SNAP Work Requirements in Louisiana
Here is when Louisiana 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 Louisiana
LDH says that beginning November 1, 2025, you can get SNAP for only three months in a 36-month period unless you follow the work rules. The 18-to-64 age range applies to applications and renewals received on or after that date.
Waived areas in Louisiana
No part of Louisiana 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
Louisiana uses one statewide "SNAP Time Clock." The current period runs April 2026 through March 2029. After three countable months in this period, you are not eligible until April 1, 2029 unless you meet the rule or become exempt.
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)
To report that you meet the rule or to claim an exemption, email LAHelpU@la.gov with the subject "ABAWD work requirements" or call 888-LAHelp-U. If your hours drop below 80 a month, report within 10 days.
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 Louisiana details
- LDH counts you as an ABAWD from the month after your 18th birthday through the month before your 65th birthday.
- If your case closed, you must reapply. If it is still open and you start meeting the rule, email or call LDH.
- LDH's notice about the rules is form SNAP-4WR, available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.
Contact
- Agency: Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), Economic Stability (formerly DCFS)
- Online account: LDH online SNAP application
- Phone: 888-524-3578 (888-LAHelp-U)
Federal rules that apply in Louisiana
- 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 Louisiana in 2026?
Yes. The federal time limit applies to SNAP recipients aged 18 to 64 who are not exempt. Louisiana’s new rules started Nov. 1, 2025. No part of the state is waived.
How do I report my 80 hours in Louisiana?
To report that you meet the rule or to claim an exemption, email LAHelpU@la.gov with the subject "ABAWD work requirements" or call 888-LAHelp-U. If your hours drop below 80 a month, report within 10 days.
When does the 36-month period reset in Louisiana?
Louisiana uses one statewide "SNAP Time Clock." The current period runs April 2026 through March 2029. After three countable months in this period, you are not eligible until April 1, 2029 unless you meet the rule or become exempt.