Social Security Disability Forms in Baltimore, Washington & Virginia

When you’re applying for Social Security Disability, you’ll likely see these forms:

• Reporting Your Disability (Disability Report – Adult, Form SSA-3368 and Application for Disability Insurance Benefits, Form SSA-16): These forms open your Social Security Disability claim. On these SSDI application forms, you introduce who you are, what medical conditions you have, and your work background looks.

• Describing Your Past Jobs (Work History Report – Form SSA-3369): With this SSA application form, you go into more detail on the kinds of work you have experience doing, including the demands of your past jobs. Social Security compares your symptoms to the activities you need to do at work in deciding whether to award disability benefits.

• Explaining Your Everyday Limitations (Function Report – Adult, Form SSA-3373): This is a questionnaire about what your daily life looks like, down to the level of cooking and cleaning at home, and how your medical conditions affect what you can do.

If you already applied for disability benefits and got denied, your next step is filing and appeal. That means more forms:

• Starting Your Disability Benefits Appeal (Disability Report – Appeal, Form SSA-3441-BK and Request for Reconsideration, Form SSA-561-U2): On these Social Security forms, you let the government know that you’re appealing their decision to deny your benefits, and you provide updates on your medical situation and daily functioning.
• Updating Your Medical Record (Claimant’s Recent Medical Treatment – Form HA-4631): Adding medical evidence is one of the most important parts of appealing a disability denial. Here you’ll explain new medical developments since you first applied for disability benefits.
• Asking for a Hearing (Request for Hearing by Administrative Law Judge – Form HA-501): If your appeal is denied once, your next step is going to a hearing with a disability judge. Most disability appeals need to go to hearings. This form starts the process of getting a hearing.

These are just a few of the forms you’ll encounter on the path to getting Social Security Disability benefits.

Confused by all the forms? Not sure which ones you need?

Contact Mathis & Mathis Disability Advocates for a FREE claim consultation.

After helping people fill out disability forms thousands of times, the Virginia, Washington and Baltimore disability advocates at Mathis & Mathis have tips for doing it right:

• Gather supporting information before you start. Get together records of doctor visits, contact information for past employers and other details of your health problems and work background, so the information is ready as you fill out the SSA application forms.

• Answer every question on the disability forms. It’s better to say you don’t know something than to leave a question blank. You want Social Security to see that you’re taking the process seriously and trying your best.

• Give thorough answers. Provide as much detail as you can on the Social Security forms. Don’t try to cram too much in with tiny writing. Instead, continue your answers on extra pages.

• Give correct answers. It can sink your Social Security Disability case if claims examiners find information on one answer that conflicts with another answer. Check your facts and get them correct as best you can.

• Give direct answers. Don’t exaggerate or dramatize how your health problems have hindered your life. But don’t downplay your situation, either. Be blunt and straightforward about the reality of living with debilitating medical conditions.

• Give details of your job duties. Sometimes even small details about the demands of your past jobs can make a difference to your disability claim. People often don’t think about all the ways their health problems interfere with their jobs. Retrace what a typical workday was like and everything expected of you.

• Submit forms promptly. If Social Security asks you to fill out a certain form, get it back in a timely way. When you’re appealing a denial, you have a deadline of 60 days from the date of the denial to file your appeal.

Get support for all the paperwork from Mathis & Mathis. We can help you gather the information you need, fill out the SSDI application forms correctly, and fill them out in a way that convinces Social Security and gives you the best chance of winning benefits.

We’ll do this work for you for no fee until you win disability benefits.

It’s a lot of work, but in the end it’s worth it when you have economic assistance for a more stable life.

Contact Mathis & Mathis Disability Advocates.

Because applying for Social Security Disability benefits can be complicated, you likely have many questions about the process. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions.