SSA Listing 8.00

Skin Disorders: Social Security Disability Listings

Can You Get Disability for a Skin Disorder?

Yes. For a skin disorders disability claim, Social Security uses three listings in section 8.00: genetic photosensitivity disorders (8.07), burns (8.08) and chronic skin or mucous membrane conditions (8.09), which covers psoriasis, dermatitis, hidradenitis suppurativa and many others. Most of these listings ask for proof that lesions or scarring seriously limit the use of your arms or legs for at least 12 months. If you don't meet a listing, SSA still looks at what work you can do. Start with the basic disability rules.

Reviewed by Michael Rupe ·October 1, 2026

A person in a white robe smoothing cream onto the inside of their forearm at a table — Photo: Kaboompics / Pexels

How SSA Reads a Skin Disorders Disability Claim

Social Security’s Listing of Impairments, often called the Blue Book, describes conditions severe enough that SSA treats them as disabling without asking about your age or work history. Section 8.00 covers skin disorders, whether you were born with them or developed them later.

There are only three adult skin listings. That sounds narrow, but one of them, 8.09, is a broad catch-all for chronic skin and mucous membrane conditions. SSA’s own examples for 8.09 include ichthyosis, bullous diseases (such as pemphigus, epidermolysis bullosa and dermatitis herpetiformis), chronic skin infections, dermatitis, psoriasis and hidradenitis suppurativa.

Meeting a listing is one way to win, not the only way. SSA’s rules say plainly that not meeting a listing does not mean you are not disabled. It just moves your claim to the next steps.

What Each Skin Listing Looks for

Listing	What it covers	The core requirement
8.07A	Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP)	Clinical and lab findings that support the diagnosis. No functional test.
8.07B	Other genetic photosensitivity disorders	Lesions or scarring that keep you from functioning outside a highly protective environment, or that cause the functional limits below
8.08	Burns that have finished surgical treatment	Lesions or contractures (tight, thick scar tissue) causing the functional limits below for 12 months
8.09	Chronic skin or mucous membrane conditions	Lesions or contractures that persist despite 3 months of prescribed treatment, plus the functional limits below

A “highly protective environment” means you must avoid ultraviolet light, including sunlight through windows, and wear protective clothing, eyewear and opaque sunscreen to avoid skin cancer or other serious effects.

Burns still under active surgical care are judged under the musculoskeletal listings instead. A burn moves to 8.08 once a doctor documents that it has reached maximum benefit from treatment.

The Functional Test Behind 8.07B, 8.08 and 8.09

Each of these listings asks for medical proof that your lesions or scarring limit your arms or legs in one of four ways, for at least 12 months:

You can’t use either arm for fine movements (pinching, fingering) and gross movements (gripping, reaching, lifting) well enough to start, keep up and finish work tasks on your own.
You can’t use one arm that way, and you have a documented medical need for a cane, crutch or other device that takes up your other hand.
You can’t stand up from sitting and stay upright, because of lesions or scarring on at least two limbs (including the groin or perineum).
You can’t stay upright while standing or walking, because both legs are affected.

Pain counts. SSA considers your symptoms when a medical condition could reasonably cause them. It also looks at how often flares happen, how bad they are, how fast they clear and how you function between them. Frequent short flares can still meet a listing.

The 3-Month Treatment Rule

Listing 8.09 requires that your symptoms continue “despite adherence to prescribed medical treatment for 3 months.” That means 3 consecutive months of following what your doctor prescribed, inside the 12-month period SSA reviews. If you start PUVA light therapy or a biologic drug, SSA waits 6 months from the start to judge it, unless it can approve you on another basis.

Evidence SSA Asks for

SSA needs objective medical evidence from an acceptable medical source who has examined you. Per the 8.00 introduction, it generally wants:

when the condition started, how long flares last and how often they happen;
your prognosis;
where your lesions or scars are, their size and how they look (photos in your records help);
any family history of the disorder;
exposure to toxins, allergens or irritants, seasonal changes and stress;
whether you can function outside a highly protective environment;
lab results, such as a biopsy;
statements from you and others about your limits and daily activities.

SSA will try to get your existing records but won’t pay for genetic testing. If your records say little about how your skin limits your hands, walking or standing, ask your doctor to describe it in writing.

