SSA Listing 5.00

Digestive Disorders: Social Security Disability Listings

Can You Get Disability for Crohn's Disease, Liver Disease or Another Digestive Disorder?

Yes. A digestive disorders disability claim is judged under SSA's 5.00 listings for GI bleeding, chronic liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's and ulcerative colitis, intestinal failure, severe weight loss and digestive organ transplants. Most listings need repeated lab results or hospital events within 12 months. If you don't meet one, SSA weighs what work you can still do. See who qualifies for Social Security disability.

Reviewed by Michael Rupe ·October 1, 2026

A smiling woman in an orange sweater slices potatoes on a cutting board in her kitchen — Photo: Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels

What the Digestive Disorders Listings Cover

A digestive disorders disability claim is judged against section 5.00 of SSA’s Listing of Impairments. It covers severe problems with the liver, pancreas and gastrointestinal tract, the long tube from mouth to anus where food is digested.

The common conditions it names are chronic liver disease (5.05), inflammatory bowel disease (5.06) and intestinal failure (5.07). It also covers GI bleeding from any cause (5.02), weight loss from any digestive disorder (5.08) and liver, small intestine and pancreas transplants. Cancers of the digestive system are judged under 13.00.

Many 5.00 listings count events over time: two lab results at least 60 days apart, or three transfusions in 12 months. Keeping copies of every lab report and hospital discharge summary pays off.

What SSA Looks for in the Common Digestive Listings

Listing	What SSA looks for, in plain words
5.02 GI bleeding	Three transfusions of at least 2 units of blood each, within 12 months and 30 days apart; disabled for 1 year after the last one
5.05 Chronic liver disease	Any one of seven complications, such as fluid buildup in the belly (ascites) on two checks 60 days apart with low albumin or high INR, bleeding varices needing transfusion, kidney or lung failure caused by liver disease, or two SSA CLD scores of at least 20
5.06 Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis	Confirmed by scope, biopsy, imaging or surgery, plus one of: bowel blockages needing two hospital stays; two lab or clinical findings within 12 months; or repeated flares with a marked limit on daily life
5.07 Intestinal failure	Depending on daily IV nutrition (parenteral nutrition) through a central line for at least 12 months
5.08 Weight loss	A BMI below 17.50 on two checks at least 60 days apart within 12 months, despite following treatment
5.09, 5.11, 5.12 Transplants	Disabled for 1 year from the date of a liver, small intestine or pancreas transplant

A Closer Look at Liver Disease and IBD

SSA’s listing 5.05G uses SSA’s own chronic liver disease (CLD) score. It is calculated from blood tests: creatinine, bilirubin, INR (a clotting measure) and sometimes sodium, all within 30 days. Two scores of at least 20, at least 60 days apart within 12 months, meet the listing.

For Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, listing 5.06B asks for two of these within 12 months, at least 60 days apart:

Hemoglobin below 10.0 g/dL on two checks.
Serum albumin of 3.0 g/dL or less on two checks.
A tender mass in the abdomen with pain or cramping.
Perianal disease with a draining abscess or fistula.
Needing daily feeding through a stomach or intestinal tube, or daily IV nutrition.

Listing 5.06C covers people whose flares come often. You need complications averaging 3 times a year, each lasting 2 weeks or more. You also need a “marked” limit in daily activities, social functioning, or finishing tasks on time. Marked means a serious limit, the fourth step on SSA’s five-point scale. It does not mean you must be in bed or in a hospital.

An ostomy alone doesn’t meet a listing. SSA says you can work with one if you keep up your nutrition and the stoma works.

The Evidence SSA Asks for

The 5.00 introduction asks for your medical history, exam findings, operative reports and lab results. That includes imaging, endoscopy or colonoscopy reports, and pathology when you have it.

For intestinal failure, SSA wants the surgical report or post-surgery imaging for short bowel syndrome. It also wants records showing you rely on daily IV nutrition. For IBD, records of complications that affect your eyes, joints, skin or kidneys count too. SSA weighs them under other listings and in your functional assessment.

If you can’t keep up regular treatment, SSA still judges your claim on the evidence it has. Start gathering records with how to apply for disability.

