United States · Social Security disability · Blue Book
SSA listing 3.03: asthma.
The adult respiratory listing, with a lookup for the Table VI FEV1 value.
Listing 3.03 needs both paragraphs. A: an FEV1 at or below the Table VI value for your age group, sex and height without shoes. B: three hospitalizations within 12 months, at least 30 days apart, each lasting at least 48 hours including time in the emergency department before admission.
The short version
Listing 3.03 (asthma) needs both paragraph A and paragraph B. Paragraph A is a spirometry test: your FEV1 must be at or below the value in Table VI for your age group, sex and height without shoes, measured within the same 12-month period as the hospitalizations. Paragraph B is three hospitalizations within a 12-month period, at least 30 days apart, each lasting at least 48 hours including time in the emergency department immediately before admission.
Look up the Table VI value
Enter an age group, sex and height to see the FEV1 value printed in Table VI. This only reads the table; it does not tell you whether a test result meets the listing, because paragraph A also depends on the test being acceptable and on paragraph B.
Look up the Table VI value
Result
Listing 3.03 as printed
Listing 3.03, as printed (adult listing)
3.03 Asthma (see 3.00I), with both A and B:
A. FEV 1 (see 3.00E1) less than or equal to the value in Table VI-A or VI-B for your age, sex, and height without shoes (see 3.00E3a) measured within the same 12-month period as the hospitalizations in 3.03B.
AND
B. Exacerbations or complications requiring three hospitalizations within a 12-month period and at least 30 days apart (the 12-month period must occur within the period we are considering in connection with your application or continuing disability review). Each hospitalization must last at least 48 hours, including hours in a hospital emergency department immediately before the hospitalization. Consider under a disability for 1 year from the discharge date of the last hospitalization; after that, evaluate the residual impairment(s) under 3.03 or another appropriate listing.
Table VI: FEV1 criteria for 3.03A
The values below are transcribed from the printed Table VI on the eCFR page, read November 2, 2026. FEV1 is the volume of air exhaled in the first second of a forced exhalation (3.00E1). BTPS is the standard gas-volume condition the table uses.
| Height without shoes (cm) | Height without shoes (inches) | Table VI-A: age 18 to attainment of age 20 | Table VI-B: age 20 or older | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Females FEV1 (L, BTPS) | Males FEV1 (L, BTPS) | Females FEV1 (L, BTPS) | Males FEV1 (L, BTPS) | ||
| <153.0 | <60.25 | 1.65 | 1.90 | 1.45 | 1.60 |
| 153.0 to <159.0 | 60.25 to <62.50 | 1.75 | 2.05 | 1.55 | 1.75 |
| 159.0 to <164.0 | 62.50 to <64.50 | 1.85 | 2.15 | 1.65 | 1.90 |
| 164.0 to <169.0 | 64.50 to <66.50 | 1.95 | 2.30 | 1.75 | 2.00 |
| 169.0 to <174.0 | 66.50 to <68.50 | 2.05 | 2.45 | 1.85 | 2.15 |
| 174.0 to <180.0 | 68.50 to <70.75 | 2.20 | 2.60 | 2.00 | 2.30 |
| 180.0 to <185.0 | 70.75 to <72.75 | 2.35 | 2.75 | 2.10 | 2.45 |
| 185.0 or more | 72.75 or more | 2.40 | 2.85 | 2.20 | 2.55 |
Table VI-A is for ages 18 up to 20; Table VI-B is for age 20 or older. The height bands are printed in both centimeters and inches, and the lower edge of each band belongs to that band ("153.0 to <159.0" includes 153.0 and excludes 159.0).
Worked example of reading the table
Suppose a person is a 30-year-old woman who is 165 cm tall without shoes (about 65 inches). She is in the "age 20 or older" group, so Table VI-B applies, and 165 cm falls in the band "164.0 to <169.0 cm" (64.50 to <66.50 inches). The female value in Table VI-B for that band is 1.75 L. For paragraph A, the FEV1 would need to be 1.75 L or lower. The same band for a man in Table VI-B is 2.00 L. This is only an illustration of how the lookup works; it is not an assessment of anyone.
How spirometry has to be done to count
Paragraph A refers to section 3.00E, which sets the testing standards. Spirometry "involves at least three forced expiratory maneuvers during the same test session," and SSA uses "your highest FEV 1 value" for listing 3.03A, "regardless of whether the values are from the same forced expiratory maneuver or different forced expiratory maneuvers."
The regulation also requires that you be medically stable at the time of the test. Its examples of when you are not considered medically stable include being within 2 weeks of a change in your prescribed respiratory medication, experiencing (or within 30 days of finishing treatment for) a lower respiratory tract infection, and experiencing (or within 30 days of finishing treatment for) an acute exacerbation of a chronic respiratory disorder. The text adds that wheezing by itself does not mean you are unstable. Read section 3.00E on the eCFR for the full list of test and report requirements, including height measurement without shoes.
What section 3.00I says about asthma
3.00I, quoted
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the lung airways that we evaluate under 3.02 or 3.03. If you have respiratory failure resulting from chronic asthma (see 3.00N), we will evaluate it under 3.14.
For the purposes of 3.03: a. We need evidence showing that you have listing-level (see Table VI in 3.03A) airflow obstruction at baseline while you are medically stable. b. The phrase "consider under a disability for 1 year" in 3.03B does not refer to the date on which your disability began, only to the date on which we must reevaluate whether your asthma continues to meet a listing or is otherwise disabling. c. We determine the onset of your disability based on the facts of your case, but it will be no later than the admission date of your first of three hospitalizations that satisfy the criteria of 3.03B.
TNAADO's reading of the three points: (a) the FEV1 in paragraph A is meant to show your baseline obstruction when stable, not a value during an attack; (b) the "1 year" in paragraph B sets when SSA looks again, and is not the onset date; (c) onset is decided on the facts but cannot be later than the admission date of the first of the three qualifying hospitalizations.
The hospitalization count, step by step
Paragraph B has four separate conditions, each of which comes straight from the printed text. First, three hospitalizations. Second, all within one 12-month period, and that period must fall within the period SSA is considering for the application or continuing disability review. Third, at least 30 days apart. Fourth, each lasting at least 48 hours, counting hours in the emergency department immediately before the hospitalization.
Paragraph A then ties back to the same window: the FEV1 has to be measured "within the same 12-month period as the hospitalizations." Because both paragraphs must be satisfied, a qualifying FEV1 outside that period does not satisfy A, and three qualifying hospitalizations without a qualifying FEV1 do not satisfy the listing. If the listing is met, the regulation says to "consider under a disability for 1 year from the discharge date of the last hospitalization; after that, evaluate the residual impairment(s) under 3.03 or another appropriate listing."
What this page does not do
It does not interpret a spirometry report, say whether you meet listing 3.03, or advise on a claim. Many people with asthma do not meet a listing and are evaluated in other ways; the listing is one route, not the only test of disability. The regulation changes over time; check the linked eCFR page for the current text.
Frequently asked questions
What are the two requirements of listing 3.03?
Both must be met: paragraph A, an FEV1 at or below the Table VI value for your age, sex and height, and paragraph B, three hospitalizations within 12 months, at least 30 days apart, each at least 48 hours long.
Which table applies at age 20 or older?
Table VI-B. Table VI-A applies from age 18 to attainment of age 20.
Does the 48 hours include the emergency department?
Yes. The text says each hospitalization must last at least 48 hours, including hours in a hospital emergency department immediately before the hospitalization.
When must the FEV1 be measured?
Within the same 12-month period as the hospitalizations in paragraph B, and while you are medically stable.
Which FEV1 value does SSA use?
The highest FEV1 value from the test session, regardless of whether the values come from the same or different forced expiratory maneuvers.
Does this page tell me whether I meet listing 3.03?
No. It reproduces the published criteria and looks up a table value. Social Security decides disability, and this page is not medical or claim advice.
Sources
Read directly from the primary sources below on November 2, 2026 (eCFR text current through October 29, 2026). Quotations are the regulation text as printed; anything labelled as a reading is TNAADO's. The listings are amended and re-extended from time to time, so confirm the current text on the linked pages.
- 20 CFR Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 1, Listing of Impairments (eCFR, current through October 29, 2026; read November 2, 2026)
- 20 CFR Part 404 Subpart P, Determining Disability and Blindness (eCFR; read November 2, 2026)
- Social Security Administration, Disability Evaluation Under Social Security (Blue Book) index (checked November 2, 2026; direct page fetches return 403, so the regulation text on eCFR was used)
Reference, not an SSA determination, medical advice or claim advice
Listing criteria quoted from 20 CFR Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 1 as of October 29, 2026 (eCFR). This page reproduces published criteria so you can read them; it does not diagnose, tell you whether you meet a listing, estimate an outcome or advise on a claim. Social Security decides disability using the full process in its regulations, including provisions this page does not reproduce. It is not legal, financial or medical advice; a benefits attorney, accredited representative or your clinician can review your situation.