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SNAP E&T Essential Cost Principles:

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E&T expenses must be directly related to an approved E&T program component.

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Costs must be reasonable and necessary. A cost is reasonable if, in its nature and amount, it does not exceed that which a prudent person would pay under the circumstances prevailing at the time the decision was made to incur this cost. Necessary costs are incurred to carry out essential functions, cannot be avoided without adversely affecting program operation, and do not duplicate existing efforts.

The county agency must arrange for or provide support services needed to enable participants to participate in SNAP E&T, within the limit of available funds. For a list of allowed and disallowed costs, see Guidance on Costs and Reimbursements (PDF).

For more information, see the USDA SNAP E&T Employment and Training Toolkit.

Transportation costs for participants to engage in SNAP E&T activities are reimbursable. Transportation costs would not be reimbursable if they are associated with a participant's job, unless the participant is engaged in job retention services.

The following guidelines should be used to assess whether a participant’s expense is an approvable reimbursement:

●	Participant’s expense must be a necessary and reasonable SNAP E&T program component.
●	Participant’s expense must not be used to overcome barriers to participation that would make the participant exempt from Work Registration.
●	Payment for the expense may not be available through another government program or available at no cost to the participant through private sources such as charitable donations.
●	The expense cannot be for a participant’s regular employment, unless the participant is engaged in retention.