SSA Disability Resources
Medical-Vocational Guidelines (Grid Rules)
The Medical-Vocational Guidelines—often called the grid rules—are tables SSA uses at Step 5 of the disability process. They combine a person’s residual functional capacity (RFC) with age, education, and past work to determine whether the person can adjust to other work that exists in the national economy. When every factor matches a rule, that rule directs a finding of Disabled or Not disabled.
The four factors in a grid rule
Residual functional capacity (RFC)
RFC is the most you can still do despite your medical limitations. These tables cover sedentary, light, and medium work, which describe different strength demands.
Age
SSA considers whether age makes it harder to adjust to other work. The 50 and 55 thresholds can change which rules apply; age 60 is a separate, more restrictive category for some medium-work rules.
Education
Education includes literacy, schooling, and whether your education provides for direct entry into skilled work. The grid uses categories such as illiterate, marginal, limited, and high-school graduate or more.
Work experience
SSA considers whether past relevant work was unskilled, semiskilled, or skilled, and whether skills from that work transfer to jobs within your RFC. For people age 50 and older, transferability can be decisive.
Age categories
- Younger individual: Ages 18–49, with some rules separating ages 18–44 from 45–49.
- Closely approaching advanced age: Ages 50–54.
- Advanced age: Age 55 and older.
- Closely approaching retirement age: Age 60 and older; this category appears in some medium-work rules.
Education categories
- Illiterate or unable to communicate in English, where specified by a rule.
- Marginal education, generally very limited formal schooling.
- Limited education or less.
- High school graduate or more, with the table distinguishing whether it provides for direct entry into skilled work.
Previous work experience
- Unskilled work or no relevant work experience.
- Skilled or semiskilled work with skills that are not transferable to other work within the RFC.
- Skilled or semiskilled work with transferable skills.
- Some medium-work rules distinguish no work experience from unskilled work.
When the grids apply
The grids are based mainly on strength or exertional limits. If nonexertional limits—such as significant mental, sensory, manipulative, postural, or environmental restrictions—dominate, SSA may use the matching rule only as a framework and must consider how those limits reduce the available jobs.
A grid rule is not a shortcut around the evidence. SSA must first determine the RFC and vocational factors, and a rule directs a conclusion only when the facts match its criteria. If they do not match, the rule does not decide the claim by itself.
The grids are used at Step 5 of the disability evaluation. Review the RFC guides to understand work levels, and the denial FAQ for next steps after an unfavorable decision.
Browse the three exertional tables
- Sedentary Grid Rules (Table 1) — 201.01–201.29, 29 rules
- Light Grid Rules (Table 2) — 202.01–202.22, 22 rules
- Medium Grid Rules (Table 3) — 203.01–203.31, 31 rules
The age notes sometimes used to summarize these tables can miss exceptions. SSA’s current Table 1 marks 9 rules Disabled, including Rule 201.17 for some people ages 45–49; Table 2 includes Rule 202.09 for ages 50–54; and Table 3 includes Rule 203.10 for advanced age (55+), not only age 60+.
Source: Official SSA Medical-Vocational Guidelines (20 CFR Part 404, Appendix 2).