Nonhousehold Members

Overview

In some cases people living within a household cannot be considered household members or part of the Assistance Unit (AU). These people are considered nonhousehold members. Except for people who have been disqualified, the nonhousehold member’s income and resources are not to be considered when you determine the other household members’ eligibility and benefit level. Nonhousehold members who are otherwise eligible may participate in the SNAP program as separate households.

Nonhousehold members include:

• Roomers
  • A roomer is someone to whom a household furnishes lodging, but not meals, for compensation.
• Live-In Attendants
  • A live-in attendant is someone who lives in a household to provide medical, housekeeping, childcare, or other similar personal services to a household member(s).
• Students
  • A student enrolled in an institution of higher education is considered an ineligible household member if he or she does not meet the student eligibility criteria of SNAP. See Students for more information.
• Disqualified Individuals
  • Disqualified individuals are any of the following:
    • persons disqualified for failure to comply with the SNAP work requirements. See The General Work Rules and ABAWD Work Rules Disqualification Process for more information.
    • persons disqualified for failure to comply with the requirement to provide and verify a Social Security Number. See Social Security Number for more information.
    • persons disqualified due to having a noncitizen status of undetermined, undocumented, or nonimmigrant (e.g. student visa).
    • persons disqualified as legal noncitizens ineligible for federal SNAP benefits.
    • noncitizens who have opted-out of receiving SNAP benefits. See Noncitizen Opt-Out for more information.
• Others
  • Other persons - with the exception of spouses, parents and their children under age 22, and children under age 18 living under parental control of an adult household member - who share living quarters with the household but do not purchase food and prepare meals with the household are considered nonhousehold members for SNAP. For example: adult siblings or roommates.