California food aid recipients in seven counties will not face the three-month CalFresh time limit from November 1, 2026 through October 31, 2027. The state Department of Social Services lists the one-year waiver for Colusa, Imperial, Kings, Merced, Monterey, Plumas and Tulare counties. The earlier waiver for Colusa, Imperial and Tulare was due to expire October 31, 2026.
Which counties are covered
The state’s CalFresh work-rule page names the seven counties for the new waiver period. Kings County is on the list for the first time. The waiver is tracked under All County Letter 26-63, the notice the state sent to county offices.
The list for the year now ending included Alpine, Colusa, Imperial, Merced, Monterey, Plumas and Tulare. Alpine County is missing from the new one. The state says Alpine’s waiver ends October 31, 2026, and the time limit starts applying there on November 1.
The federal approval behind the first waiver came in a letter dated October 23, 2025 from the Food and Nutrition Service. It covered Colusa, Imperial and Tulare counties and set an October 31, 2026 expiration. The state had asked for November 3, 2025 through November 2, 2026, and USDA approved dates two days earlier at each end.
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Why only a few counties qualify
Approval rested on unemployment. The federal letter cited 12-month average rates from July 2024 through June 2025 of 13.0% in Colusa County, 18.7% in Imperial County and 10.4% in Tulare County. All three sit above the 10% line that now governs waivers.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office summary of the 2025 federal law, known as H.R. 1, says waivers now apply only to areas with unemployment above 10%. It says the law ended waivers based on a finding of too few jobs. California’s statewide waiver ended November 2, 2025, which left county waivers as the only way to exempt anyone.
The same law widened who is subject to the limit. It reaches adults through age 64, up from 54, and adults whose youngest dependent is 14 or older, down from 18. It also eliminated the earlier exemptions for former foster youth, veterans and homeless people.
The federal letter and the state’s list describe the three original counties and the full seven-county set, but neither gives the unemployment figures behind the four counties that joined later. Those are Kings, Merced, Monterey and Plumas. Recipients in those counties can ask their county office how the waiver was justified.
What the three-month limit means for a recipient
People the state calls ABAWDs, short for able-bodied adults without dependents, can receive only three full months of CalFresh every three years. The limit applies to people ages 18 to 64. Benefits continue past three months for anyone who works, qualifies for an exemption or lives in a waived county.
Someone who works must average 20 hours a week. School or training counts at 20 class hours a week or at least half-time enrollment. A person who cannot work 20 hours a week, or 80 hours a month, because of a physical or mental health issue is excused.
A separate set of rules covers the general CalFresh work requirements for ages 16 to 59. Earning at least $217.50 a week before taxes, or working at least 30 hours a week, excuses a person from those. The three-month limit has its own standard of 20 hours a week.
The state lists other exemptions too. They include living in a CalFresh household with a member under 14, being pregnant and identifying as Indian, Urban Indian or California Indian. People excused from the general CalFresh work rules, which cover ages 16 to 59, are also excused from the time limit.
None of that matters while a recipient lives in a waived county. A household in Tulare, Imperial or Colusa County keeps its benefits without logging work hours, The state’s page says residents of those counties do not have to meet the work requirements during the waiver period and may keep receiving CalFresh for more than three months without working.
What Alpine County recipients face
Alpine County is the one place where the picture worsens on November 1. Recipients there who are ages 18 to 64 and not excused will start using up their three months under the state’s rules. The count of Alpine households in that position is not part of the state’s page.
The state runs a pre-screening tool on its CalFresh page that helps a person work out whether the work requirements apply or whether an exemption fits. The CalFresh Information Line is 1-877-847-3663. Counties can also connect recipients with local work opportunities.
For the other six counties, the November 1 start means the new waiver picks up the day after the old one ends. The state’s page does not describe any gap in coverage. Anyone in those counties who got a county notice about the time limit can check it against the dates on the state’s list.
Is the CalFresh clock about to start for one household?
A CalFresh recipient between 18 and 64 who moves from a waived county, or whose county loses its waiver, can lose benefits after three months without noticing the change. Alpine County households hit that point on November 1.
The SNAP & Medicaid Renewal Organizer covers the SNAP work-rule time limit and who is exempt, and it adds a renewal document checklist and a renewal and reporting calendar. Its state packs cover all 51 states, so California’s own rules sit in one place.
Get the organizer that tracks the CalFresh work limit and exemptions →
More Financial Reading
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
