Who Is Exempt From SNAP Work Requirements? General and ABAWD Rules

You are exempt from SNAP work requirements if you are under 16 or 60 or older, physically or mentally unfit for work, caring for a child under six or an incapacitated household member, pregnant, enrolled at least half-time in school or training, already working at least 30 hours a week, in a drug or alcohol treatment program, complying with TANF work rules, or waiting on an SSI decision. A stricter set of rules called the ABAWD time limit has its own, narrower list of exemptions, and a 2025 federal law removed several exemptions that used to protect veterans, homeless adults, and former foster youth.

Two Sets of Rules, Two Sets of Exemptions

SNAP has two separate layers of work rules, and which exemptions matter depends on which layer applies to you.

The general work requirements cover most SNAP recipients aged 16 through 59. If you’re in that range and not exempt, you have to register for work, take a suitable job if one is offered, and participate in an employment and training program if your state assigns you to one.¹

The second layer, the ABAWD time limit, applies to Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (P.L. 119-21), it now reaches adults aged 18 through 64 who are not disabled, not pregnant, and do not have a dependent child under 14 in the household. If you’re an ABAWD, you can only get SNAP for three months in any three-year period unless you work or participate in a training program for at least 80 hours per month.²³

Qualifying for a general exemption also gets you out of the ABAWD time limit. The reverse isn’t always true, so the two lists below are worth reading separately.⁴

Who Is Exempt From the General Work Requirements

Federal law spells out specific groups that don’t have to register for work, accept job offers, or take part in employment and training programs.⁴

Age. Anyone under 16 or 60 and older is exempt. Teens aged 16 or 17 are also exempt if they are not the head of household or are attending school or job training at least half-time.¹
Physical or mental disability. Anyone unfit for employment is exempt. Receiving disability benefits from any governmental or private source, including SSI or SSDI, generally satisfies this. If your condition isn’t obvious, you’ll need documentation from a doctor, nurse practitioner, psychologist, or another medical professional your state accepts.¹
Caregivers. A parent or household member responsible for a dependent child under six, or for an incapacitated household member of any age, is exempt.⁴
Students. Anyone enrolled at least half-time in a recognized school, training program, or institution of higher education is exempt. The exemption covers normal class periods, vacations, and breaks between terms. College students still have to meet SNAP’s separate student eligibility rules.¹
People already working enough. If you work at least 30 hours per week, or earn weekly wages equal to at least the federal minimum wage times 30 hours ($217.50 at the current $7.25 rate), you’re exempt. This includes self-employment and migrant or seasonal farmwork under contract.¹
Substance abuse treatment. Regular participants in a drug addiction or alcohol treatment and rehabilitation program are exempt.⁴
TANF work registrants. If you’re already subject to and complying with work requirements under your state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, you don’t also have to comply with SNAP’s.¹
Pending SSI applications. If you’ve applied for SSI and are waiting on a decision, your SNAP work requirements are waived until you’re either approved (and become exempt through disability) or denied.¹

Who Is Exempt From the ABAWD Time Limit

Some ABAWD exemptions overlap with the general list. Others are specific to the three-month time limit.

Age. Under 18 or 65 and older.⁴
Medically certified as unfit. Anyone receiving temporary or permanent disability benefits (governmental or private), anyone whose unfitness is obvious to the state agency, or anyone with documentation from a medical professional.⁵
Pregnancy. Pregnant individuals are explicitly exempt.⁴
Caregivers of children under 14. A parent or household member responsible for a dependent child under 14 is exempt. P.L. 119-21 lowered this threshold from under 18.²
American Indians and Alaska Natives. Individuals who qualify as an Indian, Urban Indian, or California Indian under federally defined terms are exempt. This exemption was added by P.L. 119-21.⁴
Anyone exempt from the general work requirements. Every category in the previous section also removes you from the ABAWD time limit.⁴

Exemptions the 2025 Law Eliminated

The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 had created three ABAWD exemptions that were scheduled to run through September 30, 2030: homeless individuals, veterans regardless of disability status, and former foster youth aged 24 and younger. P.L. 119-21 struck all three.²

If you relied on one of those carve-outs, you now have to meet the 80-hour monthly work or training requirement to keep SNAP past three months, unless you qualify under a different exemption such as disability or age. The same law raised the ABAWD age ceiling from 54 to 64 and dropped the dependent-child threshold from under 18 to under 14, so the pool of people who need to look for an exemption is larger than it was.²

Good Cause If You Miss a Requirement

Missing a work registration, training session, or job referral doesn’t automatically trigger a sanction. Federal regulations require state agencies to consider good cause first, and the bar is lower than many people expect.

Illness (your own or a household member’s), a household emergency, lack of transportation, and not having adequate child care for children between ages 6 and 11 all count as good cause.¹

Leaving a job has its own good cause list. You can quit without penalty for workplace discrimination based on race, sex, age, disability, religion, or national origin. Unreasonable working conditions, including not being paid on schedule, qualify too. So does leaving one job for a better one, enrolling in school or training at least half-time, relocating for another household member’s job or education, or taking an employer-recognized retirement before age 60.¹

Keeping Your Exemption Current

Exemptions are tied to your situation, not granted for life. When a child turns six, when disability benefits end, when you leave school mid-semester, the exemption ends too, and you need to tell your state SNAP agency rather than waiting for the next recertification.

Bring documentation that matches the exemption you’re claiming: medical records or a physician’s statement for disability, proof of SSI or SSDI receipt, a birth certificate for a dependent child, or enrollment verification from a school or training program. Because verification procedures and recertification schedules vary, your local SNAP office is the reliable place to confirm what your state accepts.

1
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.7 – Work Provisions
2
Congressional Research Service. Work Requirements: Comparison of Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
3
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2015 – Eligibility Disqualifications
5
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.24 – Time Limit for Able-Bodied Adults