ABAWD in Oregon: SNAP Work Rules, Exemptions, and Waivers

If you receive SNAP in Oregon, are between 18 and 64, have no child under 14 in your household, and are able to work, you’re an Able-Bodied Adult Without Dependents (ABAWD) and must complete at least 80 hours of work or qualifying activity each month to keep benefits past three months. Federal changes in 2025 pulled more people into this category, so the rules may apply to you even if they didn’t before.

Who the Rules Apply To

Oregon Administrative Rule 461-135-0520 sets three tests. You must be at least 18 but under 65, have no child under age 14 in your SNAP filing group, and be physically and mentally able to work.¹ All three have to be true. Miss any one and the work requirement doesn’t apply.

The age range is wider than it used to be. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 raised the upper limit to 64, after the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 had already moved it from 49 to 54.² If you’re between 55 and 64 and assumed you were past these rules, you aren’t anymore.

The child threshold is also lower than many people remember. The old cutoff was 18. Now, once your youngest child turns 14, you’re treated as being without dependents for SNAP purposes.¹

The 80-Hour Monthly Requirement

ABAWDs must complete at least 80 hours per month of qualifying activity, roughly 20 hours a week. You can combine different activities to reach the total.³

What counts:

Paid employment, including part-time jobs and gig work, alone or in combination
Self-employment, if your net income after business expenses averages at least the federal minimum wage times 20 hours per week³
Volunteer hours at a nonprofit or public agency, verified by the organization
In-kind work exchanged for housing, goods, or other non-cash compensation
Oregon’s SNAP Training and Employment Program (STEP), which may also cover training, transportation, work clothing, and other costs⁴
Programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act or the Trade Act³

Mixing is fine within a month. Fifty paid hours plus thirty verified volunteer hours meets the threshold. What isn’t fine is unverified hours. Every activity has to be documented, and hours you can’t back up won’t count.

Exemptions

Being in the age range with no young child doesn’t automatically mean the 80-hour rule applies. Several circumstances remove you from it entirely.

Health, Pregnancy, and Caregiving

You’re exempt if a physical, mental, or behavioral health condition prevents you from working or holding a job. This covers people receiving or applying for disability benefits, those with documented work limitations from a medical provider, and people receiving wrap-around health services from a community organization for conditions that prevent employment.⁵ Pregnancy qualifies if a medical practitioner has limited your work due to pregnancy-related complications.³

Caregiving also counts. If you care for someone with a disability or incapacity that substantially limits their ability to care for themselves, and that responsibility keeps you from holding a job, you’re exempt.⁵

Students and Treatment Programs

Students attending high school, a GED program, a training program, or a higher education institution at least half-time are exempt. The exemption runs through normal class periods, vacations, and recesses, but ends if you drop out, are expelled, or don’t enroll for the next regular term.⁵ Active participants in drug or alcohol treatment and rehabilitation programs are also exempt.

Exemptions Removed in 2025

The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 had added exemptions for military veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and young adults who aged out of foster care by age 24. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 struck those.² USDA was still issuing implementation guidance as of mid-2025, so the timing of Oregon’s change may still be evolving.⁶ If you were relying on one of those three exemptions, contact your local ODHS office about where you stand now.

Waived Areas in Oregon

Federal law lets states waive the time limit in areas with unemployment above 10% or a shortage of jobs.⁷ Oregon has two waived categories as of early 2026.

Tribal lands held in trust by five federally recognized tribes are exempt from the time limit: the Burns Paiute Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, the Coquille Indian Tribe, the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, and the Klamath Tribes.³

Since February 2026, seven rural counties have received a discretionary exemption each month because they lack ABAWD support services: Crook, Gilliam, Jefferson, Lake, Morrow, Sherman, and Wheeler.³ If you live in one of these counties, you should still report your situation to ODHS, but your benefits won’t stop for missing the 80-hour threshold.

What Happens If You Don’t Meet the Requirement

An ABAWD who isn’t meeting the work rule and doesn’t qualify for an exemption or waiver can receive SNAP for only three full months in any 36-month period.⁸ After those three countable months, benefits stop until the 36-month window resets or you take steps to regain eligibility.

A month counts against you when you receive a full month of SNAP without meeting the 80-hour threshold or qualifying for an exemption. Prorated months, such as a partial first month of certification, don’t count.

The Additional Three Months

Federal rules give you one recovery period. If you regain eligibility by working 80 hours in a 30-day stretch and then stop meeting the requirement, you can receive up to three additional consecutive countable months of benefits.⁸ This second period starts when you tell ODHS you’re no longer meeting the requirement, or when the state tells you if you were in a work program. You can only use it once per 36-month cycle.

Regaining Eligibility After Benefits End

There are two ways back. The first is completing 80 hours of work or qualifying activity in any 30-day period while off SNAP, then documenting those hours to ODHS.⁶ The second is qualifying for an exemption, which can happen if your health changes, you take on caregiving, or you move to a waived area.

There’s also a narrow restoration path. If your case closed after the third countable month, but during at least one of those months you actually met an exemption or the work requirement, you can have that month reclassified. You must contact ODHS within the first calendar month after closure and provide documentation.⁹ Miss that window and the hours won’t help you, even if they were real.

Reporting Hours and Changes

Getting activity records to ODHS is on you. Waiting for the agency to ask is how people lose months they should have kept. The Oregon ONE portal at one.oregon.gov is the main way to submit pay stubs, activity logs, and other documents.¹⁰ You can also mail records to your local processing center, visit a regional office, or call customer service to report changes.¹¹

Report changes as they happen. Starting a job, losing one, developing a medical condition, or moving to a waived county all affect your status, and reporting promptly keeps a countable month from being tallied against you unfairly. Keep your own copies of pay stubs, volunteer verification letters, and medical documentation. If a month is ever disputed, your records are what settle it.

If ODHS reduces or terminates your benefits and you believe the decision is wrong, you can request an administrative hearing. The notice of adverse action includes instructions for filing, and requests should be made promptly.

1
Oregon Department of Human Services. Oregon Administrative Rule 461-135-0520 – Time Limit and Special Requirements for ABAWD; SNAP
2
Library of Congress. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Related Provisions in P.L. 119-21
3
Oregon Secretary of State. Oregon Administrative Rule 461-135-0520 – Time Limit and Special Requirements for ABAWD; SNAP
4
Oregon Department of Human Services. SNAP Employment and Training Programs – Food Benefits
5
Oregon Department of Human Services. Oregon Administrative Rule 461-130-0310 – Participation Classifications
6
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements
7
Food and Nutrition Service. ABAWD Waivers
8
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.24 – Time Limit for Able-Bodied Adults
9
Oregon Secretary of State. Oregon Administrative Rule 461-180-0135 – Effective Dates; Restoring SNAP Benefits for ABAWD Following Counting Month
10
Oregon ONE Eligibility. Welcome to Oregon ONE Eligibility
11
Oregon Department of Human Services. How to Apply or Renew Benefits