Rule 5101:4-3-11 | Screening for exemptions from work requirements.
(A) Who is to undergo screening for exemptions from the general work requirements?
As a condition of eligibility for the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP), every individual that does not meet one of the following exemptions is referred to as a "work registrant" and is subject to the general work requirements as described in rule 5101:4-3-12 of the Administrative Code. A county agency is to utilize the Ohio benefits integrated eligibility system for screening to determine and document the exemption status and work requirement (when applicable) of each individual aged sixteen to sixty-four years old. An individual is exempt when they are:
(1) A person younger than sixteen years of age.
(2) A sixteen- or seventeen-year-old participant who is attending school, enrolled in an employment training program on at least a half-time basis, or who is not the assistance group (AG) name.
(3) A person sixty years of age or older.
(4) A parent or other AG member who is responsible for the care of a dependent child under age six or an incapacitated person. When a parent and another member of the AG both claim to be responsible for the care of the same dependent child(ren) or incapacitated person, only one member is to be exempt. The responsibility should be determined through a discussion with the applicant.
(5) A person receiving unemployment compensation benefits or who has applied for and is complying with the requirements of the unemployment compensation application process.
(6) A person determined by the county agency to be physically or mentally unfit for employment either permanently or temporarily. An individual is medically certified as physically or mentally unfit for employment when the individual is:
(a) Receiving temporary or permanent disability benefits issued by governmental or private sources; or
(b) Obviously mentally or physically unfit for employment as determined by the county agency. Mental or physical unfitness that may be directly or indirectly observed or perceived does not need a medical statement. However, the county agency is to maintain documentation within the case file capable of withstanding a third-party review of what was observed or perceived to support the granting of the exemption.
When the unfitness is not obvious, the individual is to provide a statement from any medical personnel, that the individual is physically or mentally unfit for employment. The county agency is to maintain verification within the case file capable of withstanding a third-party review.
(7) AG members who are applying for both supplemental security income (SSI) and SNAP benefits at the local social security office are to have the requirement for work registration waived until:
(a) They are determined eligible for SSI and thereby become exempt from work registration; or
(b) They are determined ineligible for SSI at which time their exemption from work requirements is to be reevaluated, notwithstanding the requirements of paragraph (C) of this rule.
(8) A person who regularly participates in a drug addiction or alcoholic treatment and rehabilitation program, either on a resident or nonresident basis.
(9) A student enrolled at least half time in any recognized school, training program, or institution of higher education and meets the student eligibility requirements in accordance with rule 5101:4-6-04 of the Administrative Code. A student will remain exempt during normal periods of class attendance, vacation and recess.
When the student graduates, enrolls less than half-time, is suspended or expelled, drops out, or does not intend to register for the next normal school term (excluding summer) the county agency shall work register the individual, unless the individual qualifies for another exemption.
(10) An AG member subject to and complying with any work requirement under the Ohio works first (OWF) program.
(11) An employed or self-employed person working a minimum of thirty hours weekly or earning weekly wages at least equal to the federal minimum wage multiplied by thirty hours. This includes migrant and seasonal farm workers under contract or similar agreement with an employer or crew chief to begin employment within thirty days (although this is not to prevent individuals from seeking additional services from the county agency).
(B) Who is exempt from the able-bodied adults (ABA) work requirement?
Every individual who does not meet one of the following exemptions is subject to the ABA work requirement described in rule 5101:4-3-13 of the Administrative Code. A county agency is to utilize the Ohio benefits integrated eligibility system to determine and document the exemption status and work requirement (when applicable) of each individual. An individual is exempt when they are:
(1) A person under eighteen or sixty-five years of age or older.
(2) A pregnant woman.
(3) A person under sixty years of age, who meets a general work requirement exemption in accordance with paragraph (A) of this rule.
(4) A parent (natural, adoptive, or step) of an AG member under age fourteen, even when the dependent child who is under fourteen is not eligible for SNAP.
(5) An individual residing with an assistance group member under age fourteen, even when the assistance group member who is under fourteen is not eligible for SNAP.
(6) A person aged sixty to sixty-four, who is physically or mentally unfit for employment in accordance with paragraph (A)(6) of this rule.
(7) An Indian or Urban Indian as defined in paragraphs (13) and (28) of section 4 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, 25 U.S.C 1603 (03/2010).The term Urban Indian means any individual who resides in a community designated by the United States secretary of health and human services as having a sufficient Urban Indian population with unmet health needs. The term Indian, Indians, or Urban Indians means a person who is at least one of the following:
(a) Regardless of whether they live on or near a reservation, is a member of a tribe,band, or other organized group of Indians, including those tribes, bands, or groups terminated since 1940 and those recognized now or in the future by the state in which they reside,or who is a descendant, in the first or second degree, of any such member;
(b) Is an Eskimo or Aleut or other Alaska native;
(c) Is considered by the secretary of the interior to be an Indian for any purpose; or
(d) Is determined to be an Indian under regulations promulgated by the secretary.
(8) A California Indian as described in section 809(a) of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, 25 U.S.C. 1679 (03/2010) and who is at least one of the following:
(a) A member of a federally recognized Indian tribe;
(b) A descendant of an Indian who was residing in California on June 1, 1852, if such descendant:
(i) Is a member of the Indian community served by a local program of the service; and
(ii) Is regarded as an Indian by the community in which such descendant lives.
(c) An Indian who holds trust interests in public domain, national forest, or reservation allotments in California;
(d) An Indian of California who is listed on the plans for distribution of the assets of rancherias and reservations located within the state of California under the Act of August 18, 1958 (72 Stat. 619), and any descendant of such an Indian.
