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Understand the SSDI 12-month duration requirement under 20 CFR 404.1509, how SSA evaluates episodic flare-ups, and proving lasting disability.

Learn how absenteeism limits impact SSDI claims under 20 CFR 404.1545, why missing 2 days per month eliminates jobs, and how to document medical absences.

SSA sets no fixed number of missed work days that proves disability. The real test is whether flare-driven absences still allow sustained full-time work.

SSA accepts proof of an impairment only from acceptable medical sources listed in 20 CFR 404.1502, now including PAs and nurse practitioners. See who counts.

Adult ADHD can win SSDI under Listing 12.11 when records prove childhood onset plus serious limits in concentration, persistence, and pace at work.

Learn how turning 50 and 55 changes SSDI eligibility under SSA grid rules. See when sedentary and light work claims flip from denial to disability approval.

Discover how turning 55 triggers SSA advanced age grid rules. Learn how claimants limited to light or sedentary work can qualify for SSDI disability benefits.

SSA asks whether you would still be disabled if alcohol or drug use stopped. That materiality question can decide an SSDI claim involving drug addiction or alcoholism.

ALS meets SSDI Listing 11.10 on diagnosis alone and is a Compassionate Allowance, but work credits and medical proof still decide the outcome.

Qualifying for ankylosing spondylitis disability benefits under Blue Book Listing 14.09 requires proving spinal fusion, joint limits, or severe fatigue.

How SSA evaluates anxiety and panic disorder SSDI claims under Listing 12.06, from panic attack criteria to the four areas of mental functioning.

Learn how the special medical-vocational profile for 35 years of arduous work allows older laborers with marginal education to qualify for SSDI benefits.

Adult autism claims under Listing 12.10 turn on extreme or marked limits in social interaction and adapting to change, not on childhood milestones.

Discover how to qualify for SSDI with bipolar disorder under Listing 12.04 Paragraph C by proving marginal adjustment and ongoing mental health treatment.

Statutorily blind SSDI claimants have a higher 2026 SGA earnings limit of $2,830 per month. Learn how SSA evaluates blind work activity and work credits.

Discover how the SSA borderline age rule applies when a claimant is near a birthday. Learn how 20 CFR 404.1563 prevents mechanical age category denials.

Explore how SSA evaluates chronic asthma under Listing 3.03, focusing on the three-hospitalization rule, spirometry criteria, and functional RFC limits.

How SSA decides chronic fatigue syndrome SSDI claims under SSR 14-1p, including the medical signs and lab findings that prove the impairment is real.

Listing 6.05 lab rules for chronic kidney disease: eGFR of 20 or less, creatinine of 4 mg/dL, two readings 90 days apart, plus one complication.

Chronic migraines have no Blue Book listing. See how headache diagnosis records, attack frequency logs, treatment history, and function build an SSDI claim.

Chronic migraines can qualify for SSDI even though no Blue Book listing names them. See how equaling a listing and attack frequency evidence decide claims.

How SSA weighs chronic pain when imaging and lab tests look normal: the two-step symptom analysis of 20 CFR 404.1529 and SSR 16-3p, explained plainly.

You can win SSDI on chronic pain without a matching test result, but objective signs or lab findings must anchor the impairment under 404.1521.

Learn how cirrhosis and liver failure qualify for SSDI under Listing 5.05, including MELD scores of 22 or higher, ascites, and variceal bleeding rules.

A closed period of disability pays SSDI for a stretch of disability that already ended. Learn the 12-month minimum, the cessation standard, and deadlines.

Learn how SSA evaluates multiple medical conditions under 20 CFR 404.1523 to determine whether combined physical and mental impairments qualify for SSDI.

Learn how the SSA evaluates multiple medical conditions together under 20 CFR 404.1523, even when each single diagnosis seems mild or moderate on its own.

Discover how SSA combines multiple non-severe impairments under 20 CFR 404.1523 and assesses their cumulative vocational impact on your SSDI claim.

Learn how the SSA Compassionate Allowances initiative expedites disability claims involving medical conditions that clearly meet Social Security's disability standards.

