Adult Social Security Disability Criteria - SSDI & SSI

Legal Author - Travis Hansen, Esq.
Updated - September 12, 2025

Overview

What "Adult" Means. Social Security's adult disability criteria apply to the following persons:

1. SSI applicants who are over 18, and
2. SSDI applicants of any age who have enough work credits to apply on the basis of their own work record (this is nearly always a person over 18 as nearly all persons under 18 have not earned enough work credits to apply on the basis of their own work record).

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The Five-Step Disability Evaluation Process

General. Social Security will find you disabled if you satisfy the 5-Step Disability Evaluation Process in one of two ways: you satisfy Steps one, two, and three; OR you satisfy Steps one, two, four, and five. The 5-Step Disability Evaluation Process is as follows:

1. You are not performing "substantial gainful activity" (SGA) and you meet the "durational requirement" (DR),
2. Your impairment is "severe,"
3. You "meet" or "equal" a "listing,"
4. You cannot perform your "past relevant work," and
5. You cannot perform "other work."

Step 1 - SGA & The Durational Requirement

General. If you are performing SGA or you have not satisfied the Durational Requirement, Social Security will find you not disabled - your case ends at Step 1. If you are not engaging in SGA, and you have satisfied the Durational Requirement, Social Security will find you satisfy Step 1, and Social Security will move on to Step 2.

SGA & The Durational Requirement Defined. SGA is 1) the performance of work activity as an employee or a self-employed business owner involving significant physical or mental activities for 2) pay or profit (money or some other sort of financial gain). The Durational Requirement is 1) the length of time you must show your medical condition has lasted or will last, and 2) the length of time you must show you have not engaged in SGA.

Determining SGA. Social Security determines SGA in one of two ways.

First, Social Security will evaluate your monthly earnings. In 2020, if you earn $1,260 or more monthly, and you are not working in a sheltered environment where your earnings are subsidized, Social Security will find you are engaging in SGA, and it will find you not disabled - your case ends at Step 1.

Second, if you are earning less than $1,260 monthly, but there is reason to believe you are manipulating how much are you being paid (e.g., paid in free rent, or you are a self-employed business owner), Social Security will evaluate your work activity rather than simply evaluate your earnings. Even though you are making less than $1,260 per month, if Social Security determines that your work activity is similar to the work of unimpaired people in your community making $1,260 or more per month, or your work is worth $1,260 or more per month, Social Security will find you are engaging in SGA and find you not disabled - your case ends at Step 1.

Special SGA rules apply if you are statutorily blind - Special SGA Rules.

Determining The Durational Requirement. Even if you are now not performing SGA, you must also satisfy the Durational Requirement in one of three ways:

1. Your medical condition has lasted 12 months or more and kept you from engaging in SGA,
2. Your medical condition is expected to last and keep you from engaging in SGA for 12 months or more, or
3. Your medical condition is expected to result in death.

How you satisfy the Durational Requirement depends on the severity of your medical impairment. Most claimants satisfy the Durational Requirement by having a condition that has lasted 12 months or more. The Durational Requirement is a very significant rule. It means that in most cases, not only must you not be currently engaging in SGA, but you must also be out of work for 12 months before you can be awarded disability benefits. Yes, that is correct, in most cases, you must be not engaging in SGA for 12 months before you can be awarded disability benefits. This rule is often very difficult for people to satisfy since they cannot be without income for such a long period of time. Social Security created the Durational Requirement rule to ensure it is adjudicating only cases that involve very serious medical conditions that cause long-term disabilities.

Step 2 - "Severe"

General. If your condition is not severe, Social Security will find you not disabled - your case ends at Step 2. If you satisfy Step 2, Social Security will move on to Step 3.

''Severe'' Defined. Social Security will find your condition severe if it has "more than a minimal limitation" on your ability to work. This is usually an easy Step to satisfy. Nearly always, if your condition keeps you from working, you will satisfy Step 2.

* Special Rule - If you apply for SSI, you are age 72 or older, and you have a medically determinable impairment, it will be found severe.

Step 3 - The "Listings"

General. If Social Security finds that your condition satisfies a listing, it will find that you satisfy Step 3, and it will find you disabled. If Social Security finds that your condition does not satisfy a listing, it will find you do not satisfy Step 3. However, your case will not be denied, and Social Security will move on to Step 4.

