SSR 19-4p: Evaluation of Primary Headache Disorders

What actually decides a claim under SSR 19-4p

It sets out what SSA accepts as establishing the disorder: a diagnosis from an acceptable medical source, a longitudinal record, and the exclusion of other causes. In practice the claim is then decided on frequency, duration and what a migraine prevents while it lasts — most often by asking whether the disorder medically equals the epilepsy listing. A contemporaneous headache diary does more work here than any single test.

Conditions evaluated under SSR 19-4p

• Chronic MigrainesHow SSA evaluates it, the evidence that decides it, and why claims are denied

Frequently asked questions

Do you have to meet SSR 19-4p to be approved?

No. Meeting a ruling's criteria 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 SSR 19-4p can still be approved that way, which is why a denial citing this ruling is not the end of the matter.

What if my records do not meet SSR 19-4p exactly?

Two things can still happen. SSA can find your condition medically equals the ruling — 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 SSR 19-4p?

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