Explore the medical evidence used in SSA Compassionate Allowances claims and how severe conditions may receive expedited review.

SSA cannot deny you at Step 4 for a composite job as generally performed, because no single DOT occupation matches. See how composite jobs are evaluated.

How SSA evaluates heart failure under Listing 4.02: systolic ejection fraction rules, diastolic measurements, and the three severity options in B.

Learn how the Social Security Administration evaluates congestive heart failure under Blue Book Listing 4.02, including ejection fraction and RFC rules.

Listing 3.02A sets COPD FEV1 cutoffs by age, sex, and height without shoes. See the SSA table plus the post-bronchodilator and medical stability test rules.

Explore SSDI criteria for coronary artery disease under Listing 4.04, covering exercise tolerance testing, angiographic blockages, and RFC guidelines.

Learn how Crohn's disease and colitis qualify under Listing 5.06, from bowel obstruction hospitalizations and anemia to severe involuntary weight loss.

Meeting Listing 5.06 for Crohn's disease: obstruction hospitalizations, hemoglobin and albumin labs, fistulas, nutrition support, and repeat flares.

How SSA evaluates complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS/RSD) disability under SSR 03-2p, from objective autonomic signs to medical equivalence and RFC.

Learn how the Social Security Administration evaluates CRPS and RSD disability claims under SSR 03-2p, objective medical signs, and RFC assessments.

Learn how to win CRPS disability benefits under SSR 03-2p by proving objective autonomic signs, severe neuropathic pain, and functional work limits to SSA.

Understand how drug addiction and alcoholism (DAA) affect SSDI eligibility under 20 CFR 404.1535 and SSR 13-2p, including the DAA materiality test.

Learn how diabetic retinopathy meets SSA Blue Book visual criteria under Listings 2.02 and 2.03, including visual acuity and visual field loss limits.

How the SSA age 22 rule works for disabled adult child benefits on a parent's record, including parent requirements, amounts, and the marriage rule, per SSA.

Adults disabled before age 22 can draw SSDI on a parent's record with no work credits of their own. Learn the 2026 test, marriage rules, and earnings limits.

Adults disabled before age 22 can draw SSDI on a parent's record with no work credits of their own. Learn the DAC test, onset rules, and marriage limits.

Learn how early-onset Alzheimer's disease qualifies for SSDI under Listing 12.02, including CDR scores, neuropsychological testing, and fast-track CAL rules.

Learn how to qualify for SSDI with early-onset Alzheimer's disease through Compassionate Allowances, Listing 11.17 neurocognitive criteria, and medical tests.

Explore pathways to Ehlers-Danlos disability benefits under SSDI, from joint dislocation evidence and Listing 1.18 to multi-system RFC work limitations.

Learn how environmental limitations impact SSDI RFC cases under 20 CFR 404.1545, why respiratory and hazard rules erode jobs, and how to prove them.

Environmental restrictions like heat, cold, dust, and fumes can carve large groups of jobs out of your Step 5 occupational base. See how SSA evaluates them.

Understand seizure frequency rules under SSA Listing 11.02 for epilepsy, including monthly tonic-clonic counts, weekly dyscognitive rules, and seizure logs.

SSA fixes your established onset date from two anchors: the last day you worked at the SGA level and the medical evidence. See how that one date is set.

Learn how SSA evaluates pain under SSR 16-3p, why adjudicators assess symptom consistency over credibility, and how to prove severe limitations.

How SSA defines sedentary, light, and medium work under 20 CFR 404.1567, including the lifting limits and standing thresholds that control step five.

Under 20 CFR 404.1530 and SSR 18-3p, failing to follow prescribed medical treatment can trigger an SSDI denial unless you document acceptable good cause.

Understand how SSA evaluates fibromyalgia under SSR 12-2p, comparing the 1990 tender point exam and 2010 preliminary diagnostic criteria for SSDI claims.

SSR 12-2p sets out the proof a fibromyalgia SSDI claim needs: a physician who knows the condition, 3 months of widespread pain, and tender point findings.

Understand the five-step sequential evaluation process SSA uses under federal regulations to determine medical eligibility for adult SSDI disability claims.

