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How to check a disability application or appeal status
Use official SSA online or phone options, understand the difference between an application and an appeal, and keep your next step visible.
Check the guideExplore careful, plain-English guides grounded in Social Security Administration sources. Learn at your pace, then decide what next step feels right for you.
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Check your status
Use official SSA online or phone options, understand the difference between an application and an appeal, and keep your next step visible.
Check the guideAppointment preparation
Organize the personal, medical, work, and financial information you may need before a phone or in-person appointment.
Read the guideProgram basics
Learn the central differences between the two disability programs, why work history matters for SSDI, and why income and resources matter for SSI.
Read the guideGet organized
Prepare identity, medical, work, education, and payment information using a calm checklist based on SSA's official starter materials.
See the checklistHow we earn trust
Our educational guides link to official SSA material, identify when they were reviewed, and clearly separate general information from legal advice or an eligibility decision.
Read our editorial standardsReady for your own starting path?
Answer a short set of questions and see a suggested SSI, SSDI, combined, or child starter path. Only SSA decides eligibility.
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