What Is Your Residual Functional Capacity (RFC)?

The Social Security Administration (SSA) only awards disability benefits to people who can't work full-time due to a medically determinable impairment. So when you apply for disability, the agency needs to find out what actions you're still capable of performing—after taking your limitations into account—in order to decide whether you can work. The process of determining what you can and can't do despite your medical condition is called "assessing your RFC." RFC stands for "residual functional capacity."

Social Security uses the limitations in your RFC in order to figure out what kind of jobs, if any, you can do on a regular basis. For example, if you can't be on your feet for four hours but you can still sit and type for an eight-hour workday, the agency can say that you can still perform a desk job and deny your application. Because Social Security relies heavily on the limitations in your RFC to decide your case, it's important to know what information is included in your RFC and how the agency uses it to see if you're disabled.

What's the Meaning of Your Residual Functional Capacity (RFC)?

Your RFC is a short paragraph containing a set of restrictions that reflect the most you're capable of doing, physically and mentally, in a work environment. Assessing your RFC is a major part of your Social Security disability determination. Here's a basic example of what an RFC for somebody with depression and back pain might look like:

Social Security relies mainly on your medical records when determining your residual functional capacity. If you're receiving treatment for a medical condition that causes functional limitations, those limitations must be included in your RFC.

When Is Your Residual Functional Capacity Determined?

When you first apply for disability benefits, your RFC will be decided by a claims examiner who works for Disability Determination Services (DDS). DDS is a state agency that helps the SSA, a federal agency, process disability applications ("claims"). If your disability claim is at the hearing level, an administrative law judge who works directly for Social Security will conduct your RFC assessment. Judges may disagree with the DDS claims examiner's assessment of your RFC—which can work in your favor.

Who Determines Your Residual Functional Capacity?

Ultimately, Social Security claims examiners and judges determine your residual functional capacity. But because your RFC must contain restrictions that are documented by your medical records, they often need help from doctors who work for Social Security and who can provide insight into how your condition limits your functioning. Doctors who help claims examiners determine your RFC are called medical consultants, while doctors who testify at a disability hearing are called medical experts.

Medical consultants and experts review your doctor's notes and other documentation to determine what activities you're capable of doing without undue pain or stress. Based on your restrictions, they'll advise the judge or examiner by recommending an RFC that excludes any activities that you aren't expected to perform at a job.

What Level of Functional Activity Are You Capable Of?

An important component of your residual functional capacity is what Social Security calls your "exertional level." Your exertional level consists of limitations on how long you can stand for and how much weight you can lift. Claimants (applicants) with physical impairments will almost always be restricted to a specific exertional level in their RFC.

Exertional Levels and Your Residual Functional Capacity

Social Security acknowledges five different categories of exertional levels that reflect strength-related work duties. Here are the various exertional levels that could appear in your RFC:

• Sedentary work means you have the ability to lift no more than ten pounds at a time, and occasionally lift or carry things like files or small tools. A sedentary job is mostly sitting, but you must be able to walk and stand occasionally.
• Light work means you can lift up to 20 pounds occasionally, and frequently lift or carry up to ten pounds. Light work requires frequent walking and standing and the ability to push and pull with your arms or legs. If you can do light work, you can do sedentary work.
• Medium work means you can lift up to 50 pounds at a time, and frequently lift or carry up to 25 pounds. If you can do medium work, you can also do light and sedentary work.
• Heavy work means you can lift up to 100 pounds at a time and you can frequently lift or carry up to 50 pounds. If you can do heavy work, you can do medium, light, or sedentary work.
• Very heavy work means you can lift objects that weigh more than 100 pounds, and frequently lift or carry 50 pounds or more. If you can do very heavy work, you can do all other levels as well.

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. You can learn more about doctors' restrictions (and download a PDF of a blank RFC that you can have your doctor complete) in our article on residual functional capacity forms for doctors.

Non-Exertional Restrictions in Your RFC

Non-exertional restrictions aren't strength-related, but still affect your ability to work. Examples include not being able to stoop, use your fingers, or remember instructions. If your condition causes you to have any non-exertional restrictions, your RFC will contain limitations on how long you can perform the activity for. Length of time is broken into five categories:

• "Never" means not even once during an 8-hour workday.
• "Rarely" means occurring 1-5% of the workday.
• "Occasionally" means up to 1/3 of a workday.
• "Frequently" means occurring from 1/3 to 2/3 of the time.
• "Constantly" means occurring more than 2/3 or more of an 8-hour workday.

If you're applying for disability based solely on a mental health disorder, your RFC will contain only non-exertional restrictions. (For more information, see our article about mental residual functioning in a disability claim.) Here's an example of a typical RFC assessment for a claimant alleging disability due to a combination of physical and mental impairments:

You can find detailed examples of mental RFCs for three common mental health impairments—and download a free mental RFC form that you can bring to your doctor to fill out— in our article on mental residual functional capacity assessment forms.

How Does Social Security Use Your RFC?

