SNAP Work Requirement Changes in 2025 and 2026, Explained

The short version

• The SNAP time limit now covers adults 18 through 64 (it was 18 through 54).
• A child in your SNAP household exempts you only if the child is under 14.
• Veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and former foster youth lost their automatic exemption. American Indians, Alaska Natives, Urban Indians and California Indians gained one.
• Areas can be waived only if unemployment is over 10%. Waivers based on "not enough jobs" ended.
• The core rule did not change: 80 hours a month, or only 3 months of SNAP in 36 months.

Timeline

1. June 2023: The Fiscal Responsibility Act raised the time limit age in steps from 49 to 54 (fully in place October 2024) and added exemptions for veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and former foster youth up to 24. Those changes were set to end in 2030.
2. July 4, 2025: H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21), became law. Section 10102 rewrote the exemption list, limited waivers, and created a temporary "good faith" exemption option for Alaska and Hawaii that cannot last past December 31, 2028.
3. October 3, 2025: USDA issued implementation memos. It said waivers approved under the old "not enough jobs" test would end early, on November 2, 2025, and that it would not approve waivers longer than 12 months.
4. October 31, 2025: In a lawsuit brought by cities and other groups, a federal court in Rhode Island ordered USDA to pause the early end of those waivers.
5. November 1, 2025: Many states, including Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia, began applying the new rules, often at each household’s next application or renewal.
6. December 2025 to March 2026: Other states followed: Nevada, North Carolina and Oregon (December 1, 2025), New Mexico (January 1, 2026), Illinois, New Jersey and Washington (February 1, 2026), and New York and Rhode Island (March 1, 2026).
7. February 26, 2026: In response to the court case, USDA told states that 18 waivers it had ended would stay in effect through their original end dates. Nevada, for example, restored benefits for thousands of people cut off on March 1, 2026, and kept them through April 30, 2026.
8. June 1, 2026: California (CalFresh) and Washington, D.C. began applying the time limit.
9. October 1, 2026: USDA’s waiver list shows no statewide waivers and partial waivers in 12 states.

What it means for you

If you are 55 to 64

You are now covered unless another exemption applies. This is the biggest group of newly affected people. Minnesota, for example, said two-thirds of its newly covered adults are 55 to 64. If you are 60 to 64, you are still excused from SNAP’s general work rules, but not from the time limit.

If your youngest child is 14 to 17

You are now covered unless another exemption applies. Caring for a child under 6 or for someone who cannot care for themselves may still exempt you.

If you are a veteran, homeless, or aged out of foster care

Your automatic exemption ended. Ask to be screened for other exemptions, especially being unfit for work.

If you are American Indian or Alaska Native

You are now exempt wherever you live, including in cities. Tell your SNAP office. You may need to show tribal enrollment or other proof.

What USDA has and hasn’t updated

The time limit regulation at 7 CFR 273.24 still showed the older (2023) exemption list on eCFR as of October 2026, and USDA’s public "SNAP Work Requirements" page also still described the older rules while saying new guidance was coming. The law itself, USDA’s implementation memos, and state agencies all apply the H.R. 1 rules. Where they conflict, the law controls.

What did not change

• 80 hours a month, which you can meet with work, volunteering, workfare or approved training.
• 3 countable months in a 36-month period, and states still choose how to track the period.
• Regaining SNAP by meeting the rule for 30 days, with no limit on how many times.
• Good cause, discretionary exemptions, and your right to a fair hearing.