SNAP Employment and Training (E&T): ABAWD Hours and Sanctions

The SNAP Employment and Training program requirements apply to food assistance recipients whom a state agency assigns to a work, training, or education activity as a condition of keeping their benefits. If you are assigned, you sign an Individual Employment Plan, complete the hours it lays out each month, and use the transportation, childcare, and other expense support the state is required to provide. Miss the plan without good cause and your benefits are cut on an escalating schedule. Most of what follows is about knowing which rules apply to you and how to keep a small problem from becoming a disqualification.

Who Has to Participate

Federal rules require most SNAP recipients ages 16 to 59 to register for work as a condition of receiving benefits.¹ Registering is not the same as being assigned to E&T. Mandatory E&T is a narrower step: the state agency picks specific individuals who do not qualify for an exemption and directs them into program activities. If that is you, skipping activities without good cause puts your individual benefits at risk.

You are exempt from work requirements if any of the following applies:

You are a parent or household member caring for a child under six or an incapacitated person.
You already work at least 30 hours per week, or earn weekly wages equal to at least the federal minimum wage multiplied by 30 hours.
You are enrolled at least half-time in a recognized educational program.
You are physically or mentally unable to work.
Your state agency grants an individual exemption for a case-specific reason such as domestic violence or a family crisis.¹

Even if you are exempt, you can volunteer. Voluntary participants get the same transportation and childcare support as mandatory ones but cannot be sanctioned for dropping out or missing activities.² For many people, that makes volunteering a low-risk way to pick up a certification or job coaching for free.

The ABAWD 80-Hour Requirement

Able-bodied adults without dependents face a tougher rule on top of everything above. If you are between 18 and 54, able to work, and have no dependents, you are an ABAWD, and you can only receive SNAP for three months in any three-year period unless you meet a monthly work requirement.³

Each month you have to do at least one of the following:

Work at least 80 hours in paid, unpaid, or volunteer work.
Spend at least 80 hours in a qualifying work program, which includes SNAP E&T.
Combine work and program hours for a total of at least 80.
Do the workfare hours your state assigns.³

Eighty hours works out to roughly 20 hours a week. E&T is often the most accessible path to meeting it, because the program is free and the state pays related expenses.

You are not subject to the ABAWD time limit if you are pregnant, have someone under 18 in your SNAP household, are a veteran, are experiencing homelessness, were in foster care on your 18th birthday and are 24 or younger, or are unable to work due to a physical or mental limitation.³ States can also request waivers from the USDA for areas with unemployment above 10 percent or insufficient jobs; if you live in a waived area, the three-month limit does not apply during the waiver.⁴ Your local SNAP office can confirm your area’s status.

If you lose benefits after three months, regaining eligibility requires 80 hours of work or qualifying program participation in a 30-day period. If you cannot hit that, you wait until the end of the three-year period for another three months of benefits.³

Enrollment and the Individual Employment Plan

For most people, enrollment starts during SNAP certification itself. When the agency determines your eligibility, it screens you for E&T and refers you if you are not exempt. Volunteers can request enrollment through the local SNAP office.

Bring proof of your active SNAP case (a case number or approval letter) and a government-issued ID. Recent pay stubs or an employer letter help if you are working limited hours. Bring up physical limitations, transportation barriers, or childcare needs at the start, because they shape which activities end up in your plan.

A caseworker then interviews you about work history, education, career goals, and obstacles, and matches you with the components most likely to lead to employment. The result is an Individual Employment Plan, a written agreement listing your assigned activities, locations, schedule, and milestones. Once you sign it, following the schedule is what “meeting the requirement” means. Start dates come by mail or through a secure online portal.

Activities That Count

Federal regulations authorize several categories of E&T activity, and states pick which to offer. Common components include supervised job search, job search training (resumes, interviewing, online applications), literacy and high school equivalency classes, vocational training toward certifications in fields such as healthcare, IT, and skilled trades, workfare (public service assigned in exchange for the SNAP allotment), and work experience placements like internships or apprenticeships.