Your RFC helps Social Security translate any medical restrictions from your condition into terms an employer would understand. An average employer might not know how peripheral neuropathy affects your ability to work, but they'll take notice if you're regularly dropping small objects due to numbness in your hands or elevating your legs to reduce pain in your feet.

Vocational experts also use RFCs to help Social Security determine if employers would consider somebody with your limitations capable or incapable of performing any jobs you've done before, as well as any other jobs in the U.S. If you can't return to your past work and no other jobs exist in significant numbers that you can do with your RFC, Social Security will find that you're disabled.

Determining Whether You Can Perform Your Past Jobs

Social Security first uses your residual functional capacity to determine if you can still do any of your past jobs. The agency reviews your work history for the past five years and compares the physical and mental demands of your past work with the current limitations in your RFC.

For example, if you've only done sedentary sit-down jobs and your current RFC is for sedentary work (or higher), Social Security is going to assume that you'd be able to return to your past work, unless your RFC contains significant non-exertional restrictions like occasional use of your hands. But if your past jobs were more labor intensive—such as an auto mechanic or mail carrier—and you're limited to the sedentary exertional level, the agency won't expect you to return to your former line of work.

Determining Whether You Can Perform Other Work

Once Social Security decides that you can't do your prior jobs, the agency then needs to determine whether you'd be able to learn another job with your current RFC, taking into consideration factors such as your age, education, and any transferable skills you acquired. Claimants over the age of 50 generally have an easier time showing that they can't switch jobs (using a special set of rules called the "medical-vocational grid"), while claimants younger than 50 need to show that they aren't able to do the least physically demanding jobs full-time.

Even the "easiest" jobs still require you to attend work regularly, be productive enough to finish your tasks, and not need to take frequent rest breaks. So if your RFC contains limitations that (in Social Security lingo) are "inconsistent with competitive employment," you should be found unable to perform these unskilled, sedentary jobs—and therefore qualify for disability. To learn more, check out our article on what happens when you're unable to sustain full-time work.

Can My Doctor Evaluate My Functional Capacity?

When determining your RFC, Social Security gives special consideration to opinions from doctors who've seen you regularly and are familiar with your ongoing health issues, so it can be very beneficial for your claim to ask your doctor to complete a treating source statement or comprehensive RFC form explaining what your limitations are and how they're caused by your medical conditions.

Make sure that you ask the "right" doctors for medical source statements, especially if you have several providers for multiple impairments. It's not very useful for your psychiatrist to discuss your heart arrhythmias, for example, or for the endocrinologist treating you for diabetes to evaluate your bipolar disorder. But if you have several doctors who can provide helpful opinions on a range of conditions in their relevant field of medicine, that is a good sign for your claim.

Can You Improve Your RFC?

Assuming by "improve" you mean "strengthen your chances of getting disability," then the answer is yes—somewhat. Because your RFC is based mainly on the limitations found in your medical record, having consistent medical treatment increases the likelihood that you'll have documented limitations that, when added to your RFC, will rule out some (and perhaps all) jobs.

So if you haven't been to the doctor recently, you can improve your RFC by seeking regular medical treatment for your disabling condition. Adding records to your file such as clinical notes, physical examinations, lab tests, and objective imaging (such as X-rays or MRIs) can help document findings about your limitations that Social Security can then add to your RFC.

While this approach works to an extent, it's important to note that Social Security cares about quality in addition to quantity. Having multiple MRIs showing nothing abnormal about your knee joints, for example, probably isn't going to establish that you have significant limitations in standing or walking. And you won't be able to go back in time to fix any unhelpful medical records or lack of treatment—something you should keep in mind when considering your alleged onset date.

What If My RFC Has Errors or Is Unfair?

It's very common for disability claimants to receive a denial based on an incorrect RFC—in fact, most applicants aren't approved on their first try. Fortunately, you have the opportunity to correct any errors or unfair omissions in your RFC by filing an appeal within 60 days of receiving the denial letter.

When you submit the appeal paperwork, make sure to tell Social Security about any new treatment you've received since the last time you provided your medical information. If your health has gotten worse, the agency's RFC may not be an up-to-date reflection of your current limitations—and those limitations may be found disabling at a reconsideration review or disability hearing.

At each step of the appeal process, you can address any errors Social Security made in the previous denial in your appeal letter. For example, if you were denied because the claims examiner thought you could work as a secretary, but they didn't review records showing that you have extensive carpal tunnel syndrome (making typing difficult), you should bring that to the agency's attention.

Do I Need to Get a Disability Lawyer?

You aren't required to get a disability lawyer, but it's usually worth it for most claimants. Knowing what medical evidence you'll need to establish disabling limitations in your RFC isn't easy, and having an experienced disability attorney by your side can make the process go a lot smoother. Your lawyer can help you obtain useful opinions from your doctors, make sure the medical evidence is submitted on time, and represent you at a disability hearing. (The hearing stage is where claimants have the best chance of winning, so having a lawyer here is key.)