SNAP Work Requirements in Montana

Check if the time limit applies to you Count your months

When the new rules started in Montana

Montana's SNAP manual added the child-under-14 and Indian exemptions effective October 1, 2025, and moved the age limit up to 65 effective November 1, 2025.

Waived areas in Montana

No part of Montana 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

Montana uses one statewide period. The current one runs July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029. Months used in the earlier period (July 2023 to June 2026) no longer count.

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)

SNAP E&T runs in Flathead, Lincoln, Big Horn, Cascade, Silver Bow, Deer Lodge, Gallatin, Yellowstone, Missoula, Lewis & Clark, Fergus, Golden Valley, Judith Basin, Musselshell, Petroleum, Ravalli and Wheatland counties. Call the helpline or your Office of Public Assistance for a referral. Hours are proven with pay stubs, an employer statement, self-employment records, or a statement from the volunteer group.

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 Montana details

• You can regain eligibility by working or training 80 hours within 30 days in a row, with no limit on how many times.
• After that, if you lose it again, you can get one more set of 3 months in a row once per period.
• Partial (prorated) months and months when no benefit was added to your EBT card do not count.

Contact

• Agency: Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS)
• Online account: apply.mt.gov
• Phone: 1-888-706-1535 (Public Assistance Helpline)

Federal rules that apply in Montana

• 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.