SNAP Work Requirements in Minnesota

Check if the time limit applies to you Count your months

When the new rules started in Minnesota

Minnesota's expanded work rules took effect November 1, 2025, for ages 18 to 64 with no child under 14 in the home. DCYF told the Legislature that about 18,000 more adults a month are now covered, two-thirds of them aged 55 to 64.

Waived areas in Minnesota

Since December 1, 2025, the old waiver no longer applies. USDA approved a new waiver from December 1, 2025 to November 30, 2026 for Clearwater County and four reservations: Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Mille Lacs and Red Lake.

• Clearwater County
• Fond du Lac Reservation
• Grand Portage Reservation
• Mille Lacs Reservation
• Red Lake Reservation

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

DCYF describes the limit as 3 months in a 3-year period but does not publish the period's dates.

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)

Work, job training, a work program, volunteering, or a mix for 20 hours a week counts. DCYF has a SNAP E&T provider map. To claim an exemption, contact your county or Tribal Nation eligibility worker, who will ask for proof if they cannot confirm it.

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 Minnesota details

• DCYF lists barriers such as homelessness or domestic violence among reasons a person may be exempt.
• DCYF says it will not contact you about your EBT card by text or phone. Treat those messages as scams.

Contact

• Agency: Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF); run by county and Tribal Nation offices
• Online account: MNbenefits
• Phone: we could not verify a statewide SNAP number on an official page. Use the agency link above or the USDA state directory to find your local office.

Federal rules that apply in Minnesota

• 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.