In Virginia, you can be disqualified from food stamps for earning too much, having too many countable resources, failing work requirements, being a half-time college student without a qualifying exemption, holding an immigration status that’s no longer covered, refusing to give a Social Security number, committing fraud, or being classified as a fleeing felon. The income ceiling for most Virginia households is 165% of the Federal Poverty Level, which comes out to $2,152 per month for a single person during the benefit year running October 2025 through September 2026.1Virginia Department of Social Services. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Federal legislation signed in July 2025 also narrowed immigrant eligibility and expanded work requirements, so some rules that applied even a year ago no longer do.
Earning Over the Income Limit
Income is the single most common reason Virginia denies SNAP. Virginia uses Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility to set its gross monthly income cutoff at 165% of the Federal Poverty Level. For the October 2025 through September 2026 benefit year, the caps by household size are:
- 1 person: $2,152
- 2 people: $2,904
- 3 people: $3,660
- 4 people: $4,421
A single dollar over the gross limit means a denial, regardless of your expenses.1Virginia Department of Social Services. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Households that don’t qualify through BBCE face the stricter federal gross limit of 130% of the Federal Poverty Level, which is $1,696 per month for one person and $3,483 for a family of four.
Passing the gross test isn’t the end of it. Your household must also come in under a net income limit of 100% of the Federal Poverty Level after allowable deductions for things like earned income, dependent care, and excess housing costs.2USDA Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY 2026 COLA Memo If your net income still sits above the poverty line after those deductions, you’re disqualified.
One caveat: the 2025 federal budget law created financial pressure for states to roll back their BBCE programs, so Virginia’s 165% threshold could change. Confirm the current figure with the Virginia Department of Social Services before relying on it.
Too Many Countable Resources
Most Virginia households qualifying through BBCE face no asset test, so savings and investments don’t affect eligibility. Households that fall outside BBCE must stay under $3,000 in countable resources, or $4,500 if the household includes someone age 60 or older or a person with a disability.2USDA Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY 2026 COLA Memo Countable resources include cash, checking and savings balances, and certain investments. Your home and most licensed vehicles are excluded.
Failing Work Requirements
If you’re between 16 and 59, you must register for work, accept a suitable job if offered, and avoid voluntarily quitting a job of 30 or more hours per week without good cause. Cutting your hours below 30 per week without a legitimate reason counts the same as quitting.3eCFR. 7 CFR 273.7 – Work Provisions
Disqualification periods escalate with each violation:
- First violation: at least one month, up to three months
- Second violation: at least three months, up to six months
- Third violation: at least six months, with the possibility of a permanent ban
You stay disqualified until the minimum period passes or you start complying, whichever is later. Exemptions cover people who are medically unfit for work, pregnant, caring for a young child, or already in an approved treatment or training program.
The Three-Month Time Limit for Adults Without Dependents
A separate, harsher rule applies to able-bodied adults without dependents. Under the 2025 federal law, this now covers adults ages 18 through 64 who don’t have children in the household, aren’t pregnant, and aren’t medically unable to work. You must work or participate in a qualifying training program at least 80 hours per month.4eCFR. 7 CFR 273.24 – Time Limit for Able-Bodied Adults
Fall short and you’re limited to three months of benefits in any three-year period. Once those three months are used, you lose eligibility entirely until you meet the work hours or qualify for an exemption. Being enrolled in school doesn’t count unless it’s an approved employment and training activity.
Leaving Household Members Off the Application
You don’t get to pick who counts in your SNAP household. Federal rules force certain people living together to apply as one unit, and omitting someone will get your application denied. Spouses always count together, even if they shop and cook separately. A child under 22 living with a natural, adoptive, or stepparent is in the same unit as that parent. A child under 18 living under the parental control of anyone in the household is included on that household’s case.5eCFR. 7 CFR 273.1 – Household Concept Hiding a required household member is treated as providing inaccurate information and causes denial.
