SNAP Work Requirements in North Dakota
Here is when North Dakota 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 North Dakota
ND HHS policy release 25.7 applies the new rules to all applications and reviews received on or after November 1, 2025, so current recipients move over at their next review. The waiver for Rolette County and the Turtle Mountain Reservation ended October 31, 2025.
Waived areas in North Dakota
No part of North Dakota 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
North Dakota uses a rolling 36-month clock for each person. It starts with your first ABAWD month in the look-back period and keeps running even when you are not getting SNAP.
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 & Training
E&T offers skills training, work experience and job search help, and can help pay for transportation, work clothes, tools, licenses and school supplies. Call the Customer Support Center for a referral. Proof of hours can be pay stubs, an employer letter on letterhead, self-employment records, or a statement from a school, training or volunteer program.
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 North Dakota details
- People 60 to 64 who are excused from general work rules because of age can still be subject to the time limit until 65.
Contact
- Agency: North Dakota Health and Human Services (ND HHS); local Human Service Zone offices
- Online account: ND Self-Service Portal
- Phone: 1-866-614-6005 (Customer Support Center (or 701-328-1000; TTY 711))
Federal rules that apply in North Dakota
- 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 North Dakota in 2026?
Yes. The federal time limit applies to SNAP recipients aged 18 to 64 who are not exempt. North Dakota’s new rules started Nov. 1, 2025. No part of the state is waived.
How do I report my 80 hours in North Dakota?
E&T offers skills training, work experience and job search help, and can help pay for transportation, work clothes, tools, licenses and school supplies. Call the Customer Support Center for a referral. Proof of hours can be pay stubs, an employer letter on letterhead, self-employment records, or a statement from a school, training or volunteer program.
When does the 36-month period reset in North Dakota?
North Dakota uses a rolling 36-month clock for each person. It starts with your first ABAWD month in the look-back period and keeps running even when you are not getting SNAP.