Getting Disability Benefits for COPD or Asthma

Respiratory disorders, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, are some of the most common physical impairments listed on disability applications. While both disorders interfere with your ability to breathe normally, asthma symptoms are usually only triggered by an allergen, while COPD has constant symptoms that can worsen over time.

Many people with mild asthma or COPD are able to manage their symptoms with medications and exercise. But in more advanced cases, your symptoms might limit your ability to walk further than short distances or lift anything heavier than small objects. If symptoms from your COPD, asthma, or other pulmonary (lung) conditions keep you from working full-time for one year or more, you might qualify for Social Security disability benefits.

When Is COPD or Asthma Considered a Disability?

Social Security awards disability benefits to people who have a health impairment that prevents them from earning at or above the level of substantial gainful activity for at least twelve months. You'll need to meet both the technical requirements to receive either Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) as well as show that you're medically disabled according to the agency's definition.

SSDI benefits are available to people with a qualifying work history who've contributed to the program by way of payroll or self-employment taxes for a certain number of years. SSI is needs-based and intended for people with limited financial resources, regardless of work history. You need to meet the requirements for at least one type of program in order to be found disabled. Once the agency is satisfied that you can legally receive SSDI or SSI, a claims examiner will decide whether you're medically eligible for benefits—meaning you either meet a listed impairment or that you have functional limitations that keep you from performing any work.

Getting Disability Automatically for COPD

COPD is one of the listed impairments in Social Security's Blue Book, a catalog of medical disorders that can potentially be "automatically" disabling—meaning you can qualify for benefits without having to show that you can't work at all provided you have specific medical evidence in your records. Getting disability benefits this way is called "meeting a listing."

Social Security evaluates COPD underlisting 3.02 for chronic respiratory disorders. The listing consists of several tables that the agency will use to determine if your spirometry test results are enough to qualify you for benefits based on greatly reduced lung capacity. You can meet the criteria of Listing 3.02 in one of the following ways:

• Your FEV₁ is equal to or less than a given amount, depending on your age, sex, and height. Table I-B in the listing states, for example, that a 24-year-old woman who is 5'5" meets the listing with an FEV₁ of 1.35 or below.
• You have chronic restrictive ventilatory disease and your FVC (forced vital capacity), the amount of air you can exhale after taking your deepest breath, is less than or equal to the amounts in Table II (based on your age, sex, and height).
• Your lungs can't properly oxygenate your blood according to results from the following tests: DLCO (diffusing capacity of lungs for carbon monoxide), arterial PaCO₂ and PaO₂ (the pressure of carbon dioxide and oxygen in arterial blood), or SpO₂ (the percentage that your blood is saturated with oxygen). These values are also dependent on your age, sex, and height.

If you don't have the right test results for listing 3.02 according to its tables, you can still meet the listing if you've had at least three symptom flare-ups where you needed at least 48 hours of hospitalization in the past year, spread over the course of several months.

The lung capacity tables in listing 3.02 are highly technical, and difficult to interpret by laypeople. You may wish to get your doctor's opinion, preferably from your pulmonary specialist, on whether you meet the requirements of the listing.

Getting Disability Automatically for Asthma

Asthma, like COPD, is a listed impairment. You can meetlisting 3.03 with a diagnosis of asthma if your medical records contain documentation of either one of the following:

• You have a forced expiratory volume (FEV₁) value (volume of air exhaled in one second) that's equal to or less than a given amount, depending on your age, sex, and height. Table VI-B in the listing states, for example, that a 21-year-old man who is 6'1" meets the listing with an FEV₁ of 2.55 or below.
• You must have had three exacerbations or complications requiring hospitalization in a one-year period. The hospitalizations must have lasted at least 48 hours each and must have occurred at least 30 days apart. If you meet these requirements, Social Security will consider you disabled for at least one year after the discharge date of your last hospitalization. After one year, the agency will re-evaluate your impairment.

If you have a diagnosis of chronic asthmatic bronchitis, a respiratory disorder that causes inflammation of the bronchi—the tubes that connect your windpipe with your lungs—Social Security will evaluate your application under the listing for COPD. The same is true for bronchiectasis, a condition where the airways in your lung(s) become permanently widened, which can lead to frequent infections.

