How to apply for Social Security disability

You can apply online for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). You may want to assemble all the documents you need ahead of time; the Social Security Administration (SSA) provides a handy, and lengthy, checklist.

You can also apply by telephone at 800-772-1213 or make an appointment at your local SSA office to apply in person with help from a Social Security representative. 

For your SSDI application to be approved, you must demonstrate severe or total disability: an injury or condition that prevents you from engaging in “substantial gainful activity” (i.e., most work) and is expected to last at least one year or result in death. Social Security maintains a detailed list of impairments with additional information on how it evaluates disability claims.

Unlike with retirement benefits, there is no minimum age to collect SSDI. If your disability claim is approved, your payment is calculated as if you had reached full retirement age (the age at which you can receive 100 percent of the benefit you are entitled to, based on your earnings history).

If you believe you may qualify for SSDI, get the process started as soon as possible. At the end of 2024, there were about 1.1 million pending disability applications nationwide and the average time to get an initial decision was 231 days, or 7.6 months, according to SSA data.

Many claims are denied at first, and the appeals process can take many more months, even years, although the SSA did reduce the average wait time for an appeal hearing from nearly 15 months in 2023 to a little more than 11 months in 2024.

Keep in mind

• If you want to apply online, you must not have had a claim for disability benefits denied in the previous 60 days, and you cannot already be receiving any Social Security benefits on your own earnings record.
• “Substantial gainful activity” is defined by a cap on work income that changes annually based on national wage trends. In 2025, the limit is $1,620 a month ($2,700 a month for people who are statutorily blind). Outside of trial work periods and other programs designed to help SSDI recipients get back into the labor force, you cannot collect SSDI if you are earning more.
• Waits for disability decisions and hearings can vary widely depending on where you live. SecurityStat, an SSA program that tracks customer-service performance, regularly updates state and national data on wait times.