Since June 2024 SSA looks back five years, not fifteen, when deciding which old jobs count as past relevant work. Here is what changed under the new rule.

Rideshare and delivery work earns SSDI work credits when you report net self-employment earnings. Learn how 2026 rules turn 1099 income into insured status.

Contrast how SSA evaluates field loss from glaucoma versus central acuity loss from macular degeneration under Blue Book visual impairment listings.

Learn how non-covered government employment affects SSDI work credits, why some public employees lack Social Security coverage, and what alternatives may exist.

Rule 201.14 directs a finding of disabled for SSDI claimants age 50 to 54 with a high school education and no transferable skills. See how it works.

Grid rule 202.06 can direct an SSDI approval for claimants age 55 and older who are limited to light work without transferable job skills. Learn more.

Understand SSA hearing loss rules under Listing 2.10 and cochlear implant evaluations under Listing 2.11, audiometric thresholds, and SSDI criteria.

Hepatitis C can qualify for SSDI when cirrhosis meets Listing 5.05 standards for bleeding, fluid buildup, lab scores, or transplant. See each stage.

Learn how the 2026 blind SGA limit of $2,830 affects SSDI eligibility, how SSA defines statutory blindness, and how earnings are evaluated at Step 1.

HIV claims are evaluated under Blue Book Listing 14.11 today, not the old 14.08. See the CD4 counts, hospitalizations, and functional criteria SSA applies.

SSA starts with gross wages, subtracts subsidies and work costs, and averages uneven months. See how tips, overtime, and raises affect the SGA test.

SSA labels past work unskilled, semiskilled, or skilled under 20 CFR 404.1568, and that label shapes step 4 and the medical vocational guidelines at step 5.

Since March 27, 2017, no doctor receives automatic controlling weight. See how SSA weighs treating physician opinions under the 404.1520c factors.

Learn how illiteracy affects SSDI disability determinations under 20 CFR 404.1564 and the medical-vocational grid rules, directing Step 5 claim approvals.

How impairment-related work expenses lower countable earnings under the monthly SGA limit for SSDI, which costs SSA allows, and how to document them.

Listing 12.05 pairs early onset before age 22 with adaptive functioning limits, so IQ test scores alone are not enough to win an SSDI claim.

Discover how impairment-related work expenses reduce your countable earnings below the 2026 SGA limit to protect your Social Security disability claim.

Impairment-related work expenses reduce gross earnings before SSA applies the monthly SGA test. Learn qualifying deductions and rules under 20 CFR 404.1576.

Failed hip or knee replacements under Listing 1.17: documented surgery, 12 months of limitation, and a medical need for a walker or bilateral support devices.

Chronic hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis can meet Listing 6.03 for SSDI. Learn the 12 month rule, transplant effects, and the evidence SSA needs.

Cannot stand 2 hours, sit 6 hours, or lift 10 pounds? SSR 96-9p shows when a below sedentary RFC erodes the unskilled job base enough to require disability.

Explore how SSA evaluates limited education and illiteracy under the grid rules. Learn how formal schooling and reading ability impact disability approvals.

How SSA evaluates lumbar spinal stenosis disability under Listing 1.16: cauda equina compromise on imaging, exam findings, and the mobility rules.

Learn how to meet SSA Listing 11.02 for epilepsy, including seizure counts, three months of treatment adherence, and maintaining an objective seizure log.

Explore SSA Listing 12.04 for depression. Learn about Paragraph B functional criteria, longitudinal psychiatric evidence, and mental RFC rules for SSDI.

Understand SSDI Listing 12.05 criteria for intellectual disorders. Learn about IQ testing rules, proving onset before age 22, and adaptive functioning.

Discover how systemic lupus erythematosus qualifies for SSDI under Blue Book Listing 14.02, covering multi-organ involvement, flares, and RFC options.

Explore SSDI Listing 14.09 for inflammatory arthritis. Learn criteria for joint deformity, ankylosing spondylitis, systemic flares, and physical RFC rules.

Learn how SSA evaluates long COVID disability claims under published guidance, mapping symptoms to respiratory, cardiac, neurological, and mental listings.

