SNAP for college students: the half-time rule and its exemptions
College students enrolled half time or more get SNAP only with an exemption: 20 hours of paid work, work-study, a young child and others. Rules and examples for FY2027.
If you are enrolled at least half time in college, a university or a trade school, you can get SNAP only if you meet one of about ten exemptions, and you must also meet SNAP’s normal income and other rules. The most common exemptions are working at least 20 paid hours a week, being approved for state or federal work-study, being 50 or older, being unable to work for physical or mental reasons, and caring for a young child. If you take classes less than half time, the student rule does not apply to you at all. The rule is set by 7 CFR 273.5, and USDA explains it on its SNAP students page (updated November 6, 2025). The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of July 4, 2025 did not change the student rule. It did change the work rules around it, which matters for some students (see below).
Who counts as a “student” for SNAP
The rule covers you only if both of these are true (7 CFR 273.5(a)):
- You are enrolled at least half time. Your school decides what half time means, not the SNAP office. Your registrar or financial aid office can tell you your enrollment status (USDA).
- The school is an “institution of higher education.” That means a regular degree curriculum at a college or university, whether or not it requires a high school diploma, or a business, technical, trade or vocational school that normally requires a high school diploma or GED for the program.
The rule does not distinguish between undergraduate and graduate students, or between community colleges and four-year schools. It does not cover high school, or programs that do not need a diploma at a trade school.
Many colleges also run programs outside the regular curriculum: remedial classes, continuing or community education, professional development, English for speakers of other languages, and workforce training. USDA says people enrolled only in programs like these are not enrolled in higher education for SNAP, so they do not need an exemption (USDA).
When student status starts and stops. It starts on the first day of the school term. It continues through vacations and recesses. It ends if you graduate, are suspended or expelled, drop out, or do not intend to register for the next normal term. Summer school does not count as a normal term for this test (7 CFR 273.5(c)). So a student on summer break who will be back in the fall is still a student. Someone who finished in May and is not going back is not.
The exemptions
You need to meet only one. The list below follows 7 CFR 273.5(b) and USDA’s student page.
| Exemption | What it takes |
|---|---|
| Age | 17 or younger, or 50 or older |
| Unable to work | Physically or mentally unfit for work |
| TANF | You receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (your state’s cash assistance program) |
| Paid work | At least 20 hours a week of paid employment. If self-employed, 20 hours a week and weekly earnings of at least the federal minimum wage times 20 |
| Work-study | Approved for a state or federally financed work-study program during the regular school year |
| On-the-job training | Being trained by an employer in an on-the-job training program |
| Child under 6 | Responsible for the care of a dependent household member under 6 |
| Child 6 to 11 | Responsible for a household member aged 6 to 11, and the state finds adequate child care is not available for you to attend class and work 20 hours or do work-study |
| Single parent, full time | A single parent enrolled full time and caring for a child under 12 |
| Placed by a training program | Assigned to or placed in school, or self-placed, through SNAP Employment and Training (E&T), a Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) program, Trade Adjustment Assistance, or a state or local employment program the state agency approves |
The details below decide many cases in practice, so they are worth checking one by one before you apply.
20 hours of paid work
The work must be paid. Unpaid internships and volunteering do not count. For self-employed students, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour (U.S. Department of Labor), so you need weekly earnings of at least 20 × $7.25 = $145.
States may average your hours over a month, quarter, trimester or semester instead of looking week by week. They may also leave out academic breaks of a month or less. A state that averages must say so in its state plan (7 CFR 273.5(b)(5)). Arizona, for example, asks for at least 80 paid hours in a 30-day period (Arizona DES student eligibility page). Under that test, a student who works 25 hours one week and 15 the next can still qualify.
Work-study
You must be approved for work-study when you apply for SNAP, the work-study must be approved for the school term, and you must expect to actually work. You do not need a minimum number of hours. The exemption starts in the month the term begins or the month work-study is approved, whichever is later. It lasts until the end of the month the term ends, or until it becomes known that you turned down an assignment. It does not carry over a break of a full month or more unless you work in work-study during the break (7 CFR 273.5(b)(6)).
Being offered work-study in your financial aid package is the first step, not the exemption itself. Ask your financial aid office for written proof that you are approved for the term.
Students who are parents
The child-under-6 and child-6-to-11 exemptions require the child to be a member of your SNAP household. The single-parent exemption applies when only one parent (natural, adoptive or step) lives in the SNAP household with the child. If no parent lives there, another full-time student in the household who has parental control of the child, and who does not live with a spouse, can use it (7 CFR 273.5(b)(10)). The single-parent exemption needs full-time enrollment, as your school defines it. A half-time single parent of a 7-year-old would need the child-care exemption or another one instead.
