Which states have waived the SNAP asset test under BBCE in 2025?
Executive summary
Broad-based categorical eligibility (BBCE) is the vehicle states use to expand SNAP income limits and, in many cases, to waive the federal asset test; however, there is no single definitive federal roster published for 2025 that cleanly lists every state that explicitly “waived” the SNAP asset test under BBCE, and public counts vary by source (USDA notes states report inconsistently) [1] [2]. Independent trackers put the number of states that have effectively eliminated or waived asset tests through BBCE in the mid‑40s: EPIC reports 44 states and territories using BBCE in FY2024 with widespread asset waivers [3], while a 2026 aggregator lists 46 states (naming the exceptions) but that is dated to 2026 rather than 2025 [4].
1. What the user is actually asking and why the official record is fuzzy
The question seeks a concrete list for 2025 of states that “waived the SNAP asset test under BBCE,” but the U.S. Department of Agriculture (FNS) publishes a BBCE chart showing which states implement BBCE and the program parameters without consistently reporting whether states have formally eliminated the asset test for all or portions of their caseloads, so researchers must triangulate among advocacy, policy, and private trackers [1] [2].
2. What federal sources say (USDA/FNS): a chart, not a definitive waiver list
FNS explains BBCE and provides a chart with which states implement BBCE and the programs and limits that confer it, but FNS also acknowledges it does not routinely provide a clean dataset showing which states used BBCE specifically to eliminate asset tests or net‑income tests—states report that heterogeneously—so the federal source cannot by itself supply a definitive 2025 list [1] [2].
3. Independent counts and their range: mid‑40s but not identical
Advocacy and policy trackers diverge: EPIC for America reported that in FY2024 forty‑four states and territories provided BBCE and that many of those states “completely waive the asset limits” [3], while other compilations aimed at applicants—citing FNS and state rules—indicate most states (often stated as 46 plus DC in later updates) use BBCE to waive asset tests by 2026 and even enumerate exceptions [4]. These independent tallies point to a consensus that the vast majority of states have used BBCE to loosen or eliminate the asset test, but the exact count for calendar year 2025 varies by the source and whether territories and partial waivers are included [3] [4].
4. Examples, exceptions, and the ambiguity of “waived”
Some trackers list the specific holdouts—naming states that continue to follow the federal $2,250/$3,250 asset limits—such as Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Wyoming (and noting Alaska as a partial case), according to a 2026 compilation that contrasts those exceptions with the many states that removed asset tests [4]. That list is useful context but is dated to 2026 and therefore cannot be stated as the definitive 2025 roster without qualification [4].
5. How to interpret disagreement among sources and what can be reliably said
Given FNS’s own caveat about inconsistent state reporting [2], the most defensible 2025 statement is that a large majority of states had implemented BBCE and used it to relax or eliminate SNAP asset tests—independent counts put that majority in the mid‑40s—yet the precise per‑state status in 2025 depends on whether partial implementations, territory rules, and administrative changes are counted, and different trackers produce slightly different lists [3] [4].
6. Bottom line for readers seeking a definitive 2025 list
There is no single authoritative, fully up‑to‑date federal table that labels each state as “asset‑test waived in 2025”; researchers must rely on the FNS BBCE chart plus contemporaneous independent trackers—EPIC’s FY2024 survey (44 states/territories) and later aggregations that show roughly 46 states by 2026—to conclude that most states had effectively waived SNAP asset limits via BBCE by 2025, while a minority of states continued to adhere to stricter federal asset limits or had partial waivers [1] [3] [4] [2].