''Listings'' Defined. A listing is a description of medical conditions, symptoms, and functional criteria established by Social Security to be severe enough to prevent you from doing any work (you're disabled). There is a listing for almost every medical condition. The listings are primarily written in medical terminology and based on medical and clinical testing.

Satisfying A Listing. You can "meet" or "equal" a listing. You "meet" a listing when your condition, symptoms, and functional criteria are exactly the same as the listing language. You "equal" a listing when your condition, symptoms, and functional criteria are not exactly the same as the listing language, but your condition, symptoms, and functioning are as severe as the listing language. You can meet or equal more than one listing. A doctor determines if you meet or equal a listing, and that doctor is nearly always hired by Social Security. You can obtain a statement from your own doctor about whether you satisfy a listing - Doctor Statements.

Two Groups Of Listings. There are two groups of listings - Part A (1.00 to 14.00) and Part B (100.00 to 114.00). The adult listings are found here - Social Security Adult Listings. For adults, Part A applies.

Step 4 - Your "Past Relevant Work" as "Actually" and "Generally" Performed

General. At Step 4, Social Security will do the following:

1. Determine your "past relevant work" as "actually" and "generally" performed,
2. Determine your "residual functional capacity" (RFC) and "mental residual functional capacity" (MRFC), and
3. Determine whether your "RFC" or "MRFC" allows you to perform your "past relevant work" as "actually" or "generally" performed.

If Social Security determines you can perform your "past relevant work" as "actually" or "generally" performed, it will find you not disabled - your case ends at Step 4. If Social Security determines you cannot perform your "past relevant work" as "actually" or "generally" performed, it will find you satisfy Step 4, and it will move on to Step 5.

"Past Relevant Work" Defined. Your "past relevant work" is each job 1) you did in the last 15 years, 2) that was SGA, and 3) lasted long enough for you to learn how to do it. You will likely have several of these jobs. If you have performed jobs that do not meet the above three criteria, they are not past relevant work, and Social Security ignores them.

Past Relevant Work As "Actually Performed" Defined. Your past relevant work as "actually performed" is each of your past relevant work jobs as you specifically performed them - how you specifically performed the physical, mental, and sensory work demands of each job.

Past Relevant Work As "Generally Performed" Defined. Your past relevant work as "generally performed" is each of your past relevant work jobs as other workers in America perform the job; that is, how other workers in America generally perform the physical, mental, and sensory work demands of your past jobs.

Social Security's Vocational Resources. When Social Security evaluates jobs at Steps 4 and 5, it gets its job information mainly from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), the Selected Characteristics of Occupations (SCO), and Vocational Experts (VEs). The DOT and SCO are the primary sources of job information; VEs are secondary. The DOT and SCO are published by the U.S. Department of Labor. They are detailed encyclopedias of jobs providing job descriptions; and what physical, mental, sensory, environmental, educational, and skill abilities are required to perform jobs. VEs are familiar with jobs and the labor market. They are hired by Social Security as independent contractors to assist it in interpreting and supplementing the DOT and SCO.

RFC Defined. Your RFC is your maximum physical, mental, and sensory abilities to perform the following work demands:

(N,O,F,C) - Your ability to perform the work demand - never, occasional (1-33% of the time), frequent (34-66% of the time), or constant (67-100% of the time).
(N,M,M,M,E) - Your ability to perform the work demand - none, mild (slightly limited), moderate (fair), marked (seriously limited), or extreme (unable to perform).

Determining Your RFC. In determining your RFC, Social Security evaluates ALL your severe physical and mental conditions and symptoms, and then it uses its judgment to determine your maximum physical, mental, and sensory abilities to perform work demands. For example, Social Security may determine your maximum physical ability to sit in an eight-hour workday is six hours, or your maximum physical ability to reach in an eight-hour workday is frequent, or that your maximum mental ability to concentrate is mildly limited, etc.

Determining Whether Your RFC Allows You to Perform Your Past Relevant Work As Actually Or Generally Performed. After Social Security has determined your RFC and MRFC and the duties of your past relevant work jobs as actually and generally performed, Social Security will compare your RFC and MRFC to your past relevant work jobs as actually and generally performed and determine if your RFC and MRFC allow you to perform either version of the job.

With the actually performed evaluation, Social Security will simply compare your RFC and MRFC with the physical, mental, and sensory requirements of your past relevant work as you did the work.

