Listing 12.05 · Mental disorders
Intellectual disorder
To be approved under this listing, a claim must meet any one of the criteria below — and the medical records have to prove it.
- A
Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning + significant deficits in adaptive functioning + onset before age 22.
In plain terms: Have you ever been diagnosed with intellectual disability or were you in special-education classes growing up?
Evidence required:IQ testTreating physician report - B
Full-scale IQ of 70 or below, OR a verbal/performance IQ of 70 or below.
In plain terms: Have you been given an IQ test that came back at 70 or below?
Evidence required:IQ test
Note · Either paragraph A or paragraph B suffices for 12.05.
Estimate the odds
Historical approval rates for a claim like this — by state, age, and stage.
Approval odds by condition
How claims for this body system fare through the process.
Other mental disorders listings
Source: SSA Listing of Impairments (Blue Book), 20 CFR Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 1 · Updated 2026-07-31. Criteria paraphrased for readability; see the official SSA text linked above. Not legal or medical advice — whether a specific medical record meets Listing 12.05 is an individualized judgment SSA makes on the evidence.