Another listing that can apply to both COPD and asthma is 3.14 for respiratory failure. You may meet the criteria of 3.14 if you have any underlying chronic respiratory disorder aside from cystic fibrosis, which has its own listing (3.04) that requires extensive treatment with invasive mechanical ventilation, noninvasive ventilation with bilateral positive airway pressure (BiPAP), or a combination of both. You'll need to show that you've undergone these treatments for specific lengths during certain time periods in order to meet this listing.

What If You Don't Meet the Asthma or COPD Listings?

Disability applicants with moderate COPD or asthma aren't likely to have the evidence necessary to meet a listing. But Social Security can still award you benefits if you can show that your symptoms keep you from doing your past work or any other jobs. Getting disability this way is called a medical-vocational allowance.

To qualify under a medical-vocational allowance, Social Security reviews your medical records and daily activities to determine your residual functional capacity (RFC). Your RFC is a set of restrictions describing the most you can do, physically and mentally, in a work environment. If you get out of breath walking more than 50 feet, for example, your RFC might reflect this by limiting you to sedentary (sit-down) work. Your RFC will likely also contain restrictions against working around dust, fumes, odors, or temperature extremes.

Social Security compares your current RFC with the demands of your past jobs to see whether you could still do them today. If you can't, then—depending on your age, education, and skills—the agency must decide whether any other jobs exist in significant numbers that you can do, despite the limitations in your RFC. If you can't do any other work, Social Security will find that you're disabled and award you benefits.

Medical Evidence You Need to Get Disability for COPD or Asthma

Your medical records are the most important part of your disability claim. It's important to let Social Security know the contact information and dates of treatment for every medical provider you've seen, including your treating physician's notes and discharge summaries from any hospital visits. The agency will review these records looking at your symptoms, diagnoses, and treatment for asthma or COPD.

Symptoms of COPD and Asthma

Both asthma and COPD are characterized by dyspnea (shortness of breath) while doing everyday activities, such as climbing stairs. Asthma attacks can be triggered by airborne irritants, allergies, exercise, cold air, cold viruses, and emotional distress. COPD symptoms include chronic coughing, fatigue, and chest pain.

Your symptoms may be mild, moderate, or severe depending on how reduced your lung capacity is. For example, somebody with moderate COPD has less than 80%, but greater or equal to 50%, of predicted lung capacity, while somebody with very severe COPD has less than 30% of predicted lung capacity. The more severe your symptoms are, the more likely Social Security will consider your asthma or COPD to be disabling.

Diagnosing Respiratory Disorders

Asthma, COPD, and other respiratory disorders can be partly diagnosed by testing your pulmonary functioning (spirometry). Your doctor will measure your lung capacity by having you take a deep breath and blow into a machine called a spirometer.

Your doctor will also need to review your medical history and conduct a physical exam to rule out other potential diagnoses. Objective medical imaging, such as X-rays, MRIs, or CT scans of your chest that show lung opacity should be reviewed by your doctor and included with your disability application.

Treatment for Asthma and COPD

Asthma and COPD are often treated with bronchodilators, medications that help widen the pathways to the lungs. Inhalers containing bronchodilators are the main treatment used to relieve acute (sudden, temporary) asthma attacks. Depending on how severe your asthma or COPD is, your doctor might also recommend the following:

• pulmonary rehabilitation (such as exercise training and nutritional advice)
• supplemental oxygen
• endobronchial valve treatment (placing small valves to widen the bronchi), and
• surgery or lung transplantation.

Sleep apnea is often comorbid (occurring at the same time) with asthma or COPD, which can cause daytime drowsiness. The most common therapy for sleep apnea is a continuous positive airway (CPAP) machine, a pump attached to a mask that you wear while sleeping. The CPAP helps you breathe by pumping a steady stream of air into your lungs to keep the airways unobstructed during sleep.

How Long Does It Take to Get Disability for COPD?

According to Social Security data, for fiscal years 2019-2024, the average processing time for initial disability determinations was 219 days, or a little over seven months. For claimants who aren't awarded on their first try, the average time for reconsideration review—the first stage of appeal following an initial denial—is around the same, at 213 days.