Placement through a job training program
Under the E&T route, the course of study must be a career and technical education program designed to be finished in four years or less, or be limited to remedial courses, basic adult education, literacy or English as a second language (7 CFR 273.5(b)(11)). The last route, a state or local employment program with at least one component equal to a SNAP E&T component, lets each state decide which programs qualify. States use it very differently.
California uses it the most broadly. Its Department of Social Services calls these programs Local Programs that Increase Employability (LPIEs). Since June 1, 2026, every associate and bachelor’s degree program at a California Community College, California State University or University of California campus counts as an LPIE, in any major, including undeclared students taking general education courses toward one of those degrees. It does not cover private colleges. Your own statement that you are in such a program is enough proof unless it is questionable (CDSS All County Letter 26-25, April 13, 2026). The same letter lists statewide “General Programs” that also qualify on every public campus, among them campus employment with no minimum hours, research and teaching assistantships, College Corps and WIOA programs. So a half-time UC student with no job and no children can still be exempt in California. In most other states that same student would not be. The California page has CalFresh contacts.
Meal plans
If you get most of your meals through a campus meal plan, mandatory or optional, you cannot get SNAP. Meal plans differ, so USDA tells state agencies to look at what share of your meals your plan actually covers (USDA). A plan with a few meals a week is treated differently from a full board plan. Bring the plan’s description from your housing or dining office to the interview.
Students who live with their parents
Federal rules require anyone under 22 who lives with a parent or stepparent to be in the same SNAP household as that parent (7 CFR 273.1(b)(1)). A 20-year-old student living at home cannot apply alone. The parents’ income counts for the whole household.
If that student does not meet an exemption, they are left out of the household: they get no benefits, they are not counted in the household size, and their income and resources are not counted against the family. Money they actually hand the family for household costs does count (7 CFR 273.1(b)(7), 7 CFR 273.11(d)). A student who is not exempt does not make the rest of the family ineligible. The family simply gets benefits for fewer people.
A student who is 22 or older, or who lives away from their parents and buys and cooks food separately, can apply as their own household.
How student income is counted
Passing the student rule only gets you to the starting line. You still face the income test (130% of poverty, or your state’s higher level), the asset test where your state has one, and the benefit formula. For October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, the gross income limit for one person in the 48 states and D.C. is $1,729 a month at 130% of poverty, and the maximum benefit for one person is $306 (USDA FY2027 cost-of-living memo, August 21, 2026). Your state’s limit is in SNAP income limits by state.
Several kinds of student money get special treatment:
- Federal student aid does not count. Aid under Title IV of the Higher Education Act, such as Pell Grants and federal student loans, is excluded, and so is Bureau of Indian Affairs student aid (7 CFR 273.9(c)(3)).
- Federal Work-Study pay does not count. Earnings from work-study funded under the Higher Education Act are excluded (7 CFR 273.9(b)(1)(vi)). Work-study paid by a state program is not named in that exclusion. Ask your state how it counts it.
- Other grants and scholarships count only above school costs. Scholarships, grants, fellowships and deferred educational loans from other sources are excluded up to the amount used for tuition and mandatory fees, books, supplies, transportation and other school-related personal costs. Money for room and board, meaning normal living costs, counts as income (7 U.S.C. 2014(d)(3), 7 CFR 273.9(c)(3)).
- Countable educational income is spread out. It is averaged over the period it is meant to cover, such as a semester (7 CFR 273.10(c)(3)(iii)).
- College savings plans are not assets. Money in a 529 plan or a Coverdell education savings account is excluded from resources by law (7 U.S.C. 2014(g)(8)).
Worked examples with FY2027 figures
These use the FY2027 figures for the 48 states and D.C.: a $1,729 gross limit and $1,330 net limit for one person, a $217 standard deduction, a $769 shelter cap and a $306 maximum benefit (USDA memo). They leave out your state’s utility allowance, which would add to the shelter deduction if you pay utilities. The full method is in how SNAP benefits are calculated.
1. A student working 20 hours a week off campus
Dana is 21, lives alone in an apartment, takes 12 credits, and works 20 hours a week at $12 an hour. Rent is $650. Dana meets the paid-work exemption.
| Step | Arithmetic | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly earnings | $12 × 20 hours = $240 a week × 4.3 | $1,032 |
| Gross income test | $1,032 is under $1,729 | passes |
| 20% earned income deduction | $1,032 − $206.40 | $825.60 |
| Standard deduction | $825.60 − $217 | $608.60 |
| Excess shelter cost | $650 − (half of $608.60 = $304.30) | $345.70 (under the $769 cap) |
| Net income | $608.60 − $345.70 | $262.90 (under $1,330) |
| 30% of net income | $262.90 × 0.3 = $78.87, rounded up | $79 |
| Monthly benefit | $306 − $79 | $227 |
If Dana cut back to 18 hours a week, Dana would no longer meet the paid-work exemption. In a state that checks week by week, that would mean no SNAP, even though the income is lower. In a state that averages, a few short weeks may not matter if the month’s total stays at the required level.
