35 plain-English guides on more guides, written from public Social Security Administration sources: SSA.gov, the Listing of Impairments, POMS and 20 CFR. Every figure carries the year it applies to, because these rules change and an undated number is worse than no number. Start anywhere in the list below, or use the navigation above to move to a different stage of the process.
- Absenteeism Limits for Competitive Employment
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.
- Missed Work Days: How Many Prove Disability?
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.
- Alcohol, Drugs, and Materiality in SSDI Claims
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 and SSDI: Compassionate Allowance Facts
ALS meets SSDI Listing 11.10 on diagnosis alone and is a Compassionate Allowance, but work credits and medical proof still decide the outcome.
- Closed Periods: Disability for Months Already Past
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.
- Compassionate Allowances: Fast-Track Medical Rules
Learn how the SSA Compassionate Allowances initiative expedites disability claims involving medical conditions that clearly meet Social Security's disability standards.
- Compassionate Allowances: The Medical Side
Explore the medical evidence used in SSA Compassionate Allowances claims and how severe conditions may receive expedited review.
- CRPS and Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Rules
Learn how the Social Security Administration evaluates CRPS and RSD disability claims under SSR 03-2p, objective medical signs, and RFC assessments.
- Qualifying for SSDI with Early-Onset Alzheimer's
Learn how to qualify for SSDI with early-onset Alzheimer's disease through Compassionate Allowances, Listing 11.17 neurocognitive criteria, and medical tests.
- Ehlers-Danlos and Hypermobility: SSDI Pathways
Explore pathways to Ehlers-Danlos disability benefits under SSDI, from joint dislocation evidence and Listing 1.18 to multi-system RFC work limitations.
- Environmental Restrictions: Heat, Cold, Dust, Fumes
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.
- How SSA Sets Your Disability Onset Date
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.
- Sedentary, Light, Medium: SSA's Work Levels Explained
How SSA defines sedentary, light, and medium work under 20 CFR 404.1567, including the lifting limits and standing thresholds that control step five.
- Refusing Treatment: Failure to Follow Prescribed Care
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.
- SSA's 5-Year Past Relevant Work Rule, Explained
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.
- Glaucoma, Macular Degeneration, and SSDI
Contrast how SSA evaluates field loss from glaucoma versus central acuity loss from macular degeneration under Blue Book visual impairment listings.
- How SSA Weighs Treating Doctor Opinions
Since March 27, 2017, no doctor receives automatic controlling weight. See how SSA weighs treating physician opinions under the 404.1520c factors.
- Manipulative Limitations and Sedentary Jobs
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.
- Narcolepsy and Cataplexy Under SSA Rules
Learn how SSA evaluates narcolepsy and cataplexy for SSDI by analogy to Listing 11.02 non-convulsive epilepsy, objective sleep studies, and RFC limits.
- Nonexertional Limits and the Occupational 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.
- Off-Task Time Thresholds in SSDI Claims
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.
- Past Relevant Work: The Old 15-Year Rule Explained
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.
- Past Relevant Work: The 5-Year Regulatory Rule
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.
- Past Work: As You Did It vs. How It's Usually Done
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.
- Stooping, Climbing, and Postural 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.
- Repeated Episodes of Decompensation in SSDI
Learn how psychiatric setbacks and repeated episodes of decompensation are evaluated under SSA rules and how to satisfy Listing 12.00 Paragraph C criteria.
- Needing to Change Positions: Sit-Stand Options
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.
- SSA Compassionate Allowances: Fast-Track Conditions
Discover how SSA Compassionate Allowances expedite SSDI decisions for aggressive cancers, rare diseases, and severe neurological disorders under POMS rules.
- SSDI for Disabled Widows: The 7-Year Rule
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.
- SSDI Employer Subsidies and Special Conditions
Learn how SSA considers employer subsidies and special work conditions when evaluating earnings for SSDI eligibility.
- Statutory Blindness: The Exact Definition SSA Uses
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.
- Terminal Illness and Quick Disability Determinations
Learn how SSA uses TERI case procedures and Quick Disability Determinations to expedite SSDI medical decisions for critical and terminal health conditions.
- Transferable Skills Analysis: How SSA Evaluates
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.
- Treating Doctor Medical Source Statements
A treating doctor's medical source statement can decide your SSDI claim. See how SSA's supportability and consistency factors determine its weight.
- What Counts as an Unsuccessful Work Attempt?
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.