One cap is worth knowing: job search and job search training together cannot make up more than half of your total required E&T hours when combined with other components.⁵ That is why most plans mix activities rather than parking you in front of an application portal.

Expenses the State Must Cover

State agencies must pay for or reimburse expenses that are reasonably necessary and directly related to E&T participation, for mandatory and voluntary participants alike.¹ Typically covered:

Transportation, such as bus passes, fuel, or mileage reimbursement, at amounts that vary by state and locality.
Dependent care during training hours, verified by the agency before payment.⁵
Uniforms, steel-toed boots, or other required clothing and safety gear.
Tools and equipment needed for a specific trade.
Fees for high school equivalency exams, professional licensing, or required textbooks.²

States can pay these as reimbursements after you submit receipts or as advance payments for anticipated expenses in the coming month.⁵ Federal rules do not set a turnaround deadline, so speed varies. If a delayed reimbursement is keeping you out of an activity, tell your caseworker in writing. There is generally no fixed federal dollar cap on individual categories; the standard is “reasonable and necessary,” and some states set internal limits.

Support After You Get Hired

Federal rules let states provide job retention services for up to 90 days after you secure employment, and states must make a good-faith effort to provide at least 30 days of support.⁵ That can include case management, job coaching, and continued transportation or dependent care help during the transition.² Ask before your last day in E&T; the support is not automatic.

Sanctions for Noncompliance

If you are a mandatory participant and you fail to follow your Individual Employment Plan without good cause, the state agency begins a disqualification. Your individual share of the SNAP benefit is removed from the household allotment, which reduces what the rest of the household receives too.

Federal disqualification periods escalate:

First noncompliance: disqualified until you comply or one month passes, whichever is later. States may extend to up to three months.
Second noncompliance: disqualified until you comply or three months pass, whichever is later. States may extend to up to six months.
Third or later noncompliance: disqualified until you comply or six months pass, whichever is later. States may set a longer period or, at their option, make the disqualification permanent.⁶

Read those carefully. Serving the minimum period is not always enough; you also have to demonstrate compliance by actually fulfilling an E&T requirement or the steps the agency specifies. Waiting out the clock does not automatically restore eligibility.

Good Cause and Conciliation

You can avoid a sanction by showing good cause for a missed activity. Common examples are sudden illness, a household emergency, loss of childcare or transportation, and court-required appearances. Report the problem to your caseworker as soon as it happens, and document it: a doctor’s note, a police report, or a letter from a childcare provider carries more weight than a verbal explanation after the fact.

Some states run a conciliation process before imposing a sanction, giving you a window to resolve the issue or explain your situation before benefits are cut. Conciliation is not federally required, so availability depends on your state. Where it exists, the agency must issue the formal notice of adverse action no later than the end of the conciliation period.⁷

Appealing a Sanction

If you believe a sanction was applied unfairly, federal law gives you the right to request a fair hearing. You have 90 days from the date of the action to make the request.⁸ The hearing is an administrative review where you present your side, bring evidence, and challenge the agency’s decision.

Watch the effective date on the adverse action notice. If you request a hearing before that date, your benefits must continue at the prior level while you wait for a decision, a right known as aid continuing.⁸ If you lose the hearing, you owe back the benefits you received during the appeal. If you wait past the effective date to request the hearing, your benefits drop right away and stay dropped until the case is decided. That gap is why the notice deserves a careful read the day it arrives.

1
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.7 – Work Provisions
2
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP E&T 101
3
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements
4
Food and Nutrition Service. ABAWD Waivers FY 2025-2029
5
eCFR. 7 CFR Part 273 Subpart C – Education and Employment
6
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.7 – Work Provisions
7
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP E&T State Responsibilities Chart
8
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.15 – Fair Hearings