SNAP Benefit Issuance and the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026

This memorandum is a follow up to the guidance shared on Oct. 10, Oct. 24, Nov. 4, Nov. 5, Nov. 7, and Nov. 8, 2025, regarding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for November 2025.

On Nov. 12, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026 ("FY26 Appropriations Act"). Full fiscal year (FY) 26 federal funding is now available to cover benefit issuance, state administrative expenses, and Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) grants in Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), including for November 2025 benefits and expenses. In addition, states should proceed with transmission of their full December 2025 issuance files to state electronic benefit transfer (EBT) vendors in a manner consistent with normal operations. FNS shall not pursue any additional penalties against state agencies, pursuant to 7 CFR 271.7(h), due to extraordinary circumstances.

November Benefits

State agencies must take immediate steps to ensure households receive their full November allotments promptly. The reduction in maximum allotments for November is no longer in effect. State agencies should immediately resume issuing combined allotments for November and December for newly certified applicants who apply after the 15^th of the month.

Notice to Households

State agencies must notify households of the change in accordance with the mass change notice requirements at 7 CFR 273.12(e)(1). Consistent with these requirements, state agencies shall not provide households affected by this change with notices of adverse action.

Quality Control and Application Timeliness

FNS will issue subsequent guidance regarding the November quality control sample and case review process in light of the benefit reduction. Given November's implementation challenges, FNS will not hold states accountable for application processing or recertification timeliness for November 2025. FNS reminds state agencies of their responsibility to prioritize timely and satisfactory customer service.

Claims

State agencies may have temporarily paused claims processing to reallocate resources to issuance or paused further allotment reductions. FNS is instructing all state agencies to return to normal claims establishment and collection procedures following 7 CFR 273.18. As part of those procedures, please resume referrals to the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) to ensure all outstanding claims owed to the federal government are collected.

Time Limited Participants - Countable Months

Since households did not initially receive a full month of benefits and had uncertainty around benefit issuance, FNS instructs all states to not issue countable months for time limited participants for November 2025. State agencies that already issued countable months for November should remove the countable month from the time limited participant's case as soon as possible. State agencies should resume normal procedures for countable months beginning in December 2025.

Employment and Training

Prior FNS guidance encouraged state agencies to delay further obligations until federal funding was restored. Please resume normal employment and training activities immediately. It is a priority of this Administration to ensure those that can work do; therefore, FNS is ready to provide technical assistance for critical employment and training services that help SNAP households gain job skills and find work.

Future Reductions of Allotments

The FY 26 Appropriations Act restores funding in the SNAP contingency fund. However, as with this year, amounts are not anticipated to be sufficient to provide full funding for allotments for November 2026 in the event of a lapse of appropriations next year. States are strongly encouraged to begin the process of upgrading systems and updating state procedures as necessary to allow for more rapid distribution of reduced allotments in the event that available appropriations are insufficient to provide full allotments in any month. FNS staff is available to provide technical assistance for such upgrades upon request.

We appreciate your continued partnership to serve program beneficiaries across the country. State agencies with questions should contact their FNS regional office representative.

Sincerely,

Patrick A. Penn
Deputy Under Secretary
Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services
U.S. Department of Agriculture