SNAP Work Requirements in Wisconsin

Check if the time limit applies to you Count your months

When the new rules started in Wisconsin

DHS's FoodShare Work Requirement page (revised October 21, 2026) applies the rule to ages 18 to 64 with no child 13 or under in the home, but does not give the date Wisconsin started.

Waived areas in Wisconsin

USDA approved a waiver from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027 for six reservation areas. It denied four counties and other areas that did not meet the over-10% unemployment test.

• Forest County Potawatomi Community and Off-Reservation Trust Land
• Ho-Chunk Nation Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land
• Lac du Flambeau Reservation
• Red Cliff Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land
• St. Croix Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land
• Sokaogon Chippewa Community and Off-Reservation Trust Land

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

Wisconsin uses one statewide period: January 2025 to December 2027.

You can get FoodShare 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: FoodShare Employment and Training (FSET)

Work, volunteering, FSET, Job Corps, WIOA, Transitional Jobs or Transform Milwaukee Jobs count toward 80 hours, starting in your first full month of benefits. Report hours or exemptions to your local agency or in your ACCESS account. DHS publishes "A Guide to the FoodShare Work Requirement" (P-03606).

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 Wisconsin details

• Wisconsin also exempts caring for a child 5 or under who lives elsewhere, and taking part in W-2.
• Good cause can cover health problems, bad weather, no transportation or a crisis, if your agency approves.
• To restart benefits, meet the rule for 30 days, show you will meet it within 30 days, or qualify for an exemption or good cause.

Contact

• Agency: Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS); local and tribal agencies
• Online account: ACCESS
• 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 Wisconsin

• 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.