SNAP work requirements exemptions checker.

What changed in 2025

Section 10102 of Public Law 119-21, enacted July 4, 2025, replaced the exceptions in section 6(o)(3) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, the section that governs the work rule for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs). The new text says the work rule does not apply to an individual who is under 18 or over 65; medically certified as physically or mentally unfit for employment; a parent or other member of a household with responsibility for a dependent child under 14; otherwise exempt under subsection (d)(2); a pregnant woman; an Indian or an Urban Indian as defined in the Indian Health Care Improvement Act; or a California Indian described in section 809(a) of that Act.

That list changes who is covered compared with the rules described on the USDA page before the law. The Food and Nutrition Service’s work requirements page, updated July 16, 2026 and read in November 2026, still describes the older version: ages 18 to 54, an exception for anyone with someone under 18 in the household, and exceptions for veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and young people who were in foster care at 18. It also states that FNS is still preparing guidance on how the law changes the exception and waiver criteria and will update the page once it is released. The statute text, not that older description, is what this checker follows.

The rule that stays

The USDA page describes the underlying ABAWD requirement: you meet it by working at least 80 hours a month (for pay, for goods or services, unpaid or as a volunteer), taking part in a work program at least 80 hours a month, a combination totalling 80 hours, or workfare for the hours assigned. If you must meet it and do not, you lose benefits after three months. To get SNAP again you must meet the requirement for a 30-day period or become excused, or wait until the end of your three-year period, when you get another three months. That is the “3 months in 36” the tool counts.

Waivers are narrower

Section 10102(b) changed the waiver rule in section 6(o)(4): it replaced clause (ii) so that the area ground for a waiver is a noncontiguous State with an unemployment rate at or above 1.5 times the national rate, and it defined a noncontiguous State as one other than the 48 contiguous States and DC (excluding Guam and the Virgin Islands). Section 10102(c) adds a separate time-limited exemption for noncontiguous States showing a good faith effort to comply, which expires no later than December 31, 2028. In plain terms, you should not assume your county is waived because it was waived before 2025. Ask your state agency.

The age 65 question

The statute says the rule does not apply to someone “over 65.” A person who is exactly 65 is therefore not clearly covered by the words of the exception. The checker flags age 65 and tells you to ask your state agency, rather than guessing which way USDA guidance will land. We could not read USDA’s implementing guidance, which the agency says is still pending.

Worked example

A 38-year-old with no children, working 50 hours a month, no medical certification, not pregnant and not in any listed group is subject to the rule. They are 30 hours short of 80, and if they have used no months, they have 3 left. A 38-year-old who shares a household and is responsible for a 12-year-old is excepted under the new text, even if the child is not theirs, provided the household responsibility is real. A parent whose child turned 14 this year loses that exception from that point under the statute’s wording.

Limits of this page

States run SNAP, set their own verification, and decide implementation dates. The tool reflects the federal statute and does not know your state’s notices, waivers or the exact month your state applied the new rules. It is not a determination of eligibility. High-risk topic: if your benefits are at stake, contact your state SNAP office or a legal aid office.

Sources

Sources opened and read in November 2026.

• Public Law 119-21, section 10102 (Modifications to SNAP work requirements for able-bodied adults), read November 2026
• USDA Food and Nutrition Service: SNAP Work Requirements (page updated July 16, 2026, read November 2026)