SSA's Digestive Disorders Listings (5.00)

SSA listings in section 5.00
Listing	Name
5.02	Gastrointestinal hemorrhaging from any cause, requiring three blood transfusions
5.05	Chronic liver disease (CLD)
5.06	Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
5.07	Intestinal failure
5.08	Weight loss due to any digestive disorder
5.09	Liver transplantation
5.11	Small intestine transplantation
5.12	Pancreas transplantation

For children, SSA uses section 105.00 (Digestive Disorders), with 9 listings. See childhood conditions.

From SSA's Listing of Impairments (ssa.gov), checked October 2, 2026.

If Your Digestive Disorder Doesn’t Meet a Listing

Not meeting a listing doesn’t end a claim for IBD, liver disease or any other digestive condition. SSA checks medical equivalence, including the combined effect of conditions in other body systems.

Then it assesses your residual functional capacity (RFC). For digestive disorders, that can include needing ready bathroom access or unscheduled breaks. It can also cover missing work during flares, or fatigue that limits how long you can stay on task. With that RFC, SSA asks whether you can do your past work, then whether you can adjust to other work given your age, education and experience.

A symptom diary of flare days, bathroom trips and missed work gives SSA concrete facts. The full process is on who qualifies for Social Security disability.

Compassionate Allowances for Digestive Conditions

These conditions on SSA’s Compassionate Allowances list involve the digestive system:

Hepatorenal Syndrome
Hepatopulmonary Syndrome
Chronic Idiopathic Intestinal Pseudo Obstruction
Microvillus Inclusion Disease – Child
Megacystis Microcolon Intestinal Hypoperistalsis Syndrome

Several digestive cancers are on the list too, including Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Pancreatic Cancer. CAL claims for SSDI and SSI are flagged for faster decisions.

Children’s Digestive Conditions: Listing 105.00

Children under 18 applying for SSI are judged first under section 105.00. It mirrors the adult listings for bleeding, liver disease, IBD, intestinal failure and transplants. It adds growth failure caused by a digestive disorder, and daily tube feeding (105.10) for children under age 3. See SSI for children with disabilities.

Workplace Accommodations for Digestive Conditions

The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) lists these ideas for gastrointestinal disorders:

For bathroom needs: accessible toilets, a flexible schedule, a modified break schedule or telework.
For fatigue: periodic rest breaks, job restructuring and telework.
For treatment appointments: a flexible schedule and telework.

See workplace accommodations under the ADA for how to ask.

Kidney failure from liver disease and other kidney problems are covered under genitourinary disorders. Anemia from bleeding may also fit hematological disorders. Use the disability eligibility screener to check work credits and income. If you’re denied, you have 60 days to appeal; see how to appeal a disability denial. Every body system is on conditions SSA lists.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Having an Ostomy Qualify Me for Disability?

Not by itself. SSA's 5.00 rules say an ileostomy or colostomy doesn't prevent all work if you can maintain adequate nutrition and stoma function. If you can't keep up your nutrition, SSA evaluates you under the weight loss listing, 5.08.

What Is an SSA CLD Score?

It's SSA's own liver disease score, calculated from your serum creatinine, bilirubin, INR and sometimes sodium, all drawn within 30 days. Listing 5.05G is met by two scores of at least 20, at least 60 days apart, within 12 months.

Can I Qualify With Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Gastroparesis?

Neither has its own listing. SSA's 5.00 rules say other digestive disorders that cause significant weight loss are evaluated under 5.08, and any digestive disorder can be approved through the residual functional capacity steps.

Does Alcohol-Related Liver Disease Disqualify Me?

Not automatically. If SSA finds you disabled and a substance use disorder is in your records, it decides whether that disorder is material to the finding. SSA notes that digestive disorders from alcohol use are often chronic and won't necessarily improve if you stop drinking.

What if I Can't Afford Regular Treatment?

SSA's 5.00 rules say that without a record of ongoing treatment, it judges your disorder on the current medical and other evidence. You may not meet a listing, but your condition can still medically equal one or be disabling at the later steps.

Other Body Systems in SSA's Listings

This page explains SSA's published rules. It isn't medical or legal advice; SSA decides each claim from your records.