SNAP Work Requirements in District of Columbia

Check if the time limit applies to you Count your months

When the new rules started in District of Columbia

DC started checking the work rules on June 1, 2026. New applicants are screened when they apply. Current customers are screened at their next recertification on or after June 1, 2026. Countable months start the first full month after you are screened.

Waived areas in District of Columbia

No part of DC is waived.

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

DC uses one fixed period for everyone: June 1, 2026 through May 31, 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: SNAP Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) and the SNAP Volunteer Program (workfare)

DHS forms (English, Spanish and Amharic): Work Requirements Screening Form (for exemptions and good cause), Verification of Employment or Qualifying Work Activity, and Medical Report Form. Submit through District Direct, the app, a service center, or by mail or fax. If your hours fall below 80 in a month, report it within 10 days after the month ends. SNAP E&T: (202) 535-1178.

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 District of Columbia details

• In the SNAP Volunteer Program, your required hours are your benefit divided by DC's minimum wage ($17.95), which DHS says is often under 30 hours a month.
• DHS lists good cause examples: short-term illness, eviction, sudden loss of transportation or child care, a court date, or domestic violence.
• Exemptions DHS lists include SSDI, SSI, workers' compensation or VA disability, and earning more than $217.50 a week.

Contact

• Agency: DC Department of Human Services (DHS), Economic Security Administration
• Online account: District Direct
• Phone: (202) 727-5355 (Public Benefits Call Center (TTY 711))

Federal rules that apply in District of Columbia

• 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.