2. A student with Federal Work-Study
Sam is 19, lives off campus, has no children, and is approved for Federal Work-Study for the fall term. Sam earns $15 an hour for 10 hours a week. That is $150 × 4.3 = $645 a month, but Federal Work-Study pay is excluded. Sam’s Pell Grant is excluded too. With no other income, Sam’s countable income is $0, so net income is $0 and the benefit is the full $306 for one person. Sam passes the student rule through work-study even with only 10 hours a week. If Sam lived in a dorm on a full meal plan, the meal plan rule would make Sam ineligible anyway.
3. A scholarship that pays for housing
Lee receives a $2,400 private scholarship for a four-month semester, earmarked for housing. Room and board money is not excluded, so it counts as unearned income averaged over the semester: $2,400 ÷ 4 = $600 a month added to Lee’s income. Had the same scholarship been earmarked for tuition and books, none of it would count.
What the 2025 law changed for students
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21, July 4, 2025) left the student rule in section 6(e) of the Food and Nutrition Act untouched. It did change the time limit for able-bodied adults without dependents, starting July 4, 2025 (USDA ABAWD exceptions memo, October 3, 2025). Under the time limit, adults who are not excepted get SNAP for only 3 months in 36 unless they work 20 hours a week, averaged monthly, or join a work program (7 U.S.C. 2015(o)). The law changed it this way:
- The time limit covers ages 18 to 64 instead of 18 to 54.
- Parents are excepted only if they care for a child under 14 in the household, not under 18.
- The exceptions for homeless people, veterans, and people 24 or younger who were in foster care at 18 were removed.
For most students who qualify, the time limit does not bite. The law still excepts anyone exempt from the general work requirements under section 6(d)(2) of the Act (P.L. 119-21, sec. 10102; USDA Time Limit Q&A #1, June 11, 2026). Section 6(d)(2) exempts a student enrolled at least half time who meets the student rule (7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(2), 7 CFR 273.7(b)(1)(viii)). That exemption lasts through normal breaks. It ends if you graduate, drop below half time, are suspended or expelled, drop out, or do not plan to register for the next normal term.
Where the change does reach students:
- Students who leave school or drop below half time. A former student aged 18 to 64 with no other exception faces the time limit. Before July 4, 2025, people 55 to 64 and parents of teenagers were outside it.
- Former foster youth. A 20-year-old who aged out of foster care lost the separate foster-youth exception. While enrolled at least half time and exempt under the student rule, they are still covered by the student work exemption. Once they stop being a student, the time limit applies unless another exception fits.
- Students who are parents of teenagers. A 45-year-old student whose only child is 15 meets none of the parent exemptions in the student rule, which stop at a child under 12. They need another exemption, such as 20 hours of paid work. After leaving school, the same parent is no longer excepted from the time limit as a parent, because that exception stops at a child under 14.
Details on the time limit and waived areas are in SNAP work requirements in 2026.
International students. Students in the U.S. on temporary student visas are not eligible for SNAP, whatever their work or enrollment. The 2025 law limits noncitizen eligibility to lawful permanent residents, Cuban and Haitian entrants and citizens of the Compact of Free Association nations, and it says outright that students who enter temporarily without intending to give up their foreign residence are not lawful permanent residents (P.L. 119-21, sec. 10108). See SNAP eligibility for immigrants.
The COVID-era exemptions are over
During the COVID-19 public health emergency, a federal law temporarily made more students eligible. USDA says those temporary exemptions ended for anyone applying or recertifying on or after July 1, 2023. A student still certified under one has to meet a regular exemption at their next recertification (USDA). If an older article or campus flyer lists an exemption that is not in the table above, it may be one of those expired COVID-era rules.
How to apply as a student
- Get proof of your enrollment status from the registrar: full time, half time or less than half time, as the school defines it.
- Gather proof of your exemption: pay stubs showing your hours, your work-study approval for the term, a child’s birth certificate, a doctor’s statement, or a program placement letter. Some states accept your own statement unless it is questionable. California, for example, does this for student exemptions generally (CDSS ACL 26-25).
- Get a description of your meal plan, if you have one, showing how many meals a week it covers.
- Apply in the state where you live while in school, through its official portal (table below). Say on the application that you are a student and which exemption you meet. Steps, deadlines and expedited service are in how to apply for SNAP, and the interview in the SNAP interview.
- Re-check at each recertification. Exemptions are tied to a term, a job or a child’s age. A work-study exemption ends with the term. Turning 50 makes you exempt, and a child turning 6 or 12 can end an exemption. If you are denied for “student status” and think an exemption applies, you can ask for a fair hearing (SNAP denied or stopped).