Discover SSDI eligibility standards for long COVID under Social Security Ruling 21-1p, including post-viral fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, and RFC limits.

Most unskilled sedentary jobs need good use of both hands. See how limits on fingering and handling erode the sedentary occupational base under SSR 96-9p.

Learn what marked and extreme limitations mean under SSA mental health listings, how paragraph B criteria work, and how adjudicators rate disability claims.

How SSA evaluates ME/CFS chronic fatigue syndrome disability claims under SSR 14-1p, including required medical signs, equivalence, and RFC limits.

Learn why a medical source statement from your treating physician is critical to proving your residual functional capacity in an SSDI disability claim.

Meeting a listing means satisfying all of its criteria. Equaling one means proving medically comparable severity and duration. See how SSA evaluates both.

How SSA evaluates Meniere's disease and vertigo for SSDI under Listing 2.07, from caloric vestibular tests to audiometry tracked over serial exams.

Discover how Meniere's disease qualifies for SSDI under Blue Book Listing 2.07, covering audiometry, vestibular caloric testing, and balance loss rules.

SSA rates mental RFC in four areas from Blue Book 12.00: understanding and memory, concentration and pace, social interaction, and adapting to change.

A mental RFC limited to simple, routine, repetitive tasks matches unskilled work demands exactly, cutting out skilled jobs while leaving unskilled ones.

Military pay has earned SSDI work credits since 1957, and 1957 through 2001 service adds extra deemed wages. Learn how the 2026 rules treat veterans.

How Listing 11.09 measures MS: extreme limits from disorganization of motor function in two limbs, or marked limits with fatigue counted at every step.

Listing 11.09 criteria for multiple sclerosis SSDI claims, covering disorganization of motor function, marked limits, fatigue, and the RFC path.

Learn how SSA evaluates narcolepsy and cataplexy for SSDI by analogy to Listing 11.02 non-convulsive epilepsy, objective sleep studies, and RFC limits.

Non-exertional limits like stooping, reaching, trouble concentrating, and fume sensitivity are defined in 20 CFR 404.1569a. See how they shrink the job base.

Explore how nonexertional limitations narrow the occupational base under 20 CFR 404.1569a and SSR 85-15, pushing SSDI claims beyond standard grid rules.

Obesity has had no listing since 1999, but SSA must weigh its combined effects with other impairments at severity, equivalence, and RFC assessment.

SSR 19-2p requires SSA to weigh obesity at every step of a disability claim, alone or combined with other impairments, even without a Blue Book listing.

Learn how off-task time thresholds impact SSDI claims under 20 CFR 404.1545, why 15 percent off-task eliminates full-time work, and how SSA evaluates it.

SSA decides Parkinson's claims under Listing 11.06: rigidity, bradykinesia, and gait loss must cause extreme or marked limits despite 3 months of treatment.

How SSA decides Parkinson's disease claims under Listing 11.06, including two-extremity motor loss, marked limits, and the three-month treatment rule.

SSA used to review 15 years of your work history, but the rule changed in 2024. Learn which jobs count as past relevant work and which ones SSA must ignore.

Learn how the 2024 SSA final rule shortened the past relevant work lookback period from 15 years to 5 years under 20 CFR 404.1565 for SSDI claims.

At step 4 SSA weighs past relevant work two ways: the job as you actually did it, and the same job as it is generally done. Here is how that works.

SSA decides peripheral neuropathy claims under Listing 11.14: motor disorganization in two extremities, or marked physical and mental limitations.

Limits on stooping, crouching, kneeling, and ladder climbing progressively strip away medium and light occupations at Step 5. See how SSA measures each one.

Learn how to win POTS disability benefits when no Blue Book listing exists, using tilt table testing, autonomic records, and cognitive RFC limitations.

If your SSDI insured status expired, you can still qualify by proving your disability began on or before your date last insured with medical evidence.

SSDI for PTSD under Listing 12.15: trauma exposure, re-experiencing, avoidance, mood and arousal symptoms, plus the marked functional limits test.

How SSA evaluates stroke under Listing 11.04 and brain injury under Listing 11.18, including the three-month evidence window and aphasia criteria.

