Listing of Impairments

The Social Security Administration's Listing of Impairments, also known as the Blue Book, describes major diseases and impairments for each body system. Specifically, it describes conditions and their corresponding symptoms the SSA has determined are severe enough to keep a claimant from performing substantial gainful activity (SGA). According to the SSA, most of the listed impairments are permanent or expected to result in death. For other impairments the claimant must prove the condition is expected to last at least 12 continuous months.

Both SSDI and SSI applicants can use the SSA Listing of Impairments to help determine if their condition is considered long-term and qualifies for SSDI or SSI benefits. The Listing of Impairments is divided into two parts: Part A and Part B. Part A is specifically for adults and the evaluations of an adult's condition, and Part B is used to evaluate the impairments for children under 18 years of age.

Consider, the SSA will use the criteria in the Listing of Impairments in their sequential evaluation process to determine if the presence of the impairment meets the criteria in the Listing of Impairments (or equal in severity to a listed condition). If it does, and the claimant is not working, the SSA will decide the claimant is disabled. If the claimant's condition does not "meet or equal" a listing the SSA does not immediately deny the claim but moves to the next step of the sequential evaluation process and applies other rules to determine disability.