SNAP Work Requirements: What Counts Toward 80 Hours, and How to Track Them
If SNAP considers you an able-bodied adult without dependents, missing 80 hours a month can cost you your food benefits after just 3 months. The 2025 law also widened who this applies to, so people who were never asked before may be asked now. Here is who the rule covers, what counts toward the 80 hours, and how to keep a record that makes the monthly total easy to show.
SNAP has two sets of work rules
- General work requirements (ages 16 to 59, able to work): register for work, take part in SNAP Employment and Training or workfare if your state assigns it, take a suitable job if offered, and don't quit a job or cut your hours below 30 a week without a good reason.
- The ABAWD rule (able-bodied adults without dependents): you can only get SNAP for 3 months in a 3-year period unless you meet an 80-hour monthly work requirement or qualify for an exception.
Who the 80-hour rule covers now
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 changed the ABAWD rule. According to the USDA's October 2025 implementation memo:
- The age range is now 18 to 64 (it used to stop at 54).
- The exception for parents now covers only people responsible for a child under 14 (it used to be under 18).
- The exceptions for veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and former foster youth were removed.
- New exceptions were added for American Indians, Urban Indians and California Indians as defined in federal law.
You are still excepted if you can't work because of a physical or mental limitation, are pregnant, or are excused from the general work requirements (for example, working 30 hours a week, caring for a child under 6 or an incapacitated person, being in a drug or alcohol treatment program, or in school at least half time). Some areas with high unemployment can also be waived. States apply these changes at application and recertification, so ask your SNAP office what applies to you.
What counts toward the 80 hours
- Work, 80 hours a month. Paid work, work for goods or services, unpaid work, or volunteering.
- A work program, 80 hours a month. SNAP Employment and Training or another federal, state or local work program.
- A mix of work and a work program that adds up to 80 hours.
- Workfare for the number of hours your state assigns, which depends on your benefit amount.
Job searching on its own usually doesn't count unless it is part of a work program. Ask your state.
If you miss it
If the rule applies to you and you don't meet it, benefits stop after 3 months in the 3-year period. To get SNAP again, you need to meet the requirement for a 30-day period or become excepted. Otherwise you wait until the 3-year period ends.
How to track your hours
- Log every day you work or volunteer: date, what you did, start and end time, hours.
- Keep proof with it: pay stubs, app screenshots, a volunteer sign-in sheet or a letter with your hours.
- Write down who can confirm each activity.
- Check your running total weekly. 80 hours is about 20 a week.
- Close the month with a total, then keep the sheet and proof together.
If you also get Medicaid
Medicaid's new 80-hour rule starts by January 1, 2027. CMS lists people in a household getting SNAP who are not exempt from SNAP's work rules among those exempt from Medicaid's rule, so meeting SNAP's rules may also cover you for Medicaid. Your state decides. See what counts toward Medicaid's 80 hours.
Free: a printable monthly hours log
We made a two-page log sheet you can print or fill in by hand: one line per day, columns for the activity, start and end time, hours, pay, who can confirm it and what proof you kept, plus month totals and a signature line. It is free, with no sign-up and no email.
| Date | Activity | Start | End | Hours | Pay (if any) | Who can confirm | Proof kept |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example: Mar 3 | Job | 9:00 | 2:30 | 5.5 | $66 | Store manager, name and phone | Pay stub |
| Example: Mar 4 | Gig | 5:00 | 9:00 | 4 | $58 | Delivery app account | Screenshot of trips |
| Example: Mar 6 | Volunteer | 10:00 | 1:00 | 3 | Food bank volunteer lead | Sign-in sheet | |
Find your SNAP office
Each state runs SNAP under its own name (CalFresh, FoodShare, Basic Food and others). The USDA state directory lists every state agency, and our state table links each state's SNAP page directly.
Common questions
Does volunteering count for SNAP?
Yes. The USDA says work for the ABAWD rule can be paid, for goods or services, unpaid, or volunteer work.
I'm 58. Does this apply to me now?
It may. The 2025 law raised the age range for the ABAWD time limit to 18 through 64, unless another exception applies. Ask your SNAP office at your next application or recertification.
I have a 15-year-old at home. Am I excepted?
Not by that alone anymore. The parent exception now covers responsibility for a child under 14. You may still be excepted for another reason, so check with your state.
What if my hours change week to week?
The rule looks at the month. A short week can be made up later in the month, and work and a work program can be combined. Track your running total so you know where you stand.
Will my state ask for proof?
It may. Each state decides how it checks hours. Keeping a dated log with pay stubs, screenshots or sign-in sheets makes any check easier.
80 Hours and this guide are made by VNCNT Labs. We are not a government agency and are not connected to any state Medicaid or SNAP office. This is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by state, and your state decides who must report, what counts and what proof it accepts.
Official sources
- USDA: SNAP work requirements
- USDA: SNAP provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, ABAWD exceptions implementation memo
- USDA: SNAP state directory
- CMS: Medicaid community engagement requirement interim final rule, fact sheet (CMS-2454-IFC)