Written by:

Linda Cosme – Vice President of Disability Policy & Strategy, Citizens Disability

Can You Get Disability for Bipolar Disorder?

People with bipolar disorder who are unable to work or earn a substantial wage may qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance, or SSDI. You must meet several Social Security Administration’s criteria, and your condition must be totally disabling. SSDI benefits are not available for temporary or partial disabilities.

In some instances, you can still get disability for bipolar disorder even if you don’t meet the specified medical requirements. A disability examiner, along with the state agency medical consultant, may award benefits as a Medical Vocational Allowance entitling you to disability benefits based on the medical and vocational record and your functional limitations restricting your ability to work. If you are not eligible to apply for SSDI, there are other eligibility options for disability benefits.

Can I Receive Disability Benefits for Bipolar?

You can receive SSDI benefits for bipolar disorder, but having a diagnosis isn’t enough to qualify. You must meet specific SSDI medical eligibility criteria and previous work requirements. The Social Security Administration, or SSA, publishes the Listing of Impairments, formerly referred to as the “Blue Book”, which provides the eligibility criteria for disabling impairments. Bipolar disorder is listed as a disability under Section 12.04.

Meeting the SSA’s listed eligibility criteria for mental health disorders can be particularly difficult. Disability examiners and the state agency medical consultant must also rely on subjective signs and symptoms, unlike those for physical disabilities. You must have evidence from mental health professionals to support every aspect of your claim.

SSDI Bipolar Medical Criteria

For a disability examiner to approve your disability claim under the Listings of Impairments, your evidence must meet the requirements found in Section A and that of either Section B or Section C. The criteria for each section are as follows:

Section A

Your symptoms must include three or more of the following:

Pressured speech
Flight of ideas
Inflated self-esteem
Decreased need for sleep
Distractibility
Involvement in activities that have a high probability of painful consequences that are not recognized
Increase in goal-directed activity or psychomotor agitation

Section B

You must have an extreme limitation of one or marked limitation of two mental functions, including:

Understand, remember, or apply information
Interact with others
Concentrate, persist, or maintain pace
Adapt or manage oneself

Section C

You’ve had serious and persistent bipolar disorder for at least two years, and evidence of both of the following:

Ongoing treatment that diminishes signs and symptoms
A minimal capacity to adapt to changes or new demands in daily life

SSDI Work Requirements

To qualify for SSDI, you must have accrued a minimum number of earned work credits. This means you must have paid enough into the Social Security system through payroll deductions to be considered “fully insured” by the SSA.

In 2024, you earn one work credit for each $1,730 in wages or self-employment income on which you paid Social Security taxes. The required wages for one credit will rise to $1,810 in 2025. You can earn a maximum of four credits per year.

The number of work credits you need to be eligible for SSDI depends on your age. You must also meet recency and duration criteria. Generally, you need 40 work credits, with 20 earned in the last 10 years. Younger workers need fewer credits.

Even if you meet these work credit requirements, you still must demonstrate that you can no longer earn a substantial income due to your disability. You must show you are incapable of performing jobs you’ve had in the past or any other work. The SSA determines the ability to perform other work based on factors such as your age, education, training, and the functional limitations arising from your disability.

I Qualify for SSDI, Now What?

You must gather all of the documentation you need to prove your disability and inability to work before applying for SSDI. The SSA only approved about 20 percent of initial SSDI claims between 2013 and 2022. Most denials were for technical reasons, not medical ones.

Use the Listing of Impairments criteria for bipolar disorder to determine if you have medical evidence supporting Sections A and B or C. Compile your previous work history, including the names of your employers and the dates worked. Detail any other benefits you receive, such as workers’ compensation, as they can affect your SSDI benefits. View a more in-depth list of the information you need on our Applying for Social Security Disability Benefits page.

Once you have your documentation, you can apply online, by mail, or in person. Use the SSA locator tool to find the regional office nearest you. You can estimate how much disability you can get for bipolar disorder by using our SSDI calculator. How long it takes to get on disability for bipolar depends on factors such as the state from which you filed your application, how complex your claim is and whether you provided sufficient evidence with your initial application.

