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Does Social Security use a list of impairments to determine if I can get disability benefits?

For an adult to be considered disabled by Social Security, you must have a medical condition that prevents you from working and that is expected to last for at least one year or result in death.  We use a five-step process to decide whether you are disabled. As part of that process, we check to see if you have a condition as described in the listing of impairments.  If you do, we consider your medical condition to be disabling. Even if your particular medical condition is not on the list, you may still be found disabled.

For more information about the disability decision process, we recommend that you read the booklet, Social Security Disability Benefits (Publication No. 05-10029). The booklet explains the requirements for receiving disability benefits and the five-step process.

You also can find descriptions of the conditions that appear in our Listing of Impairments in the publication, "Disability Evaluation Under Social Security" (SSA Publication No. 64-039), also referred to as "The Blue Book."  This publication is intended primarily for physicians and other health professionals.