The generally performed evaluation can be confusing. Let's review it. Understand that your past relevant work includes a job as you performed it, and also how other workers perform that same job. For example, let's say you are a 43-year-old office worker who regularly lifts up to 50 pounds. You suffer a medical condition, and your only limitation is that you can no longer lift more than ten pounds. You're fired from your job. Social Security determines your RFC and finds you cannot lift more than 10 pounds. You have proven you cannot perform your past relevant work job as you actually performed it. However, you still have the ability to do all the other duties of an office worker as others perform that past relevant work office job across America (e.g., sitting most of the day, some standing and walking, only lifting up to ten pounds, performing semi-skilled to skilled tasks, etc.). Social Security will find you can perform your past job of an office worker as generally performed. In this case, Social Security expects you to get a new office job that is the same as your old office job except as others perform it (no lifting over 10 pounds), even if it is with a new company, even if you have to move, and even if you're paid less, etc.

Step 5 - "Other Work"

"Other Work" Defined. "Other work" is a collection of jobs in the national economy (other than your past relevant work) Social Security requires you to prove you cannot do to be found disabled. Which jobs constitute this collection of jobs, or other work, is somewhat complicated because it is based on multiple factors that are personal to you. Therefore, which jobs constitute your other work standard is likely different from someone else's other work standard. If Social Security finds that you can perform other work, it will find you not disabled - your case ends at Step 5. If Social Security finds you cannot perform other work, it will find you disabled.

How Other Work Is Determined. Social Security will determine which jobs constitute your other work in two parts:

First, Social Security will determine the following factors in the following order:

1. Your RFC (which is already determined at Step 4);
2. Your age;
3. Whether you have work skills gained from your education;
4. Whether you have work skills gained from your past relevant work or education and training; and
5. If you do have work skills, whether they transferrable (can be used) to other jobs.

Second, Social Security will plug these five factors into its famous Grid Rules which 1) determine what jobs constitute your other work, and 2) direct a finding of whether you are disabled or not disabled. If the combination of your five factors is simple (mainly your RFC and MRFC fits neatly in a grid rule and your PRW has all been unskilled), the Grid Rules will direct a finding of disabled or not disabled. However, in nearly all cases, your combination of five factors will be too complex for the Grid Rules, and Social Security will use the Grid Rules as a "framework" (Social Security means a "guide") and supplement the Grid Rules with help from a VE.

Grid Rules Factors. Let's review how the grid rules work. Social Security's full grid rules can be found here - Grid Rules. The following is an example of three sedentary grid rules ("do" means ditto).

The Grid Rules consist of four factors:

1. RFC. Remember, your RFC is your maximum physical, mental, and sensory abilities to perform work demands. These abilities are either "exertional" or "non-exertional," and the difference is important. Exertional abilities refer to your strength - your ability to sit, stand, walk, pull, push, carry, or lift. Non-exertional abilities refer to everything else that is not your strength - mainly your mental health abilities and environmental tolerances. The Grid Rules do not consider non-exertional limitations. The Grid Rules are primarily arranged by exertional levels, and there are five categories of grid rules - sedentary, light, medium, heavy, and very heavy. If you are capable of heavy or very heavy exertion, you are not disabled under the grid rules. The grid rule exertional levels are defined as follows:

   • Sedentary exertion - sitting six hours a day, standing and walking two hours a day, and occasionally lifting and carrying a maximum of 10 pounds.
   • Light exertion - standing and/or walking six hours a day, sitting for two hours a day, and lifting and carrying frequently up to 10 pounds and occasionally up to 20 pounds.
   • Medium exertion - standing and/or walking six hours a day, sitting for two hours a day, and lifting and carrying frequently up to 25 pounds and occasionally up to 50 pounds.
   • Heavy exertion - standing and/or walking six hours a day, sitting for two hours a day, and lifting and carrying frequently up to 50 pounds and occasionally up to 100 pounds.
   • Very Heavy exertion - standing and/or walking six hours a day, sitting for two hours a day, and lifting and carrying frequently more than 50 pounds and occasionally more than 100 pounds.

