Changes to Food and Nutrition Services
New Rules May Affect SNAP Eligibility
New federal laws changed some rules for Food and Nutrition Services (FNS), also called SNAP. This page tells you who is affected and what to do. You may need to act to keep your benefits.
Ages 18 through 64: Changes started Dec. 1, 2025
More adults must now meet the SNAP work requirements and some exemptions have changed.
SNAP work requirements and the three-month time limit are not new. H.R. 1 changed who must meet them. Adults ages 18 through 64 (before, ages 18 through 54) must work, volunteer or take part in a work program 80 hours a month or qualify for an exemption. If you do not, you can get SNAP for only three months in a 36 month period.
Some exemptions have ended, including those for veterans, people experiencing homelessness, young adults who aged out of foster care and the exemption for living with a child now applies only if the child is under age 14. Many exemptions remain, including for people receiving disability benefits and people who are pregnant. Your county's Department of Social Services will screen you for all exemptions when you apply or, if you are currently receiving benefits, at your next recertification.
Find out if work requirements apply to you
Also, if you are meeting the requirement and your work hours drop below 80 in a month, you must report it by the 10th of the following month. Need help meeting the hours? More Than a Job NC offers free job training, education and work programs.
Noncitizens: Changes started Feb. 1, 2026
Fewer noncitizen groups are now eligible for SNAP and many people remain eligible.
SNAP has always limited eligibility to U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals and certain lawfully present noncitizens. H.R. 1 narrowed that list. Refugees, asylees, people granted withholding of removal, and most parolees and other humanitarian categories were previously eligible; they no longer qualify based on those statuses and can regain eligibility by adjusting to lawful permanent resident or citizen status.
You may still be eligible for SNAP if you are a person who is:
- A Citizen of the United States (U.S.);
- A U.S. National (such as a person born in American Samoa or Swains Island);
- A Cuban and Haitian Entrant (CHE);
- A Citizen of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, or Palau; or,
- A Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) who has met the 5-year waiting period or is exempt from the waiting period.
Your eligibility under the new rules will be reviewed when you apply or, if you are currently receiving benefits, at your next recertification. If you are receiving SNAP now you can keep getting and using your SNAP until then. There is nothing you need to do at this time.
Find out if these changes impact you
Eligible household members will continue to receive their SNAP benefits. Only people applying for SNAP need to provide immigration documents.
If you get both SNAP and Medicaid
SNAP and Medicaid each have a work rule. They are not the same rule.
If you meet the SNAP work rule, you also meet the Medicaid work rule. The Medicaid rule starts Jan. 1, 2027, and covers ages 19 through 64. The SNAP work requirements apply to individual adults; the other members of the household, including children, remain eligible.
Medicaid changes: Know what's next
If none of these situations apply to you
Your eligibility is still reviewed under the regular FNS rules when you apply and at each recertification.
If you lose your SNAP
You will get a letter. It will explain why and it will tell you how to ask for a hearing if you disagree. You have 90 days from the date on the letter. Ask at your county DSS in person, by phone or in writing.
If you received a notice that your benefits are ending, or if you believe you qualify for an exemption, contact your county DSS immediately. Don't wait.
Contact Information
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