If you are unsure whether you are exempt, USDA tells students to contact their local SNAP office (USDA state directory). Many campuses also have a basic-needs or financial aid office that knows the local rules.
| State | Program name | Portal |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Food Assistance Program | MyDHR |
| Alaska | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | Alaska Connect |
| Arizona | Nutrition Assistance | Health-e-Arizona Plus and MyFamilyBenefits |
| Arkansas | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | Access Arkansas |
| California | CalFresh | BenefitsCal |
| Colorado | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | Colorado PEAK |
| Connecticut | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | ConneCT and MyDSS |
| Delaware | Food Supplement Program | ASSIST |
| District of Columbia | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | District Direct |
| Florida | Food Assistance Program | MyACCESS Florida |
| Georgia | SNAP (Food Stamps) | Georgia Gateway |
| Guam | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | My Benefits Client Portal |
| Hawaii | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | Public Assistance Information System (PAIS) |
| Idaho | Food Stamps (SNAP) | idalink |
| Illinois | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | ABE (Application for Benefits Eligibility) |
| Indiana | SNAP (Food Assistance) | FSSA Benefits Portal |
| Iowa | SNAP (Food Assistance) | HHS Services Portal |
| Kansas | Food Assistance Program | DCF Self-Service Portal |
| Kentucky | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | kynect benefits |
| Louisiana | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | CAFÉ Self-Service Portal |
| Maine | SNAP (Food Supplement Program) | My Maine Connection |
| Maryland | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | MarylandBenefits (Maryland Benefits Programs & Services Portal) |
| Massachusetts | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | DTA Connect |
| Michigan | Food Assistance Program (FAP) | MI Bridges |
| Minnesota | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | MNbenefits |
| Mississippi | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | AccessMS (Mississippi Common Web Portal) |
| Missouri | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | FSD Benefits Portal |
| Montana | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | apply.mt.gov |
| Nebraska | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | iServe Nebraska |
| Nevada | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | Access Nevada |
| New Hampshire | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | NH EASY Gateway to Services |
| New Jersey | NJ SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) | MyNJHelps |
| New Mexico | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | YesNM |
| New York | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | myBenefits |
| North Carolina | Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) | ePASS |
| North Dakota | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | Self-Service Portal (SSP) |
| Ohio | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | Ohio Benefits Self-Service Portal |
| Oklahoma | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | OKDHSLive! |
| Oregon | SNAP Food Benefits | ONE Online (Oregon ONE Eligibility) |
| Pennsylvania | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | COMPASS |
| Rhode Island | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | HealthyRhode |
| South Carolina | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | DSS Benefits Portal (SCCES) |
| South Dakota | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | SD BEES (South Dakota Benefits Eligibility and Enrollment System) |
| Tennessee | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | One DHS Customer Portal |
| Texas | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | Your Texas Benefits |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | DHS Family Assistance forms page |
| Utah | SNAP (Food Stamps) | myCase |
| Vermont | 3SquaresVT | MyBenefits |
| Virginia | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | CommonHelp |
| Washington | Basic Food | Washington Connection |
| West Virginia | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | WV PATH (People's Access to Help) |
| Wisconsin | FoodShare | ACCESS |
| Wyoming | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | DFS SNAP page: DFS 100 application and how to submit it |
Sources
- 7 CFR 273.5, Students (eCFR, read October 16, 2026)
- Students, USDA Food and Nutrition Administration, page updated November 6, 2025
- 7 CFR 273.1, Household concept (eCFR)
- 7 CFR 273.7, Work provisions (eCFR)
- 7 CFR 273.9, Income and deductions (eCFR)
- 7 CFR 273.10, Determining household eligibility and benefit levels (eCFR)
- 7 CFR 273.11, Action on households with special circumstances (eCFR)
- 7 U.S.C. 2014, Eligible households and 7 U.S.C. 2015, Eligibility disqualifications, U.S. Code 2024 edition (GovInfo)
- Public Law 119-21 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act), July 4, 2025, sections 10102 and 10108 (GovInfo)
- SNAP Provisions of the OBBB: ABAWD Exceptions, implementation memo, October 3, 2025, USDA
- SNAP Provisions of the OBBB: Time Limit Changes, Questions and Answers #1, June 11, 2026, USDA
- SNAP Fiscal Year 2027 Cost-of-Living Adjustments, memo, August 21, 2026, USDA
- All County Letter 26-25, CalFresh Student Eligibility: LPIE Assessment and Approval Process Change, April 13, 2026, California Department of Social Services
- Student Eligibility for Nutrition Assistance, Arizona Department of Economic Security
- Minimum wage, U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
