How many food stamp recipients claim disability exemptions annually?

1. What claimants and sources actually say — no single annual tally exists

Across the materials provided, none of the sources supplies a direct, nationwide annual number of SNAP recipients who formally claim a disability exemption from work requirements or time limits. The SNAP guidance explains who qualifies as “disabled” and notes special rules for elderly or disabled households, but it does not enumerate exemption claimants in the published guidance ^[2]. Policy briefs and allocation tables focus on exemption rules and state allocations for discretionary exemptions, rather than counting how many recipients file or receive exemptions, leaving a gap between eligibility descriptions and administrative counts ^[3].

2. The recurring statistic: roughly 10% of non‑elderly SNAP recipients are people with disabilities

Multiple analyses converge on a similar headline: about 10 percent of non‑elderly SNAP participants reported having a disability in recent reporting years. Advocates and reporting pieces use that figure to indicate the program’s disability caseload and to argue about the potential impact of work‑requirement changes, but these sources are describing the population with disabilities, not explicitly the subset who claim exemptions from particular rules ^[1]. That distinction matters because being a person with a disability and successfully securing an administrative exemption can be different processes with different documentation burdens.

3. Why public statistics fall short — administrative data and reporting practices

Public SNAP reports and research products commonly aggregate disability status among participants and list income or benefit characteristics, but they generally do not publish the number of formal exemption claims or approvals for work requirements; those are tracked in state administrative systems and in USDA monitoring but are not centralized in publicly friendly tables ^{[2] [3]}. Studies note that program rules and paperwork, plus varying state practices (including discretionary exemption allocations), produce uneven reporting, so national tallies require merging state administrative records with USDA oversight data — a task typically done only in targeted research or internal program reviews ^[3].

4. Practical barriers that affect who claims and receives exemptions

Reporting and journalistic sources highlight that many SNAP participants with disabilities face procedural obstacles when seeking exemptions: the medical documentation burden, delays in Social Security disability processing, and caseworker discretion can all reduce the number who actually secure formal exemptions even when eligible. Advocacy analysis underscores that the cumbersome process means reported disability rates understate the number who would qualify for or need exemptions, complicating any attempt to convert the 10 percent disability prevalence into an annual exemption claim count without administrative adjudication data ^[1].

5. Where to find the precise numbers — what researchers should request

To obtain a precise annual count of recipients who claim disability exemptions, researchers must request or analyze USDA Food and Nutrition Service administrative files and state SNAP case records that track exemptions, waivers, and reasons for non‑participation in work activities. The USDA’s Characteristics of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households and state exemption allocation tables provide context but stop short of the claimant-level exemption counts, so a Freedom of Information Act request to FNS or coordinated data requests to state agencies would be the next step for a definitive number ^{[4] [3]}.

6. Bottom line for policymakers and journalists trying to quantify the issue

Existing public sources let you estimate that people with disabilities comprise a meaningful share of SNAP — roughly 10 percent of non‑elderly participants — but they do not provide the annual count of those who file or receive formal disability exemptions from work requirements. Anyone asserting a precise number should cite an administrative dataset or a study that explicitly reports exemption filings or approvals; otherwise, use the 10 percent disability prevalence as an informed proxy while noting the gap between disability prevalence and exemption claims in administrative reporting ^{[1] [2]}.