SNAP Work Requirements in Kentucky
Here is when Kentucky 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
Limited official information. Kentucky has published little about how it applies these rules, or its pages could not be checked. This page sticks to what we could verify plus the federal rules that apply everywhere. Ask your SNAP office for anything not listed here.
When the new rules started in Kentucky
CHFS says that starting November 1, 2025, adults 18 through 64 with no disability and no child under 14 in the home are subject to the rules in all 120 counties. Before that, 117 counties had been waived.
Waived areas in Kentucky
Since December 1, 2025, Elliott, Lewis, Magoffin, Martin and Wolfe counties are waived. USDA's approval runs through November 30, 2026.
- Elliott County
- Lewis County
- Magoffin County
- Martin County
- Wolfe County
If you live in a waived area, months there do not count toward your 3-month limit. Your state still keeps track, so the limit can apply again when the waiver ends. Waivers can end early, so confirm with your SNAP office.
Your 36-month period
CHFS has not published how it sets the 36-month period.
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 (E&T)
Kentucky's voluntary E&T program works with community partners. Providers record your participation, which is shared with your eligibility worker. CHFS has not posted how individuals report other hours. Call DCBS or your local Family Support 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.
Contact
- Agency: Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), Department for Community Based Services
- Online account: kynect benefits
- Phone: 855-306-8959 (TTY 800-627-4720)
Federal rules that apply in Kentucky
- 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 Kentucky in 2026?
Yes. The federal time limit applies to SNAP recipients aged 18 to 64 who are not exempt. Kentucky’s new rules started Nov. 1, 2025. Some areas are waived.
How do I report my 80 hours in Kentucky?
Kentucky's voluntary E&T program works with community partners. Providers record your participation, which is shared with your eligibility worker. CHFS has not posted how individuals report other hours. Call DCBS or your local Family Support office.
When does the 36-month period reset in Kentucky?
CHFS has not published how it sets the 36-month period.
Which areas of Kentucky are waived from the SNAP time limit?
Elliott County; Lewis County; Magoffin County; Martin County; Wolfe County. USDA’s approval runs through November 30, 2026.