Last Updated September 17, 2026
Conditions Center · Digestive · Social Security Disability
Also called cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease, CLD, chronic hepatitis with cirrhosis (CLD).
Chronic liver disease can support SSDI or SSI when complications meet Listing 5.05, after a qualifying liver transplant under 5.09, or when fatigue, encephalopathy, and attendance limits rule out sustained work. SSA does not approve a claim because imaging mentions cirrhosis, a viral hepatitis antibody is positive, or the person abstains from alcohol. The listing is about documented chronic dysfunction and specific complications.
What is Chronic Liver Disease?
NIDDK describes cirrhosis as scarring that replaces healthy liver tissue and can lead to portal hypertension, fluid accumulation, bleeding, confusion, and liver failure. Common adult causes include chronic hepatitis B or C, alcohol-associated liver disease, and metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease. Course varies. Some people are compensated; others have repeated decompensation. Liver transplant is the definitive treatment for selected end-stage disease.
Common symptoms of Chronic Liver Disease
- Fatigue, poor appetite, or itching
- Jaundice, swelling of the legs, or abdominal swelling from ascites
- Confusion, sleep reversal, or asterixis from encephalopathy
- Vomiting blood or black stools from varices
- Easy bruising or recurrent infection in advanced disease
How can Chronic Liver Disease affect a person’s ability to work?
- Unpredictable absences for paracentesis, banding, or hospitalization
- Reduced standing and lifting from ascites, edema, or anemia
- Off-task time or safety limits from encephalopathy
- Need to elevate legs or access a restroom during diuretic therapy
- Infection precautions and recovery time after procedures
Does Social Security have a Listing for Chronic Liver Disease?
Social Security currently has listing criteria that may apply: 5.05 (Chronic liver disease); 5.09 (Liver transplantation); 5.02 (Gastrointestinal hemorrhaging from any cause). Meeting a listing requires the specific medical findings in that listing, not only the diagnosis.
- Listing 5.05: Chronic liver disease
- Listing 5.09: Liver transplantation
- Listing 5.02: Gastrointestinal hemorrhaging from any cause
Listing 5.05 requires chronic liver disease lasting more than 6 months plus paragraph A through G findings. Acute hepatitis without chronic impairment does not meet 5.05. 5.05A addresses variceal or portal-hypertensive bleeding with hemodynamic instability and specified transfusion. 5.05B addresses ascites or hydrothorax on two evaluations at least 60 days apart. 5.05C is spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. 5.05D and 5.05E are hepatorenal and hepatopulmonary syndromes with specified studies. 5.05F is hepatic encephalopathy with listed timing and neurologic or laboratory support. 5.05G requires two SSA CLD scores of at least 20 at least 60 days apart. Listing 5.09 considers a person under a disability for one year after liver transplant, then residual impairment. Gastrointestinal bleeding unrelated to CLD is evaluated under 5.02. Liver cancer is Listing 13.19, not 5.05.
SSA first establishes medically determinable chronic liver disease lasting more than 6 months. Listing 5.05 is applied to the documented complication pathway. If 5.05 is not met, SSA may still use 5.02, 5.08 weight-loss criteria, or 5.09 after transplant. Otherwise RFC addresses fatigue, cognitive change, and appointment burden. Viral hepatitis without listing-level CLD is discussed on the hepatitis guide.
Can you qualify if you do not meet an SSA Listing?
Yes. Chronic liver disease that misses a 5.05 paragraph may still preclude work through combined fatigue, cognitive change, and treatment absences.
What medical evidence may help document Chronic Liver Disease?
- Hepatology or gastroenterology records stating the cause and chronic course
- Imaging, endoscopy, or biopsy used in the clinical workup
- Hospital records of bleeding, ascites procedures, SBP, or encephalopathy
- Laboratory trends used for SSA CLD scoring when 5.05G is considered
- Transplant evaluation or operative records when 5.09 applies
Testing, imaging, and laboratory studies
- INR, albumin, bilirubin, and creatinine as used clinically and for SSA CLD scores
- Paracentesis neutrophil counts when SBP is alleged
- Arterial blood gas or specialized imaging when hepatopulmonary syndrome is alleged
- Official SSA CLD calculator and listing tables control the numbers; this page does not substitute a homemade score
Diuretics, beta blockers, banding, TIPS, lactulose or rifaximin, antiviral therapy, and alcohol-use treatment belong on a dated timeline. SSA still decides disability from medical criteria, not from a moral judgment about cause. Gaps in treatment should be explained.
How SSA may evaluate residual functional capacity
Compensated cirrhosis often fails 5.05 and turns on fatigue, lifting, and whether encephalopathy is actually documented. Do not equate a one-time elevated liver enzyme with listing-level disease.
Ascites, edema, and anemia may reduce standing, walking, and lifting. Post-transplant year one is a listing period under 5.09; afterward residual effects still matter.
Encephalopathy can limit understanding, pace, and safety. A separate mental listing is used only when those independent criteria are met.
Common issues that can weaken a disability claim involving Chronic Liver Disease
Acute hepatitis records only; calling ordinary cirrhosis a CAL condition; or alleging daily encephalopathy that never appears in treating notes.
What may strengthen the medical documentation
A chronic diagnosis, serial complication records, and laboratories that can actually be scored under 5.05G when that pathway is used.
Chronic Liver Disease and related medical conditions
- Cancer — Cancer is evaluated under site- and type-specific listings in Chapter 13.00. A general cancer diagnosis is not one listing, and CAL status must be checked for the exact malignancy.
- Chronic Kidney Disease — Current Listing 6.00 includes separate pathways for ongoing dialysis, kidney transplant, impaired kidney function with complications, and repeated CKD hospitalizations.
- Cystic Fibrosis — Listing 3.04 evaluates documented cystic fibrosis by specified spirometry, hospitalizations, pneumothorax, respiratory failure, pulmonary hemorrhage, pulse oximetry, or combined exacerbations including CF-related diabetes. A genetic diagnosis is not an approval.
- Hepatitis — There is no adult listing titled hepatitis. SSA evaluates chronic viral or autoimmune hepatitis under Listing 5.05 when it causes chronic liver disease, and otherwise through residual functional capacity and extrahepatic complications.
- Ulcerative Colitis — Ulcerative colitis is evaluated under Listing 5.06 for inflammatory bowel disease, the same listing that covers Crohn’s disease. Objective bowel evidence is required. The existing Crohn’s page and IBD article remain; this page is the UC-specific guide.
How Brock & Stout may help
We map complications onto Listing 5.05, distinguish hepatitis and liver-cancer pathways, verify rather than assume CAL status for hepatocellular carcinoma, and develop RFC when the listing is not met. Representation cannot guarantee approval.
Frequently asked questions
Ordinary cirrhosis is not automatically a CAL condition. Hepatocellular carcinoma is on the current CAL list and must be verified as that diagnosis. Listing 5.05 still requires the specified chronic-liver findings.
Listing 5.09 considers a person under a disability for one year from the date of liver transplant. After that year, SSA evaluates residual impairment. The official listing controls the period.
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Speak with a Social Security Disability attorney
If Chronic Liver Disease is affecting your ability to work, Brock & Stout can review the claim, look for missing medical evidence, and discuss next steps. We do not charge a fee for SSD representation unless we win.
This page is general educational information about Social Security Disability as of the date of this publication. It is not legal or medical advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and does not guarantee results. Eligibility depends on individual facts and current Social Security rules.
