SSA's Listing of Impairments
Conditions That Qualify for Disability Benefits
What Conditions Qualify for Social Security Disability?
SSA's Listing of Impairments, often called the Blue Book, describes conditions severe enough to qualify for SSDI or SSI. It has 14 adult body systems with 117 listings and a childhood part with 97 more. Meeting a listing isn't the only way to qualify: SSA also looks at how your condition limits the work you can do.
Conditions by Body System
- Musculoskeletal DisordersListing 1.00: 9 listings, such as disorders of the skeletal spine resulting in compromise of a nerve root(s) and lumbar spinal stenosis resulting in compromise of the cauda equina
- Special Senses and SpeechListing 2.00: 7 listings, such as loss of central visual acuity and contraction of the visual fields in the better eye
- Respiratory DisordersListing 3.00: 7 listings, such as chronic respiratory disorders and asthma
- Cardiovascular SystemListing 4.00: 8 listings, such as chronic heart failure and ischemic heart disease
- Digestive DisordersListing 5.00: 8 listings, such as gastrointestinal hemorrhaging from any cause, requiring three blood transfusions and chronic liver disease (cld)
- Genitourinary DisordersListing 6.00: 5 listings, such as chronic kidney disease, with chronic hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis and chronic kidney disease, with kidney transplant
- Hematological DisordersListing 7.00: 5 listings, such as hemolytic anemias, including sickle cell disease, thalassemia, and their variants and disorders of thrombosis and hemostasis
- Skin DisordersListing 8.00: 3 listings, such as genetic photosensitivity disorders and burns
- Endocrine DisordersListing 9.00: evaluated under the affected body systems
- Congenital Disorders that Affect Multiple Body SystemsListing 10.00: 1 listings, such as non-mosaic down syndrome (chromosome 21 trisomy or chromosome 21 translocation)
- Neurological DisordersListing 11.00: 16 listings, such as epilepsy and vascular insult to the brain
- Mental DisordersListing 12.00: 11 listings, such as neurocognitive disorders and schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders
- Cancer (Malignant Neoplastic Diseases)Listing 13.00: 28 listings, such as soft tissue cancers of the head and neck and skin
- Immune System DisordersListing 14.00: 9 listings, such as systemic lupus erythematosus and systemic vasculitis
- Childhood ConditionsListings 100.00 to 114.00, used for children applying for SSI
How SSA Uses the Listings
In SSA's words: "However, the absence of a listing-level impairment does not mean the individual is not disabled. Rather, it merely requires the adjudicator to move on to the next step of the process and apply other rules in order to resolve the issue of disability."
SSA decides claims in five steps: whether you're working above the substantial gainful activity level, whether your condition is severe, whether it meets or equals a listing, whether you can do your past work, and whether you can adjust to other work. Read who qualifies for each step, or try the eligibility screener.
Some claims move faster. "Compassionate Allowances are a way to quickly identify diseases and other medical conditions that, by definition, meet Social Security's standards for disability benefits." If you're denied, you can appeal.