Being a Half-Time College Student
College students enrolled at least half-time in a higher education institution are generally disqualified. To get around the restriction, you need to fit a specific exemption:6Food and Nutrition Service. Students
- Working 20 or more hours per week in paid employment
- Participating in a state or federally financed work-study program
- Caring for a child under 6, or ages 6 to 11 if you lack adequate childcare to work while in school
- A single parent enrolled full-time with a child under 12
- Receiving TANF
- Placed in school through a qualifying program like SNAP Employment and Training, WIOA, or Trade Adjustment Assistance
- Under 18 or age 50 and older
Without one of these, the disqualification runs the entire time you’re enrolled at least half-time. A common misread: having a zero expected family contribution on your FAFSA does not qualify you. That exemption was removed in 2023.7Virginia Department of Social Services. SNAP for College Students
Immigration Status
This area changed sharply in 2025. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025, cut the list of SNAP-eligible noncitizen categories down to lawful permanent residents, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and citizens of Compact of Free Association nations.8Food and Nutrition Service. OBBB Implementation Memo – Alien SNAP Eligibility Refugees and people granted asylum are no longer eligible on that status alone. Before 2025, these groups were exempt from the five-year waiting period that applies to most lawful permanent residents. That exemption is gone. The five-year waiting period itself still applies to lawful permanent residents unless they fall into one of the remaining exceptions under the 1996 welfare reform law. Undocumented individuals remain fully ineligible.
If one person in your household is an ineligible noncitizen, the rest can still apply. The ineligible member’s income is partially counted toward the household total, but they don’t receive a share of the benefit.
Refusing to Give a Social Security Number
Every household member has to provide a Social Security number or at least apply for one before the household can be certified. If you refuse without good cause, you personally are disqualified, though the rest of your household can still receive benefits. Your income and resources still count toward the household totals even while you’re excluded.9eCFR. 7 CFR 273.6 – Social Security Numbers
Fraud, Trafficking, and Benefit Misuse
Deliberately misrepresenting information on your application, hiding income, or misusing your benefits brings the program’s steepest disqualifications. The escalating bans are:
- First offense: 12-month disqualification
- Second offense: 24-month disqualification
- Third offense: permanent ban
Trafficking carries a steeper penalty. Selling or trading SNAP benefits for cash, drugs, or non-food items in a transaction worth $500 or more brings a permanent disqualification on the first offense.10eCFR. 7 CFR 273.16 – Disqualification for Intentional Program Violation These administrative penalties are separate from criminal prosecution. You can face the SNAP ban and court-imposed fines or jail time at the same time.
Criminal Record Issues
Fleeing Felons and Probation Violators
Federal law bars anyone classified as a “fleeing felon” from SNAP. Having any felony on your record doesn’t automatically trigger this. Virginia must verify that specific criteria are met, including an outstanding felony warrant, your awareness of it, action on your part to avoid arrest, and active law enforcement effort to find you.11Federal Register. Clarification of Eligibility of Fleeing Felons People violating a condition of federal or state probation or parole are also ineligible.
Drug Felony Convictions
Virginia opted out of the federal lifetime SNAP ban for drug felony convictions. Under state law, a person otherwise eligible cannot be denied benefits solely because of a drug-related felony.12Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 63.2-505.2 – Eligibility for Food Stamps; Drug-Related Felonies The statute attaches no conditions about completing probation, passing drug tests, or finishing treatment. Meet the other eligibility requirements and the conviction alone won’t block you.
Failing to Report Changes or Recertify
Keeping your benefits once you’re approved requires promptly reporting certain changes and showing up for periodic reviews. Virginia requires change reports within 10 days of when a change happens, and no later than the 10th day of the following month.13Virginia Department of Social Services. Change Report Reportable changes include starting or stopping a job, switching between full-time and part-time work, and changes in income sources. Failing to report can produce an overpayment you’ll owe back, plus possible penalties up to prosecution.
Each household also gets a certification period. Before it expires, you’ll receive a notice to submit a recertification application and attend an interview. Miss the interview and don’t reschedule, and your benefits are denied. The agency isn’t required to chase you.
What to Do If You’re Denied
You have 90 days from the date of a denial or termination to request a fair hearing.14eCFR. 7 CFR 273.15 – Fair Hearings At the hearing you can examine your case file, bring witnesses, present evidence, cross-examine anyone testifying against you, and have someone represent you, whether a lawyer, a friend, or a family member. Request the hearing before your current benefits run out and you may be able to keep receiving them while the appeal is pending. The agency has to give you free copies of the relevant portions of your file and tell you about free legal services in your area. If the hearing goes your way, the agency must restore the benefits you lost.