Adults on food stamps who are 18 through 64 and have no child under 14 in their SNAP household now face a time limit: three months of benefits in any three years unless they work, train or volunteer for at least 80 hours a month. The age ceiling used to be 54. It rose to 64 when the 2025 budget law took effect on July 4, 2025.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service spelled out the change in an October 3, 2025 memo to state SNAP agencies, signed by Ronald Ward, the agency’s acting associate administrator for SNAP. “Individuals aged 18 to 64 are now subject to the time limit, unless they meet another exception,” the memo says.
Who is covered by the 80-hour rule
Federal rules call the group “able-bodied adults without dependents.” Before the law, the group stopped at age 54 and the child exception covered a dependent under 18. The memo says the exception now applies only to a parent or other household member responsible for a child under 14. The USDA’s June 11, 2026 question-and-answer document describes that child as a dependent in the same SNAP household.
That means a 60-year-old with a grandchild under 14 living down the hall, but not in the SNAP case, is still counted as having no dependent. A 62-year-old caring for a 12-year-old who is part of the household is not.
The question most older readers face is whether the new 55-to-64 group includes them and, if it does, whether a listed exemption applies. Anyone in that age range on SNAP without a young child in the case should check the state notice now, because the three-month clock counts months in which the work rule was not met. The newsletter below sends the weekday deadline briefs.
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What counts toward 80 hours a month
The FNS work-requirements page says a person must “work at least 80 hours a month,” take part in a work program for 80 hours, or complete workfare for the hours assigned. Work and program hours can be combined to reach 80. Work can be paid, paid in goods or services, unpaid or volunteer.
The same page says an adult without dependents can get SNAP for no more than three months in three years if the requirement is not met. After the three months, benefits stop until the end of the three-year period. FNS’s page still lists the old 18-to-54 age range, but the October 2025 memo and the June 2026 Q&A set the range at 18 through 64.
Which exemptions still apply
A person is exempt from the time limit if unable to work because of a physical or mental limitation, or if pregnant, according to the FNS page. Anyone living with a child under 18 in the SNAP household was exempt under the old rules, but the memo narrows that to under 14.
The memo removed three exemptions that Congress added in 2023. Veterans, homeless people and young adults aged 24 or younger who were in foster care on their 18th birthday “are once again subject to the time limit.” The change took effect on enactment, July 4, 2025, the memo says. FNS held states harmless for quality-control purposes for 120 days, through November 1, 2025, while they updated their systems.
The Q&A also records a new exception. The law excepts “Indians,” “Urban Indians” and “California Indians,” as those terms are defined in the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, from the time limit.
Why state notices matter in October 2026
States, not Washington, decide who has met the rule in each case. Caseworkers apply the exemptions, count the months and send the notices. The USDA’s SNAP work-requirements page is the free federal reference, and a county SNAP office can say which month a case is on.
The open question is whether a household’s exemption is actually on file. An exemption that applied under the old rules, such as veteran or homeless status, may no longer count, and a record that was never updated can lead to a notice that benefits will stop.
Not sure if the 80-hour rule covers your SNAP case?
An adult between 55 and 64 who was exempt a year ago as a veteran or because of homelessness is now counted under the time limit, and a missed month can start the three-month clock without a clear warning. The risk is a notice that arrives after the benefit has already stopped.
The SNAP & Medicaid Renewal Organizer covers the SNAP work-rule time limit and who is exempt, along with 51 state packs and a renewal and reporting calendar, so each month and each deadline has a date written down.
Get the SNAP work-rule exemption guide in the Renewal Organizer →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
