11.09: Multiple Sclerosis

What actually decides a claim under 11.09

Either disorganisation of motor function in two extremities causing an extreme limitation in standing, balancing or using the arms, or a marked limitation in physical functioning together with a marked limitation in one area of mental functioning. The relapsing-remitting pattern is the difficulty: an examination on a good day can look close to normal, and SSA is reading a record rather than meeting you. Fatigue and cognitive symptoms are the two most disabling and the two most often missing from the chart.

Conditions evaluated under 11.09

• Multiple SclerosisHow SSA evaluates it, the evidence that decides it, and why claims are denied

Frequently asked questions

Do you have to meet 11.09 to be approved?

No. Meeting a listing is one route to approval and not the most common one. Most awards are made on residual functional capacity — what SSA concludes you can still do across a full working week, given your age, education and past work. A claim that falls short of 11.09 can still be approved that way, which is why a denial citing this listing is not the end of the matter.

What if my records do not meet 11.09 exactly?

Two things can still happen. SSA can find your condition medically equals the listing — equal in severity and duration without matching every criterion — or it can move on to the functional assessment described above. What sinks these claims is usually a gap in the file rather than a gap in the criteria: a limitation you live with that no doctor wrote down.

Which conditions are evaluated under 11.09?

Multiple Sclerosis. The criteria are the same; what differs is the evidence each condition needs to satisfy them.