When Social Security plugs your RFC into the Grid Rules, it may fit perfectly into an exertional level. It usually doesn't. Hence, a VE is needed. Your RFC doesn't fit neatly into an exertional level for primarily two reasons. First, your RFC is simply different than the exertional level definition (e.g., you match all the sedentary exertional criteria, but you can only sit for four hours per day, and you can stand and walk four hours per day). Second, you have non-exertional limitations that are not considered by the Grid Rules (e.g., inability to stoop, inability to leave your home due to anxiety, or a limited ability to interact with others). In either case, a VE is needed to determine how your RFC or MRFC affects the other work job base.

2. Age. There are four age categories:

   • Closely approaching retirement age (60 to full retirement age),
   • Advanced age (55-60),
   • Closely approaching advanced age (50-54), and
   • A younger individual (under age 50).

3. Education. There are five education categories:

   • Illiteracy (inability to read or write in English);
   • Marginal education (6th grade or less, and you can do simple and unskilled types of jobs);
   • Limited education (7th to 11th grade, and you can do some job duties needed in semi-skilled or skilled jobs);
   • High school education (12th grade or above, and you can do semi-skilled through skilled work); and
   • The inability to communicate in English.

4. Work Experience/Skills. Social Security determines whether you have work skills from your past relevant work, and if so, if those work skills can be used in other work - transferability of work skills. A skill is work activity that 1) requires significant judgment; 2) takes more than 30 days to learn; 3) and is the knowledge of an art, science, or trade. When Social Security uses the Grid Rules and evaluates your work skills and their transferability, a VE is needed because the Grid Rules do not identify your work skills or determine how your work skills can be used for other work.

Using the Grid Rules. When you evaluate the Grid Rules, there are a few important things you learn:

1. The Grid Rules do not apply to you if you file a SSDI claim and you are of Full Retirement Age which is age 65-67 or older. At full retirement age, you simply receive retirement benefits instead of disability benefits. You can apply for disability benefits if you have retired early which is reviewed Here - Early Retirement & Social Security Disability.
2. The Grid Rules do not consider non-exertional limitations except cognitive abilities to perform semi-skilled or skilled work. If you have a medical condition and symptoms that cause only non-exertional limitations, the Grid Rules do not apply to you. Examples of non-exertional impairments include mental health impairments, vision loss, hearing loss, and loss of speech. Because the Grid Rules do not apply to you, you must show you cannot perform any work in America to be found disabled, or in other words, your RFC is less-than-sedentary.
3. If you cannot perform any full-time work in America, the Grid Rules are irrelevant; you are disabled. Most claimants believe this is true of themselves, and if so, the whole Step 5 Grid Rule evaluation is unnecessary.
4. If you are under age 50 and Social Security determines your RFC to be sedentary or more, there is no Grid Rule that will direct a finding of disability (unless you are capable of only sedentary exertion, are 45-49, and are illiterate or you do not speak English). Therefore, other than this one exception, you must prove your RFC is less-than-sedentary to be found disabled (you cannot do any job in America).
5. If you are over age 50, it is much easier to be found disabled because you do not need to show you cannot do any work in America to be found disabled. Instead, you may only need to show that you cannot do work that requires transferable work skills. For example, 1) you are age 52, 2) your past relevant work is as a plumber, and 3) Social Security determines your RFC is sedentary. In this example, you will be found disabled if you do not have transferrable work skills to sedentary work. In this case, the job of a plumber is not sedentary and does not provide transferrable work skills to sedentary work. Therefore, you will be found disabled even though Social Security found you capable of performing full-time sedentary work (a sedentary RFC).
6. If you are capable of sedentary exertion, there are nine Grid Rules that direct a finding of disability.
7. If you are capable of light exertion, there are five Grid Rules that direct a finding of disability.
8. If you are capable of medium exertion, there are three Grid Rules that direct a finding of disability, and satisfying these three rules is rare.
9. If you are capable of heavy or very heavy exertion, you are not disabled under the Grid Rules.
10. The overwhelming majority of Step 5 evaluations are done at the sedentary and light exertional levels as Grid Rules directing a finding of disability above the light exertional level are rare.

Two Rare & Special Disability Profiles. If you satisfy one of two rare special profiles, Step 5 does not apply, and Social Security will find you disabled:

1. You have a marginal education or less, work experience of 35 years or more during which time you did only arduous unskilled physical labor, and you are not working and are no longer able to do this kind of work because of a severe impairment(s); and
2. You are age 55 or older, have a severe impairment, have a limited education or less, and have no past relevant work experience.

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