SNAP Work Rules

Effective Sept. 1, 2023, SNAP work rules for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) changed.

Work Rules

Unless someone is exempt, there are work requirements that must be met to receive, or continue to receive, SNAP benefits longer than three months.

The work requirement is met by either:

  • Working or participating in a work program at least 20 hours per week
  • Receiving pay equal to the federal minimum wage at 20 hours per week in a month.

Exemptions from Work Rules

A SNAP recipient is exempt from the SNAP ABAWD work rules if they qualify for an exception listed below:

  • Being pregnant
  • Living in a SNAP household where someone is under the age of 18
  • Being under the age of 18 or:
    • Effective Sept. 1, 2023, be over the age of 51
    • Effective Oct. 1, 2023, be over the age of 53
    • Effective Oct. 1, 2024, be over the age of 55
  • Being a veteran (regardless of age)
  • Being homeless (regardless of age)
  • Being a former foster care youth who is under the age of 25

A homeless individual means an individual who lacks a fixed and regular nighttime residence or an individual whose primary nighttime residence is:

  1. A supervised shelter designed to provide temporary accommodations (such as a congregate shelter);
  2. A halfway house or similar institution that provides temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized;
  3. A temporary accommodation for not more than 90 days in the residence of another individual; or
  4. A place not designed for, or ordinarily used, as a regular sleeping accommodation (a hallway, a bus station, a lobby, or similar places).

A veteran means an individual who served in the United States Armed Forces (such as Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard, and National Guard), including an individual who served in a reserve component of the Armed Forces, and who was discharged or released therefrom, regardless of the conditions of such discharge or release.

A former foster care youth and is aged 24 or younger includes any individual who was in a foster care program run by the State, District, Territory, or Indian Tribal Organization as of their 18th birthday or later and who is under 25 years of age.