How to Receive an Approval for SSDI

SSDI can help pay for personal expenses for someone who cannot work due to their disability. Receiving an approval for SSDI helps to cover your your living expenses when you are unable to provide for yourself through other means. Receiving approval for SSDI involves getting into contact with the right people.

1. Speak with your doctor about receiving SSDI. He will fill out a medical form for you to give to the Social Security Administration letting it know about your disability.


2. Locate an attorney that deals with Social Security cases in your telephone book in the yellow pages. Discuss your specific disability with the attorney.


3. Ask your doctor for a copy of your medical records. Make sure that the medical records state your specific disability, your treatment plan, what medications you take and that you are capable of working. Ask the doctor to include on your medical record the prognosis since the Social Security Administration wants to know why they should give you SSDI.


4. Set up an appointment with the Social Security Administration to begin the process. Apply for SSDI over the telephone or in person. Bring in all of your medical records and attorney information. Be prepared to give the clerk your work history from the last 15 years and home addresses from the last 10 years.


5. Wait to receive a decision in the mail. It can take up to six months for the Social Security Administration to make a decision. Give any letters that SSA sends to you to your attorney since you hired him to handle your case. SSA may send you a letter asking you to go to a separate doctor to verify your disability.