Under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) are recipients who face a hard time limit on food assistance: three months of benefits in any three-year period, unless they work or participate in a qualifying program for at least 80 hours a month.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 7 – 2015 Eligibility Disqualifications The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 widened who falls into this category, so the rules now reach adults who weren’t covered a year ago.
Who Counts as an ABAWD
You’re an ABAWD if three things are true at the same time: you’re between 18 and 65, you’re physically and mentally able to work, and you’re not responsible for a dependent child under 14.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 7 – 2015 Eligibility Disqualifications Miss any one of the three and the ABAWD time limit doesn’t apply to you.
Two recent changes have expanded the group. The upper age was 49 for years, moved to 54 in October 2024 under the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, and was pushed to 65 by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.2Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Provisions in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 The dependent-child threshold also dropped: the exemption now runs only until the child turns 14, not 18.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 7 – 2015 Eligibility Disqualifications A parent whose youngest is 14, 15, 16, or 17 may now be an ABAWD when they weren’t before. The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service is still issuing implementation guidance, so confirm the current treatment with your local SNAP office.3Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements
The Three-Month Limit
If you’re classified as an ABAWD and don’t meet the work requirement, you can receive SNAP for only three countable months in a fixed three-year period.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 7 – 2015 Eligibility Disqualifications After three, you’re cut off for the rest of that window unless you start meeting the requirement or qualify for an exemption.
A countable month is any month you draw SNAP without hitting the 80-hour threshold. Months in which you do meet it don’t count.4eCFR. 7 CFR 273.24 – Time Limit for Able-Bodied Adults The three months don’t have to run back-to-back; they accumulate across the whole three-year window.
How to Meet the 80-Hour Work Requirement
The requirement is at least 80 hours of qualifying activity per month, roughly 20 hours a week.4eCFR. 7 CFR 273.24 – Time Limit for Able-Bodied Adults The following count:
- Paid employment, including part-time work.
- Unpaid or in-kind work, such as volunteering or working in exchange for goods and services.
- Participation in SNAP Employment and Training, a Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act program, a veterans’ employment program, or a comparable state or local program.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 7 – 2015 Eligibility Disqualifications
- Workfare, with your required hours calculated by dividing your household’s SNAP benefit by the minimum wage.
- Any combination of the above that adds up to 80 hours.
Job searching on its own does not count. Federal law specifically excludes job search, supervised job search, and job search training from qualifying work programs.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 7 – 2015 Eligibility Disqualifications Eighty hours of applications a month will not keep your benefits going; you need actual work or an approved program.
Who Is Exempt
Meeting the age and household criteria doesn’t automatically put you under the time limit. You’re exempt if you are:
- Pregnant.
- Medically certified as physically or mentally unfit for work.3Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements
- Responsible for a dependent child under 14 in your SNAP household.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 7 – 2015 Eligibility Disqualifications
- Receiving SSI, Social Security disability, or otherwise classified as disabled under SNAP rules; these recipients follow separate eligibility rules and aren’t treated as ABAWDs.5Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Special Rules for the Elderly or Disabled
- Actively enrolled in a drug or alcohol treatment program.3Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements
- Enrolled at least half-time in school or training.3Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements
- A member of a federally recognized Indian tribe or Urban Indian population.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 7 – 2015 Eligibility Disqualifications
Veterans, individuals experiencing homelessness, and former foster youth 24 or younger were exempt under prior law. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 changed the exemption criteria, and the USDA is still issuing updated guidance on these groups.3Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements If you’re in one of those categories, ask your state SNAP office whether the exemption still applies to your case.
Getting Benefits Back After a Cutoff
If you’ve used your three countable months, you don’t have to wait out the rest of the three-year period. You regain eligibility by working or participating in a qualifying program for at least 80 hours within any 30 consecutive days, then reapplying.4eCFR. 7 CFR 273.24 – Time Limit for Able-Bodied Adults There’s no cap on how many times you can do this.
If you regain eligibility that way and later stop meeting the requirement, you get one additional three-month period, once per three-year cycle. Those three months run consecutively from the date you notify your SNAP office that you’re no longer meeting the requirement, whether or not you actually draw benefits in each one.4eCFR. 7 CFR 273.24 – Time Limit for Able-Bodied Adults After that window closes, you’re ineligible again unless you’re working the required hours or you qualify for an exemption.
ABAWD Rules vs. General SNAP Work Rules
ABAWDs face two separate sets of work-related obligations, and satisfying one does not satisfy the other. Most able-bodied SNAP recipients between 16 and 59 must meet general work requirements: registering for work, accepting suitable job offers, not quitting or dropping below 30 hours a week without good cause, and participating in Employment and Training if the state assigns them.3Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements Failing those leads to disqualification for at least a month, with longer penalties for repeat violations.
The 80-hour monthly ABAWD rule sits on top of that. Registering for work covers the general rule but does nothing for the ABAWD time limit; only real hours of work or approved program participation keep the three-month clock from running.3Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements
State Waivers
Whether the time limit applies to you also depends on where you live. States can request waivers suspending the ABAWD time limit in areas with weak job markets. Under the current statute, an area qualifies only if its unemployment rate is above 10 percent, or, for noncontiguous states such as Alaska and Hawaii, at least 1.5 times the national average.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 7 – 2015 Eligibility Disqualifications
Those thresholds are much stricter than the pre-2025 standards, which allowed waivers based on broader measures of economic hardship.6Food and Nutrition Service. ABAWD Waivers The USDA is updating waiver guidance to match. Before you assume the time limit governs your benefits, ask your local SNAP office whether your area is covered by an active waiver.