Steps for Filing for Disability

Properly filling out a disability benefits application and report can make the difference between receiving the financial support and having to appeal a rejection. The Social Security Administration (SSA) is responsible for deciding eligibility for disability benefits and helping current benefit recipients with any issues. If you are disabled and need financial support to meet your expenses, you should file an application for disability. Be careful when filing, and do not forget to include your disability report and disclosure authorization forms.

Things You'll Need

• Adult Disability Checklist
• Online Disability Benefit Application
• Online Adult Disability Report
• Authorization to Disclose Information to the Social Security Administration form

Show More

Instructions

Apply for Social Security Disability Benefits

• 1

  Get the Adult Disability Checklist from the Social Security Administration's website or your local Social Security office (see Resources). Review this form to understand the forms and details you will need to complete your disability benefits application. The SSA encourages users to print out the checklist to have it on hand while they fill out the application and disability report.

• 2

  Fill out the Disability Benefit Application online. Be as honest and thorough as possible. The SSA recommends reading the page entitled "Using This Disability Application" before filling in the application to learn about what benefits are for, appealing decisions, documents you will need based on who you are applying for (yourself or another person) and other benefits that may be available to you. Once you review the "Using This Disability Application" page, you will need at least 10 to 30 minutes in order to read the instructions, gather the requested information and answer the questions.

• 3

  Fill in the online Adult Disability Report with your medical and work history. The report has seven sections, each with instructions on how to answer. At the end, you can put any additional information in the "Remarks section," then review all your answers and submit the form. You are only given 25 minutes on each page before you receive a warning. After the third warning, the website will automatically log you off, and you will lose any work you did not save. The report automatically saves whenever you move forward, back or sign off. You do not have to fill the Adult Disability Report entirely in one sitting and the SSA estimates the entire process should take an average of 90 minutes.

• 4

  Sign the Authorization to Disclose Information to the Social Security Administration and send or deliver it to your local Social Security office. The form acknowledges that you are voluntarily allowing the SSA to receive medical information from your doctors and other health professionals. You will need to sign and date the form, and have a witness sign as well. When you have signed the disclosure agreement, you need to mail it to the nearest Social Security office or you can deliver it in person.

• 5

  Make an appointment to fill out your benefits application if you have more questions or want to do it in person. Call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to make your appointment. You can also use the SSA website to find the office nearest to your home and go in to set up your appointment.