Most disability applications that are ultimately granted aren't improved until after a hearing with an administrative law judge, which means receiving a denial both at the initial and reconsideration levels. Because it takes around another seven months to conduct your hearing after you request one (and then another couple of months to receive the decision) that means you should expect it to take around two years from the date you file your application until you find out if you're approved for benefits.

Several factors can speed up or slow down the disability determination process, however. For more information, check out our dedicated article on how long it takes to get a Social Security disability decision.

VA Disability Benefits for COPD

Veterans with service-connected asthma or COPD can qualify for a disability rating from the VA. The rating determines in large part the amount of your monthly disability compensation. Under the VA Schedule of Ratings (38 C.F.R. § 4.97) diagnostic code 6604 for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or 6602 for bronchial asthma, you can get an assigned rating of 10%, 30%, 60%, or 100%, depending on the results of your spirometry testing. For example, the smaller your tested FEV₁ is in comparison to your predicted value, the higher your VA rating will be—reflecting the greater degree of lung impairment.

How Much Can I Get in Disability Benefits for COPD?

Social Security doesn't award benefits based on the type of disabling condition. Instead, the amount you'll receive if you're awarded benefits will depend on whether you're eligible for Social SSDI or SSI. For 2025, the maximum you can receive in SSDI benefits is $4,018 per month—although the average amount is much lower, at $1,580. SSI benefits are tied to the federal benefit rate, which in 2025 is $967 per month minus any countable income you have in that month. For more details, check out our articles on how much you can get in SSDI and how much you can get in SSI.

VA disability compensation is calculated using a combination of your disability percentage rating and your living situation. For example, in 2025, an individual veteran with a 30% rating can receive $537.42 every month while an individual veteran with a 60% rating can receive $1,395.93. Veterans with the same disability rating (30% and 60%) but who are married with one dependent child will receive higher payments, at $648.42 and $1,617.93 respectively. You can estimate your benefits by reviewing the current VA disability compensation tables.

How to Apply for Disability Benefits for Asthma or COPD

Submitting your application for SSDI or SSI benefits is fairly straightforward. You'll start by completing Form SSA-16, which you can complete electronically, over the phone, or in person. (You can learn more in our article about filing a disability claim with Social Security.) Below you can find the contact information for your preferred method of filing.

• Apply online at ssa.gov. Filing online has many benefits, such as giving you the option to save your application and return to it later. You'll also receive a confirmation number where you can track your application.
• Call Social Security's national number at 800-772-1213 from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, to speak with a representative. If you're deaf or hard of hearing, you can use the TTY number at 800-325-0778.
• File in person at your local Social Security field office. You can use the locator toolhere to find the office closest to you.

You can apply for VA benefits in a similar manner. You'll need to complete Form 21-526EZ, Application for Disability Compensation and Related Compensation Benefits, which you can do in a few ways:

• Apply online using the electronic version of Form 21-526.
• Fax Form 21-526EZ to 844-531-7818 (from inside the United States) or 248-524-4260 (from outside the U.S.).
• Bring your application to your local VA office.
• Mail the form to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Claims Intake Center, PO Box 4444, Janesville, WI 53547-4444.

Veterans can receive both VA and Social Security benefits, although being found disabled by one agency doesn't guarantee that you'll get disability from the other due to the different criteria for each. But if you have medical records strong enough for the VA to give you a 100% disability rating, for example, it's likely that Social Security will come to a similar conclusion.

Should I Hire a Disability Lawyer?

If you're ready to start your application and would like legal assistance—or you've already been denied and want to strengthen your claim for an appeal— consider contacting an experienced Social Security lawyer or VA disability attorney. Your representative can help you gather the proper evidence you need to show that your respiratory symptoms keep you from working, increase your VA rating, and represent you in front of a disability judge or appeals board.

Disability lawyers work on contingency, meaning they don't get paid unless (and until) you win, so there's little up-front cost to you in hiring one. Additionally, many representatives offer free consultations, allowing you to ask around until you find one who you think is a good match.