Learn how to qualify for SSDI with bipolar disorder under SSA Listing 12.04, including manic and depressive episode criteria, mental RFC rules, and evidence.

Learn the medical criteria to qualify for SSDI with COPD and emphysema under Listing 3.02, including FEV1 spirometry standards and RFC requirements.

Listing 11.02 SSDI rules for epilepsy, including seizure frequency counts, three months of documented medication adherence, and seizure descriptions.

Learn how to qualify for SSDI with fibromyalgia under SSR 12-2p, including tender point criteria, longitudinal testing, and residual functional capacity.

How lupus qualifies for SSDI under SSA Listing 14.02: organ involvement, repeated flares, constitutional symptoms, the marked limitation test, and evidence.

Major depression can meet SSDI Listing 12.04 with five documented symptoms plus marked limits in two of four mental areas, or a serious 2 year history.

Under 20 CFR 404.1564, recent education providing direct entry into skilled work can defeat an SSDI claim under the medical-vocational grid guidelines.

Learn how psychiatric setbacks and repeated episodes of decompensation are evaluated under SSA rules and how to satisfy Listing 12.00 Paragraph C criteria.

Listing 14.09 covers rheumatoid arthritis SSDI: joint deformity with mobility devices, spine ankylosis in degrees, organ involvement, and flare criteria.

Review SSDI criteria for rheumatoid arthritis under Listing 14.09, covering joint inflammation, constitutional symptoms, and functional RFC limitations.

Learn about SSDI eligibility for schizophrenia spectrum disorders under Listing 12.03, including evidence for psychotic symptoms and mental RFC rules.

A 2-hour cap on standing and walking sets your RFC at sedentary and rules out every light and medium job. Here is the SSA rule behind that bright line.

The difference between sedentary and light work RFC levels comes down to about 2 hours versus 6 hours of standing in a workday, and it often decides claims.

Learn how SSA evaluates self-employment under 20 CFR 404.1575. Discover the three SGA tests, allowable deductions, and how hours and duties affect claims.

Learn how the Social Security Administration applies three distinct tests to evaluate self-employment and small business work under SSDI SGA rules.

Self-employment builds SSDI credits from net earnings, not gross receipts. See how Schedule SE, the $400 floor, and 2026 credit amounts decide insured status.

Understand how SSA considers employer subsidies and special working conditions when evaluating countable earnings under its 2026 substantial gainful activity rules.

Sickle cell disease meets SSDI Listing 7.05 via six pain crises, three hospitalizations, or severe anemia within 12 months. See what evidence SSA needs.

Discover how a sit-stand option in your SSDI RFC impacts job availability under SSR 83-12 and SSR 96-9p, and how alternating at will alters Step 5 results.

Learn how the need to alternate sitting and standing impacts SSDI claims under SSR 83-12 and SSR 96-9p, eroding the unskilled sedentary occupational base.

Explore how sleep apnea qualifies for SSDI under Listing 3.10 through pulmonary hypertension, chronic respiratory failure, and neurocognitive decline.

Spinal cord injury meets SSDI Listing 11.08 via complete loss of function or extreme limits in two extremities, with no vocational analysis at step three.

The SSA Blue Book lists 14 adult body systems and the exact severity criteria SSA uses to decide disability. Learn how to read every listing.

Discover how SSA Compassionate Allowances expedite SSDI decisions for aggressive cancers, rare diseases, and severe neurological disorders under POMS rules.

Understand how the SSA grid rules work in disability claims. Learn how age, education, and past work can direct a finding of disabled at Step 5 under 20 CFR.

SSDI requires an impairment that has lasted or is expected to last 12 continuous months or result in death. See how SSA applies it at step two.

The SSDI 20-in-10 rule requires 20 work credits in the 10 years before disability. Learn how the recent work test applies to your Social Security claim.

SSDI after years away from work turns on your date last insured. See how credits decay year by year, how to read your record, and what can revive coverage.

Learn how SSA evaluates borderline age situations under 20 CFR 404.1563 when a claimant is within months of turning 50 or 55 under the grid rules.

Disabled widow benefits explained: the 7-year window after a spouse's death, the age 50 threshold, the stricter disability test, and the 71.5% payment.

