or alcohol treatment program, or going to school or training at least half time (college students have separate SNAP rules).

• Are American Indian, Urban Indian, or California Indian as defined by federal health law.

If your health keeps you from working, disability benefits or a statement from a doctor, nurse, psychologist, social worker, or other medical professional can show you qualify. If your state questions your exception, it must first try to confirm it with records it already has, such as data from other benefit programs.

What Counts Toward Your 80 Hours?

You can reach 80 hours a month, or about 20 hours a week, through:

• Paid work.

• Work in exchange for goods or services.

• Unpaid or volunteer work.

• A work or job training program.

• Any mix of these.

Workfare also counts. In workfare, you work the number of hours your state assigns, based on your SNAP benefit.

If you need more hours, ask your state SNAP office about SNAP Employment and Training (E&T). Every state runs an E&T program. These programs can help you find a job or train for a new career, and some offer help with transportation, childcare, books, and supplies.

How to Prove You Meet the Work Rules

If you meet the time limit by working, or through a program your state doesn’t run, your state must check your hours when you apply and again at renewal. Pay stubs are a common form of proof, and your state can also verify your hours directly with your employer.

Your state must accept any reasonable proof, so depending on how you meet the rule, helpful papers can include:

• Recent pay stubs.

• A signed letter from your employer or volunteer site that lists your hours.

• Attendance records from your training program.

• Records of your earnings and hours if you’re self-employed or do gig work.

Your state must give you at least 10 days to send proof, and it must help you get proof if you’re having trouble. You can send papers by mail, fax, or online, and your state can’t make you bring them in person.

Keep a simple log of your hours each month, and save copies of everything you send. It also helps to know what to expect at your SNAP interview before your renewal.

When Will Your State Check?

The new rules took effect July 4, 2025, and states must apply them to every new application and renewal. Your state must also explain which work rules apply to you, both in writing and out loud. Open every letter from your SNAP office, and keep your address and phone number current.

Some areas don’t have to apply the time limit. Under the 2025 law, most states can ask to pause it only in areas where unemployment reaches 10% or higher. Alaska and Hawaii have their own options. Ask your state SNAP office whether your area has a waiver.

What Happens If You Lose SNAP?

If you miss some hours for a good reason, your state may still count you as meeting the rule. Good reasons include an illness, caring for a sick member in your household, a household emergency, or no way to get to work. Tell your SNAP office as soon as it happens.

If you do lose benefits, you can get them back by working or training at least 80 hours in any 30 days in a row, or by qualifying for an exception. There’s no limit on how many times you can earn your benefits back this way.

Only the person who didn’t meet the rule loses SNAP. The rest of your household can keep getting benefits, though your household’s monthly amount may go down.

If you think your state made a mistake, you have 90 days to ask for a fair hearing.