When Your Skin Condition Is Judged Under Another Section

SSA evaluates the main feature of a disorder under the body system it affects most:

Skin cancer, including melanoma, falls under cancer (13.00).
Skin effects of lupus, scleroderma, psoriasis and HIV can be evaluated under immune system disorders (14.00).
Diabetes complications go under the affected system, but chronic bacterial or fungal skin lesions from diabetes are judged under 8.09. See endocrine disorders.
Facial disfigurement that affects sight, hearing, speech or chewing, or leads to depression, can be evaluated under the senses, digestive or mental listings.

SSA's Skin Disorders Listings (8.00)

SSA listings in section 8.00
Listing	Name
8.07	Genetic photosensitivity disorders
8.08	Burns
8.09	Chronic conditions of the skin or mucous membranes

For children, SSA uses section 108.00 (Skin Disorders), with 3 listings. See childhood conditions.

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

If You Don’t Meet a Skin Listing

SSA first checks whether your condition medically equals a listing, meaning it is at least as severe and lasts as long. If not, it assesses your residual functional capacity (RFC): the most you can still do despite your limits, based on all your medical and other evidence.

That RFC feeds the last two steps of SSA’s five-step process. At step four, SSA asks whether you can still do your past work. At step five, it weighs your RFC with your age, education and work experience to decide whether you can adjust to other work. Before any of this, step one checks whether you are earning above the substantial gainful activity level, $1,690 a month in 2026 for non-blind workers. The disability requirements guide walks through each step.

Compassionate Allowances for Skin Conditions

Compassionate Allowances (CAL) flag conditions that by definition meet SSA’s standards, so decisions come faster. SSA uses the same rules for CAL conditions under both SSDI and SSI. Skin-related entries on SSA’s list include Xeroderma Pigmentosum, Harlequin Ichthyosis - Child, Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa - Lethal Type and Paraneoplastic Pemphigus. Skin Malignant Melanoma with Metastases is also listed, judged under the cancer section.

You apply the usual way. The how to apply guide covers the forms and records to gather.

Skin Disorders in Children: Listing 108.00

Children’s claims use section 108.00, which mirrors the adult listings: genetic photosensitivity disorders (108.07), burns (108.08) and chronic skin or mucous membrane conditions (108.09). SSA uses the childhood listings first for anyone under 18. Children qualify only through SSI, which also counts family income and resources. See SSI for children and the childhood conditions guide.

Work Accommodations for Skin Conditions

If you want to keep working, the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) lists ideas for skin conditions:

alternative or custom-made protective equipment or uniforms, and avoiding infectious agents and chemicals;
schedules that avoid direct high-sun exposure, protective clothing and ultraviolet light filters;
a modified worksite temperature and dress code, or a fan or heater at your workstation;
flexible scheduling and leave, frequent breaks and work from home for pain or flares.

For burn scars, JAN adds adjustable workstations, anti-fatigue matting, grip aids, speech recognition software, cooling or heated clothing and rest breaks. The workplace accommodations guide explains how to ask.

What to Do Next

Run the free disability eligibility screener to see which program fits. If SSA denies you, you have 60 days from receiving the notice to appeal; the appeals guide covers each level. To compare body systems, browse all conditions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Get Disability for Skin Cancer?

Skin cancer is judged under the cancer listings, not the skin listings. Listing 13.03 covers sarcoma or carcinoma of the skin that has spread to or beyond the regional lymph nodes, or carcinoma invading deep structures such as muscle, cartilage or bone. Melanoma has its own listing, 13.29. See the cancer listings guide.

Does Psoriasis Qualify for Disability?

It can. SSA names psoriasis as an example under listing 8.09. You would need lesions that persist despite 3 months of prescribed treatment and that limit the use of your arms or legs as the listing describes. SSA also evaluates skin effects of immune disorders, including psoriasis, under 14.00 when that fits better.

Why Did SSA Delay My Claim After I Started a Biologic?

SSA's 8.00 rules say that if you start PUVA light therapy or a biologic drug, it defers a decision for 6 months from the start of that treatment to see whether it works, unless it can approve the claim on another basis.

Will SSA Pay for Genetic Testing to Prove My Condition?

No. SSA says it will make every reasonable effort to get your existing records and lab results, but it will not purchase genetic testing. If you already have results, send them.

What if I Haven't Been Able to Get Treatment?

Without treatment, your condition cannot meet listing 8.09, because that listing requires symptoms that continue despite treatment. SSA may still evaluate you under another listing or at steps four and five, and it may send you to a consultative exam. Your state's Medicaid program may help with care: see Medicaid for people with disabilities.

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.