(C) What happens when there is a change in exemption status?
A county agency is to utilize the Ohio benefits integrated eligibility system to determine and document the exemption status and work requirement (when applicable) of each individual.
(1) When an individual who had been subject to either work requirement becomes exempt due to a change in circumstances, the exemption begins in the month during which the change occurred.
(2) When an individual who had been subject to either work requirement becomes exempt due to a change in circumstances that is questionable, the county agency is to first attempt to verify the exemption using the information already available to the county agency. The exemption begins in the month during which the change was verified by information already available to the county agency.
When the county agency is unable to verify the exemption without requesting additional verification, the county agency is to follow the process outlined in rule 5101:4-7-01 of the Administrative Code. The individual remains subject to the work requirement until the exemption is verified. The exemption begins in the month during which the change is verified.
(3) When an individual who had been exempt from a work requirement becomes required due to a change in circumstances, the county agency is to process the change in accordance with rule 5101:4-7-01 of the Administrative Code.
(a) For individuals determined to no longer be exempt from the general work requirements, the individual may be subject to the general work requirements when they do not meet an exemption described in paragraphs (A)(1) to (A)(11) of this rule. For individuals determined to no longer be exempt from the ABA work requirement, the individual may be subject to the ABA work requirement and time limit when they do not meet an exemption described in paragraphs (B)(1) to (B)(8) of this rule. The ABA is not to accrue countable months as described in rule 5101:4-3-13 of the Administrative Code until they have been rescreened.
(b) When a new member joins an already existing AG, the county agency is to attempt to screen the new AG member at the time the county agency is processing the change in circumstances in accordance with rule 5101:4-7-01 of the Administrative Code.
When the county agency is unable to screen the new AG member, the individual may be subject to the general work requirements when they do not meet an exemption described in paragraphs (A)(1) to (A)(11) of this rule. An individual may be subject to the ABA work requirement when they do not meet an exemption described in paragraphs (B)(1) to (B)(8) of this rule. The ABA is not to accrue countable months as described in rule 5101:4-3-13 of the Administrative Code until they have been screened. The county agency is to document all attempts to contact the individual in the Ohio benefits integrated eligibility system.
(D) What information does each individual subject to a work requirement receive?
At initial certification, recertification and when a previously exempt assistance group member or new assistance group member becomes subject to a work requirement, the county agency will provide the individual with:
(1) A comprehensive oral explanation of the applicable work requirement(s) pertaining to each individual in the AG including:
(a) The general work requirements described in rule 5101:4-3-12 of the Administrative Code; and/or
(b) The ABA work requirement described in rule 5101:4-3-13 of the Administrative Code.
(2) A consolidated work notice issued from the Ohio benefits integrated eligibility system.
Last updated May 1, 2026 at 8:17 AM
Supplemental Information
Amplifies: 329.04, 329.042, 5101.54
Five Year Review Date: 10/1/2029
Prior Effective Dates: 9/1/1976, 12/31/1977, 6/2/1980, 11/1/1980, 12/1/1980, 4/1/1981, 6/18/1981, 10/1/1981, 1/18/1982, 1/22/1982, 5/1/1982, 9/27/1982, 3/1/1983, 6/1/1983, 12/31/1984 (Emer.), 2/1/1985 (Emer.), 4/1/1985, 5/2/1985, 8/1/1985, 8/16/1985 (Emer.), 11/1/1985 (Emer.), 1/1/1986, 1/2/1986 (Emer.), 4/1/1986, 3/1/1987, 4/10/1987 (Emer.), 6/22/1987, 7/1/1987 (Emer.), 9/28/1987, 12/1/1987 (Emer.), 12/24/1987, 1/13/1988 (Emer.), 2/15/1988, 3/24/1988, 3/24/1988 (Emer.), 6/18/1988, 10/1/1988 (Emer.), 11/18/1988, 1/1/1989, 1/1/1989 (Emer.), 3/18/1989, 6/30/1989 (Emer.), 9/23/1989, 4/2/1990, 10/1/1990, 11/1/1990, 1/1/1991, 4/1/1991, 10/1/1991 (Emer.), 12/2/1991, 2/3/1992, 5/1/1992, 7/1/1992, 8/1/1992 (Emer.), 10/30/1992, 11/1/1992, 9/1/1993, 2/1/1994 (Emer.), 4/15/1994, 8/1/1994, 10/17/1994, 8/1/1995 (Emer.), 10/13/1995, 12/1/1995 (Emer.), 2/19/1996, 5/1/1996, 7/1/1996, 7/1/1996 (Emer.), 9/22/1996 (Emer.), 9/23/1996 (Emer.), 10/1/1996 (Emer.), 11/22/1996 (Emer.), 12/15/1996, 12/21/1996, 1/9/1997, 1/31/1997 (Emer.), 2/1/1997 (Emer.), 4/13/1997, 5/1/1997, 10/1/1997 (Emer.), 12/15/1997, 1/8/1998, 10/1/2001 (Emer.), 10/11/2001, 1/6/2003, 1/1/2004 (Emer.), 2/1/2004, 12/6/2004, 1/1/2006, 12/31/2006, 1/1/2008, 1/1/2009, 10/15/2009, 3/1/2011, 6/1/2013, 10/1/2013, 8/1/2015, 10/1/2016, 7/1/2017, 11/1/2019, 11/18/2021, 6/16/2022, 10/1/2023, 10/1/2024