SNAP Work Requirements and Sanctions: ABAWD Rules and Exemptions

SNAP work requirements and sanctions come in two layers. Most recipients between 16 and 59 have to register for work, take a suitable job if offered, and avoid quitting a 30-hour-a-week position without a good reason. A stricter rule sits on top of that: adults classified as able-bodied without dependents can only get benefits for three months out of every 36 unless they log 80 hours a month of work or approved training. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 pulled millions more people into that stricter rule by raising the upper age from 54 to 64 and sweeping in parents whose youngest child is 14 or older. Miss a requirement without good cause and the state disqualifies you, starting at one month for a first violation and climbing from there.

The Basic Work Rules Everyone Faces

If you are between 16 and 59 and not otherwise exempt, federal regulations require three things. You must register for work with your state agency when you apply and again every 12 months. You must participate in any SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) activities the state assigns you. And you must accept any offer of suitable employment.¹

A job is “suitable” if it pays at least the applicable federal or state minimum wage and doesn’t create unreasonable risks to your health or safety. If an employer refuses to pay you on time or discriminates against you, that job stops being suitable and you can leave without penalty.¹

There’s also a rule against walking away from work you already have. You cannot voluntarily quit a job of 30 or more hours per week, and you cannot deliberately cut your hours below that threshold. The state looks at your job history from 30 to 60 days before you applied for SNAP and at any point after you’re enrolled. If you did leave a job, the agency decides whether you had good cause.² Report changes to your hours or employment status promptly; most states require it.

The 80-Hour Rule and the Three-Month Time Limit

Adults who fall into the “able-bodied without dependents” category, known as ABAWDs, face a hard ceiling. You can only receive SNAP for three countable months in any 36-month window unless you meet an 80-hour monthly work threshold.³ Once those three months are used up, benefits stop until you either work 80 hours in a 30-day period or a new 36-month clock begins.

You can reach 80 hours several ways:

Paid work or self-employment, or a combination of paid, in-kind, and verified unpaid work.
Hours in a SNAP E&T program, a state or local workforce program, or another approved training program. Standalone job search does not count.
A mix of work and program hours totaling 80.
Workfare community service assigned in exchange for your benefit amount.

Your state tracks the 36-month window on either a rolling or fixed clock, so ask your local office how yours works before you plan around it.³

Who Now Counts as an ABAWD

The 2025 law widened the ABAWD group significantly. It used to cover adults 18 through 54 with no dependents. It now covers adults 18 through 64, and it pulls in parents whose youngest child is 14 or older.⁴ If you are 55 to 64, or a parent whose youngest child is between 14 and 17, the three-month time limit and 80-hour rule apply to you for the first time.

Newly covered individuals must demonstrate compliance by March 1, 2026. The earliest anyone can actually lose benefits under the expanded rules is June 2026.

Who Doesn’t Have To Comply

Exemptions are checked at your initial application and again at recertification. You are exempt from the general work requirements if you are under 16 or 60 or older; physically or mentally unable to work, with medical documentation; pregnant; caring for a child under six or an incapacitated household member; or already participating in a drug or alcohol treatment program. Sixteen- and 17-year-olds attending school at least half-time or who aren’t head of household are also exempt.²⁵

The ABAWD time limit has its own age boundaries. You are exempt if you are under 18 or 65 and older, have a child under 14 in your household, are pregnant, or are physically or mentally unfit for employment. The 2025 law added exemptions for Indians, Urban Indians, and California Indians as defined in cross-referenced federal statutes.⁴

Three exemptions that existed under the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 have been removed. Veterans, individuals experiencing homelessness, and young adults up to age 24 who aged out of foster care are no longer categorically exempt.⁶⁷ People in those groups now face the ABAWD time limit unless they qualify under a different exemption such as disability.