Discover how SSA determines SSDI eligibility for self-employed workers using the three tests of comparability, significant services, and the worth of work.

Learn how SSA considers employer subsidies and special work conditions when evaluating earnings for SSDI eligibility.

Learn how reaching age 50 changes your SSDI claim. Discover how the SSA grid rules for claimants age 50 to 54 can direct an approval for sedentary work.

SSDI is insurance earned through covered work, so adults with no work history cannot qualify on their own records. Learn the 2026 rules and the SSI option.

How SSA evaluates osteoarthritis under Listing 1.18, including joint abnormality evidence, assistive device rules, and the residual functional capacity path.

Learn how the special SSDI work credit rules allow young workers under age 31 to qualify for disability benefits with fewer quarters of covered employment.

How many work credits you need for SSDI in 2026, from the 40-credit rule and the 20-in-10-years test to the smaller counts for workers disabled before 31.

How many work credits you need for SSDI before age 31, including the 6-credit rule under 24 and the half-the-years rule from 24 to 31, per SSA rules.

SSA defines statutory blindness by best-corrected acuity of 20/200 or a 20-degree visual field. Learn key criteria under 20 CFR 404.1581 and Listing 2.00.

Learn how SSA defines statutory blindness under Listings 2.02 and 2.03, higher 2026 blind SGA earnings limits, and work credit exemptions for SSDI.

Learn what makes an impairment severe at Step 2 of the SSDI evaluation, how the de minimis standard works, and why SSA denies non-severe claims.

At Step 5, SSA considers whether other work you can do exists in significant numbers. Learn how age, education, and skills affect the medical-vocational guidelines.

Step 4 asks if you can still do any job from your last 5 years of work. Learn how SSA defines past relevant work and judges your capacity to do it.

Learn how Step 1 of the SSDI evaluation process screens applicants based on substantial gainful activity earnings before any medical evidence is reviewed.

Explore Step 2 of the SSDI evaluation process, where claimants must show a medically determinable severe impairment that limits basic work activities.

The 2026 SGA limit is $1,690 per month for non-blind SSDI applicants and $2,830 if you are statutorily blind. See what SSA counts against the monthly cap.

Qualify for SSDI with systemic lupus erythematosus under Listing 14.02 by proving multi-organ involvement, constitutional symptoms, or frequent flares.

Learn how to qualify for scleroderma disability benefits under SSA Blue Book Listing 14.04, covering skin changes, Raynaud's, organ damage, and RFC rules.

Learn how SSA uses TERI case procedures and Quick Disability Determinations to expedite SSDI medical decisions for critical and terminal health conditions.

A totalization agreement can combine United States and foreign work credits when either country alone falls short. Learn the 2026 rules for foreign coverage.

SSA counts only true job skills, not general aptitudes, when deciding if your skills transfer. See how transferable skills analysis works at Steps 4 and 5.

Understand how SSA performs a transferable skills analysis at Step 5. Learn how past work experience, skill levels, and age affect your SSDI claim outcome.

Skills from recent skilled work can flip an SSDI approval into a denial at Step 5. Learn what makes a skill transferable and how age changes the test.

SSA Listing 11.18 sets the SSDI test for traumatic brain injury: extreme motor loss in two extremities, or marked physical and mental limits over 3 months.

A treating doctor's medical source statement can decide your SSDI claim. See how SSA's supportability and consistency factors determine its weight.

Understand how SSA evaluates an unsuccessful work attempt under SSDI rules to ensure brief work efforts do not disqualify your disability application.

Learn how an unsuccessful work attempt can remove temporary earnings from the 2026 SGA calculation under SSA rules when work stops due to your condition.

Learn how unpaid volunteer work is treated under the 2026 SSDI SGA earnings rules, and how physical or mental volunteering duties can affect your RFC.

Learn how work history gaps affect SSDI insured status, why the 20/40 rule causes coverage to lapse, and how Date Last Insured governs your claim.

You can work part time while applying for SSDI if gross pay stays under the 2026 SGA cap, but DDS can still weigh that work as evidence of what you can do.