SNAP Work Requirements in Colorado
Here is when Colorado started the 2025 time limit rules for adults 18 to 64, which areas are waived, how your 36 months are counted, and how to report your hours.
Check if the time limit applies to you Count your months
When the new rules started in Colorado
CDHS's ABAWD page uses the new rules (ages 18 to 64, no child under 14, new Indian exemption) but does not give a start date. Denver Human Services, which runs SNAP in Denver, announced they took effect November 1, 2025.
Waived areas in Colorado
No part of Colorado is waived. Its last waiver (18 counties) ended September 30, 2025.
That means the time limit can apply anywhere in the state to adults who are not exempt and do not meet the 80-hour rule.
Your 36-month period
Colorado's rule resets everyone's countable months every 36 months, counting from July 1, 2023. That makes the current period July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029.
You can get SNAP for only 3 countable months in that period unless you meet the 80-hour rule or are exempt. The time limit calculator helps you count.
How to meet and report the 80 hours
Job and training program: Colorado Employment First
Paid work, volunteer work, Employment First, or another training program for 20 hours a week counts. Pay stubs prove work hours. Your Employment First case manager verifies program hours. For volunteering, turn in the CDHS ABAWD Volunteer Verification Form once per certification period. Upload to PEAK or MyCOBenefits, or give it to your county office.
Across all states, paid work, work for goods or services, volunteering, workfare and approved training count, and you can combine them. See what counts as work.
More Colorado details
- CDHS says people who are homeless, recently released from an institution, have disabilities, struggle to keep a job, or face domestic violence may be found unfit for work, which is an exemption.
- CDHS has an online SNAP work rules screener at cdhs.colorado.gov/work-rules-snap-screener.
- You can regain eligibility by doing 80 hours of work, a work program or workfare in 30 days. One extra 3-month period is allowed once per 36 months if you then stop meeting the rule.
Contact
- Agency: Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS)
- Online account: Colorado PEAK / MyCOBenefits app
- Phone: 800-816-4451 (CDHS SNAP support line)
Federal rules that apply in Colorado
- Covered: adults 18 through 64 who can work, with no child under 14 in their SNAP household.
- Exempt: pregnancy; a health condition that keeps you from working; American Indian, Alaska Native, Urban Indian or California Indian; or being excused from the general work rules (caring for a child under 6 or a disabled person, unemployment benefits, 30 hours a week or $217.50 a week, half-time school, drug or alcohol treatment, TANF work rules). See all exemptions.
- Veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and former foster youth are no longer automatically exempt.
- If you lose SNAP, you can get it back by doing 80 hours in 30 days or becoming exempt. You can also ask for a fair hearing. See how to get SNAP back.
Frequently asked questions
Do SNAP work requirements apply in Colorado in 2026?
Yes. The federal time limit applies to SNAP recipients aged 18 to 64 who are not exempt. Colorado’s new rules started Nov. 1, 2025 (Denver). No part of the state is waived.
How do I report my 80 hours in Colorado?
Paid work, volunteer work, Employment First, or another training program for 20 hours a week counts. Pay stubs prove work hours. Your Employment First case manager verifies program hours. For volunteering, turn in the CDHS ABAWD Volunteer Verification Form once per certification period. Upload to PEAK or MyCOBenefits, or give it to your county office.
When does the 36-month period reset in Colorado?
Colorado's rule resets everyone's countable months every 36 months, counting from July 1, 2023. That makes the current period July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029.