When Missing a Requirement Is Excused

A missed work requirement doesn’t automatically trigger a sanction. The state first decides whether you had “good cause,” meaning circumstances beyond your control prevented you from complying.²

Federal rules specifically recognize illness, a household emergency, lack of transportation, and the unavailability of childcare for children ages 6 through 11. For leaving a job, good cause also includes discrimination based on race, sex, age, religion, or disability; being forced to work without timely pay; enrolling in school or a training program at least half-time; and moving because another household member took a new job or enrolled in school. Seasonal and migrant workers who move between employers as part of normal work patterns are protected.²

You carry the burden of establishing good cause. When a caseworker contacts you about a missed requirement, respond fast and bring documentation, even informal proof like text messages from an employer or a note from a doctor’s office. The agency weighs your explanation against whatever information it has from the employer.

What Sanctions Look Like

When the state finds no good cause, the penalty is disqualification from SNAP for a set period, and the periods get worse with each violation:

First violation: disqualified for at least one month, up to three at the state’s option.
Second violation: at least three months, up to six at the state’s option.
Third or later violation: at least six months, with the state free to set a longer period or, at its option, disqualify you permanently.¹

The disqualification lasts until the later of the minimum period or the date you actually come into compliance. Waiting out the clock alone is not enough. You have to show you are meeting the requirement you originally violated.

A sanction pulls only the noncompliant person out of the benefit calculation. The rest of your household stays on SNAP, but the monthly allotment shrinks because the sanctioned person’s needs no longer count.¹

Before any reduction takes effect, the state must send you a Notice of Adverse Action explaining what it plans to do, why, and how to request a fair hearing. That notice must arrive at least 10 days before the action.⁸ If you come into compliance before the advance notice period ends, the state must cancel the adverse action and you keep your benefits.⁹

How To Appeal and Keep Benefits During the Appeal

You have 90 days from the date of the adverse action to request a fair hearing.¹⁰ At the hearing you can present evidence, bring witnesses, and challenge the agency’s finding that you lacked good cause.

The deadline that matters most is shorter than 90 days. File your hearing request within the advance notice period stated on your notice, and benefits continue at their original level while you wait for a decision. Miss that window and benefits drop right away, even though the appeal itself can still go forward. If the hearing officer rules in your favor, the agency restores your benefits; if the ruling goes against you, you may owe back the continued benefits you received during the appeal.¹⁰

The hearing request form must include a space to indicate whether you want continued benefits. If nothing on the form clearly shows you waived them, the state has to assume you want them and keep issuing benefits at the prior level.¹⁰

How To Get Back On SNAP After a Sanction

Regaining benefits takes both time and action. You have to wait out the minimum penalty period and show the state you are complying with the requirement you originally violated. For a work registration violation, that means re-registering. For a voluntary quit, it could mean accepting a new job or enrolling in a qualifying program.⁹

Your state has broad authority to decide what “compliance” looks like. Some states want proof of a specific number of job contacts; others accept enrollment in an E&T program. Ask your caseworker what your state expects before the disqualification period ends so you can submit documentation immediately.

There is a faster path if your circumstances change. Becoming exempt during your disqualification, whether through a new disability, pregnancy, or taking on primary care of a child under the relevant age threshold, lets you apply to have benefits restored without waiting out the full penalty. Notify the agency of your new status and provide verification.⁹

For ABAWDs who simply used up the three-month time limit rather than being sanctioned, the path back is different. You must work or participate in a qualifying program for at least 80 hours during a single 30-day period. Otherwise, you wait until the current 36-month window ends and a new one starts.³

If the State Assigns You to E&T, It Has To Cover Your Costs

When the state places you in an E&T program, it must reimburse expenses reasonably necessary to participate. That covers transportation, dependent care, required books and training materials, uniforms, and personal safety equipment.¹¹ If your allowable monthly expenses exceed what the state is willing to cover, the state has to exempt you from mandatory E&T participation rather than force you to pay out of pocket. This is a federal protection, not a state option, so raise it if a caseworker tries to enroll you in something you can’t afford to attend.

1
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.7 – Work Provisions
2
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.7 – Work Provisions
3
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.24 – Time Limit for Able-Bodied Adults
4
Congress.gov. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Related Provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
5
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements
6
United States Department of Agriculture. SNAP Provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023
7
Congress.gov. SNAP Provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
8
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.13 – Notice of Adverse Action
9
eCFR. 7 CFR Part 273 – Certification of Eligible Households
10
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.15 – Fair Hearings
11
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP E&T 101