What If I Don’t Qualify for SSDI?

If your condition doesn’t meet the Listings criteria alone, a disability examiner and state agency medical consultant can still approve your application by considering the entire record to include education, medical, and vocational evidence of your bipolar disorder and its effect on your functional ability to work. You may also qualify for Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, if you have limited income and resources.

Medical Vocational Allowance

The Medical Vocational Allowance is step five of the sequential evaluation process that allows an applicant to receive benefits if the applicant does not meet or equal the Listing 12.04. At step three, the Listings is precise, for example, someone with bipolar disorder may not have the required number of symptoms to meet or equal 12.04, so the examiner and medical consultant proceed to the next steps to assess your functional limitations. If your residual functional capacity is restrictive enough that you cannot perform your past work or any other work, you may be eligible at step five for a medical-vocational allowance. You will likely have to undergo a consultive exam if the disability examiner determines the medical record is incomplete, not current, or missing required testing. The SSA arranges this exam, in which the consultative evaluator performs a comprehensive psychological or psychiatric examination and renders a medical opinion about your mental residual functional capacity to work.

Mental RFC and Consultative Examinations

Mental RFC

When a claimant’s condition does not meet or equal Listing 12.04, the SSA determines whether the individual remains capable of performing work activities through a Mental RFC assessment. This process evaluates mental limitations in the context of a structured work environment.

For individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder, the MRFC must consider:

Manic symptoms: impulsiveness, poor judgment, disorganization, pressured speech
Depressive symptoms: fatigue, poor concentration, psychomotor retardation, low motivation

MRFC Functional Domains

Domain	Evaluation Criteria
Understanding & Memory	Ability to comprehend, retain, and follow instructions
Concentration & Persistence	Ability to maintain focus, pace, and task completion
Social Interaction	Ability to interact appropriately in a workplace setting
Adaptation	Capacity to respond to workplace changes or stressors

A Mental RFC may support a finding of disability if significant limitations are identified, even if the listing is not met.

Consultative Examination (CE): What the Disability Examiner Looks For

When medical evidence is insufficient, the SSA may request a Consultative Examination (CE) by a psychologist or psychiatrist. The CE aims to provide objective clinical observations and a medical opinion on functional capacity.

For bipolar disorder, the CE typically evaluates:

Current mood state (manic, depressive, or mixed)
Evidence of hallucinations, delusions, or disorganized thinking
Insight and judgment
Memory, attention span, and task persistence
Social appropriateness, eye contact, and behavior
Self-reported limitations in daily functioning
Response to treatment, including medication adherence and side effects

A CE often results in a Medical Source Statement (MSS) outlining the individual’s ability to perform work-related mental tasks in each RFC domain. The disability examiner and state agency medical consultant may use that opinion if it is consistent with the entire record to prepare the mental residual functional capacity (MRFC). It measures the most you can still do despite your disability. The MRFC contains a series of questions with ratings for understanding and memory, sustained concentration and persistence, social interaction, and adaptation. The goal of the assessment is to determine if you can sustain work activity for a normal workday or week on an ongoing basis.

You can also go to your doctor independently and ask them to complete a medical opinion. Having one can help the DDS examiner make a recommendation to the state agency medical consultant in your case.

SSI

SSI may be an option if you are not eligibility for SSDI because of the work requirements. SSI is a needs-based program based on limited income and resources. No credits are required for SSI.

To qualify, you must have little to no income. As of 2024, individuals must make less than a certain monthly threshold. Unless your state provides otherwise, this amount is typically the federal benefit rate. The federal benefit rate in 2024 is $943 per month for individuals and will rise to $969 in 2025. You must also have less than $2,000 in resources to qualify. These limits are higher for couples and parents applying on behalf of their children.

To qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you must submit the same type of medical evidence required for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). This includes objective medical documentation from acceptable medical sources that clearly demonstrates the existence of a disabling condition and how it limits your ability to perform work-related activities. In some cases, the Social Security Administration (SSA) may require you to undergo additional psychological or psychiatric evaluations to fully assess your mental health. SSA applies the same five-step sequential evaluation process used in SSDI determinations to decide whether to approve or deny an SSI claim.