What Is Your Residual Functional Capacity (RFC)?

In order to know whether you can work, the Social Security Administration (SSA) needs to know what you are still able to do, after considering the effects of your disability. For instance, if you can still sit and type, even though you can’t walk or stand for three hours, the SSA will use this information to decide whether you can do any kind of work.

What Is Your Residual Functional Capacity (RFC)?

To learn what your capabilities are, a disability claims examiner works with a medical consultant at DDS (Disability Determination Services, a state agency that works for the SSA) to perform an RFC (residual functional capacity) assessment on your claim. The consultant will determine what level of exertion you are capable of, and what restrictions limit the jobs you can do. The medical consultant will rely on your medical record and your doctor’s notes about your functional abilities and restrictions to come up with your RFC. (For more information, see our article on the RFC form.)

What Level of Activity Are You Capable Of?

Your RFC determines whether you can be expected to do sedentary work, light work, or medium work. For instance, if your doctor has restricted you to walking and standing no more than two hours per day, your RFC will be for sedentary work. If you have no restrictions on walking or standing, but you can’t lift more than 20 pounds, you would get a RFC for light work.

Does Your RFC Say You Can Do Your Prior Job?

The disaiblity claims examiner will use your RFC to determine if you can be expected to do your prior job. The examiner will look at your work history for the past 15 years to see what type of work you know how to do. If your prior job was sedentary and your RFC was for sedentary work (or higher), the SSA may think you should be able to return to it, unless your RFC has further restrictions. For instance, if you have memory problems from a psychiatric or neurological disorder, or you are unable to concentrate or follow instructions, your RFC should include that information as well.

Do the Medical-Vocational Rules and Your RFC Show You Can Learn and Do Other Work?

If the disability examiner determines you can’t do your prior job, the examiner will then use the SSA’s medical-vocational rules grid to determine if, given your RFC, your age, your education, and your skills, whether you should be able to learn another job. (For more information, see our article on how the medical-vocational rules determine if you are disabled.)