Listing 12.07 is designed for claimants whose psychological distress manifests primarily as physical symptoms (pain, neurologic complaints, gastrointestinal issues, “functional” paralysis, overwhelming health anxiety, etc.). Even after thorough medical work-ups find no sufficient organic explanation, the individual’s preoccupation with these symptoms—or the symptoms themselves—creates marked limitations in everyday functioning. Meeting or medically equaling this listing at Step 3 ends the disability analysis with a finding of “disabled.”
Regulatory Text
12.07 Somatic symptom and related disorders, satisfied by A and B, or A and C:
- Medical documentation of one or more of the following:
1. Symptoms of altered voluntary motor or sensory function that are not better explained by another medical or mental disorder (conversion disorder / functional neurological symptom disorder);
OR
2. One or more somatic symptoms that are distressing and result in significant disruption of daily life (somatic symptom disorder);
OR
3. Preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness without significant somatic symptoms (illness-anxiety disorder).
AND
- Extreme limitation of one, or marked limitation of two, of the following areas of mental functioning:
1. Understand, remember, or apply information;
2. Interact with others;
3. Concentrate, persist, or maintain pace;
4. Adapt or manage oneself;
OR
- The disorder is “serious and persistent” (12.00 G2): evidence over a ≥ 2-year period plus
1. Ongoing medical treatment, mental-health therapy, psychosocial support, or a highly structured environment that diminishes symptoms; and
2. Marginal adjustment—minimal capacity to adapt to changes not already part of daily life.
(Effective Jan 17 2017; technical corrections May 18 2018.)
Key Elements
- Criterion A—Psychogenic Symptom Pattern
- Conversion-type motor or sensory loss OR distressing somatic symptoms impairing life OR disabling illness anxiety without objective findings.
- Functional Severity
- Paragraph B: Extreme limit in 1 domain or marked limits in ≥ 2 mental domains.
- Paragraph C: ≥ 2 years of documented disorder plus ongoing treatment/structured setting and marginal adjustment.
- Duration Requirement
- ≥ 12 months for Paragraph B; ≥ 24 months for Paragraph C.
Tips on Proving Listing 12.07
| Evidence Type | What to Gather | Relevance |
|---|---|---|
| Extensive negative medical work-ups | Neurology, GI, rheumatology, pain-clinic records; normal imaging & lab results | Shows symptoms are not better explained by another medical condition (Criterion A). |
| Psychiatric / psychological evaluations | DSM-5 diagnosis (SSD, conversion disorder, illness-anxiety); MMPI-2, PAI, PHQ-15 scores | Provides formal documentation of psychogenic nature and severity. |
| Treatment history | CBT, ERP, psychopharmacology (e.g., SSRIs), biofeedback, multidisciplinary pain programs | Demonstrates ongoing intervention (Paragraph C) and persistence of symptoms despite treatment. |
| Function reports & collateral statements | Family, employer, social-worker descriptions of pain behaviors, frequent doctor visits, missed work, avoidance | Map to mental-function domains (information, interaction, pace, adaptation). |
| Emergency-room / hospitalization logs | ER trips for chest pain, paralysis episodes, or “functional seizures” with negative findings | Reinforces frequency & disruptive nature of somatic complaints. |
| Objective symptom tracking | Pain diaries, actigraphy showing disturbed sleep & daytime inactivity | Correlates claimant reports with observable limitations. |
| Rule-out tests (from SSA Medical-Tests guide) | Tilt-table, EEG, EMG, GI scopes—all non-diagnostic | Support conversion / somatic diagnosis by exclusion. |
SSA testing pointers (2024 guide)
- Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) or Standard Assessment of Concussion (SAC) can document functional (non-organic) dizziness complaints
- Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST) may show pain amplification without structural cause—bolstering Criterion A.
Practical Takeaway
Success under Listing 12.07 hinges on proving a psychogenic origin for disabling physical complaints and demonstrating marked/extreme functional interference (Paragraph B) or a long-term, treatment-resistant course with marginal adaptation (Paragraph C). A Social Security Disability lawyer can help assemble a record that pairs exhaustive negative medical evaluations with consistent mental-health documentation and real-world functional evidence for the strongest Step 3 argument.