SNAP’s ABAWD time limit waivers for areas with high unemployment let a state stop the three-month clock in a specific county, city, or reservation when the local jobless rate is severe enough that finding work in three months is unrealistic. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, only two paths to a waiver remain in the 48 contiguous states and D.C.: an unemployment rate above 10 percent, or, for Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, a rate at least 1.5 times the national average.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2015 – Eligibility Disqualifications The older “lack of sufficient jobs” route is gone.
What a Waiver Actually Does
Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents can receive SNAP for only three months in any 36-month period unless they meet a monthly work requirement or qualify for an exemption. A geographic waiver suspends that time limit for people living in the covered area. It does not raise your income limit, change your benefit amount, or excuse any other SNAP rule. It simply keeps the three-month clock from running while the waiver is in force.2Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements
One boundary to note up front: the ABAWD category itself expanded in 2025. It now covers people ages 18 through 64 (previously 54), and the dependent-child exemption only shields a parent whose youngest child is under 14 (previously under 18).3Congressional Research Service. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Related Provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act More people fall under the time limit than before, which is why waiver coverage matters to a larger population going into 2026.
The Two Waiver Criteria in Effect for 2026
The statute now contains just two grounds a state can use to seek relief for an area.
Unemployment above 10 percent. Any area with an unemployment rate over 10 percent can qualify. States typically support the request with 12-month average unemployment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, though 3-month averages or historical seasonal data showing the area regularly crosses the threshold can also be used.4eCFR. 7 CFR 273.24 – Time Limit for Able-Bodied Adults
Noncontiguous areas at 1.5 times the national rate. Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico can qualify when their unemployment rate is at or above 1.5 times the national average, even if the number itself is below 10 percent.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2015 – Eligibility Disqualifications
That is the whole list. There is no longer a general “insufficient jobs” pathway, no Labor Surplus Area shortcut, and no 24-month-average alternative for the lower 48.
What the 2025 Law Eliminated
Before the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a state could win a waiver by showing an area either had unemployment above 10 percent or “did not have a sufficient number of jobs.” The second option was flexible and captured many rural counties with chronic underemployment whose unemployment rate sat well below 10 percent, often through a 24-month average that ran at least 20 percent above the national rate, or through Department of Labor Surplus Area designation.5Federal Register. Labor Surplus Area Classification That entire pathway is now closed for the contiguous states.
FNS has indicated that existing waivers grounded in “insufficient jobs” will expire shortly after implementation guidance is issued, and the agency is updating its procedures accordingly.6Food and Nutrition Service. ABAWD Waivers If you live in an area that had a waiver on those grounds, expect it to lapse; only the 10 percent standard can keep it in place going forward.
How Waivers Are Drawn on the Map
Waivers follow specific jurisdictional lines rather than broad regional trends. A waiver can cover an entire state when statewide data supports it, but more often individual counties, cities, or reservations qualify while the rest of the state does not. A city can carry a waiver while the surrounding suburban county faces the standard three-month limit.
Each area’s eligibility stands on its own data. A neighboring county’s status has no bearing on yours. If you move from a waiver area to a non-waiver area during your certification period, the three-month clock starts running at your new address.
How States Request and Renew Waivers
The state SNAP agency assembles the economic data and submits the waiver request to its regional FNS office, using Bureau of Labor Statistics figures as the primary source. Federal analysts verify the numbers and may ask for clarifications, particularly for requests that bundle multiple jurisdictions.4eCFR. 7 CFR 273.24 – Time Limit for Able-Bodied Adults
Approved waivers generally run one year, though the length must correspond to the strength of the data. To avoid a coverage gap, the state has to submit fresh figures and a new request before the current waiver expires.
One procedural change from the 2025 law is worth flagging: the waiver request must now carry the support of the state’s chief executive.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2015 – Eligibility Disqualifications A SNAP agency cannot send one in on its own; the governor has to back it.
If Your Area Doesn’t Qualify for a Waiver
Two other routes exist for keeping benefits when the geographic waiver isn’t available.
Individual Exemptions
You are exempt from the ABAWD work requirement, regardless of where you live, if you are pregnant, caring for a child under 14 in your SNAP household, medically certified as physically or mentally unable to work, or already excused from SNAP’s broader work requirements.2Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements
The 2025 law eliminated three exemptions added in 2023, for veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and young adults who aged out of foster care.3Congressional Research Service. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Related Provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Those groups are now subject to the time limit unless one of the remaining exemptions fits.
Discretionary Exemptions
Each state also gets an annual allocation of discretionary exemptions equal to 8 percent of its estimated ABAWD population. Each exemption extends one person’s eligibility by one month, and caseworkers use them to protect individuals who would otherwise fall through. States do not earn discretionary exemptions for areas already covered by a geographic waiver.7U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). SNAP ABAWD Discretionary Exemptions Totals FY2026 Unused exemptions from FY 2025 can carry into FY 2026, but the carryover window is limited to that one year.
If Your Benefits Are Terminated
When the three months run out and no waiver or exemption applies, benefits stop. Getting them back requires one of three things: working 80 hours in a 30-day period and reapplying, becoming exempt because your circumstances changed, or waiting for the 36-month window to reset and give you a fresh three months.2Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements
Before the state can actually cut your benefits, it has to send written notice at least 10 days in advance, explaining the reason, your right to a fair hearing, and how to reach your local SNAP office.8eCFR. 7 CFR 273.13 – Notice of Adverse Action
You have 90 days to request a fair hearing. If you file that request within the advance-notice period, before the termination takes effect, your benefits continue at the prior level while the hearing is pending.9eCFR. 7 CFR 273.15 – Fair Hearings If the hearing goes against you, you’ll owe back what you received during that stretch. But the protection is there because errors happen, and losing food assistance while fighting one causes real harm.
To find out whether your county or city carries a waiver right now, contact your state SNAP agency directly. Coverage maps shift as new data comes in and as older “insufficient jobs” waivers wind down through 2026.