How to Fill Out Form SSA-3373: The Adult Function Report Guide 

The SSA-3373 — formally the Adult Function Report — is the form Social Security sends after you apply for SSDI or SSI. How you answer it can determine whether your claim is approved at the initial decision or sent to appeal. Most applicants treat it as paperwork. It isn’t. It’s the single most influential document you personally complete in your entire claim. 

Initial applications are denied about 65% of the time. Vague, rushed, or contradictory answers on the SSA-3373 are among the common reasons claims fail. This guide walks you through every section of the form, shows you what DDS examiners actually look for, and gives you concrete examples of how to rewrite a weak answer into a strong one. 

We handle SSA-3373 issues every day for clients across Georgia and nationwide. Here’s what we’ve learned that the form itself won’t tell you. 

What Is Form SSA-3373? 

Form SSA-3373, the Adult Function Report, is a Social Security document that asks how your medical conditions affect your ability to perform daily activities and work-related tasks. It’s the disability applicant’s own description of their limitations — written in your own words, not a doctor’s. 

The form carries the suffix “-BK,” which stands for “booklet” — a formatted booklet version of the report. When people refer to the “SSA-3373,” the “SSA-3373-BK,” or the “Adult Function Report,” they’re all talking about the same document. 

SSA typically mails the form after your initial application is received and your state’s Disability Determination Services (DDS) office — called Disability Adjudication Services (DAS) in Georgia — begins the medical review process. Georgia DAS operates under the Georgia Department of Labor and handles all initial medical reviews for Georgia disability claimants. 

You’ll usually receive it 2 to 6 weeks after you file your application. SSA generally expects it back within a specific time, though DDS will often grant an extension if you contact them before the deadline. 

Critical Deadline: If you can’t return the form by the deadline, call the DDS office listed on your paperwork before the due date — not after. Missing the deadline without explanation can result in a denial for failure to cooperate, regardless of how strong your medical evidence is. 

Why the SSA-3373 Matters More Than You Think 

Your function report is compared directly to your medical records — and inconsistencies between them are one of the most common ways claims lose credibility before they ever reach a hearing. DDS examiners read your answers alongside your treatment notes, doctor reports, and any prior statements you’ve made to SSA. The form is not reviewed in isolation. 

Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) at disability hearings read the SSA-3373 too. If your case goes to appeal — and most do — your answers on this form become part of the hearing record. A claimant who wrote “I cook dinner every night” on the SSA-3373 will face a difficult cross-examination if their medical records reflect severe bilateral hand pain. 

Three concrete reasons the form carries this weight: 

First, it’s the only part of the application you wrote yourself. Examiners treat it accordingly. 

Second, vague independence claims are the most common trap. “I can cook” without context reads as unqualified ability. 

Third, functional limitations — not diagnoses — decide most claims at steps 4 and 5 of SSA’s five-step evaluation. What you can and can’t do is more decisive than the name of your condition. 

Section-by-Section Walkthrough of the SSA-3373 

The form has eight main sections. Each section below explains what SSA is literally asking, what they’re really evaluating, and a practical tip from our work with clients across Georgia and the country. 

Information About You and Your Conditions 

List every diagnosis your treating physicians have documented — even conditions you don’t consider your “primary” disability. SSA evaluates combined limitations. A back condition combined with depression can be disabling together even if neither qualifies on its own. 

Daily Activities 

SSA wants to know what a typical day looks like from the time you wake up until you go to bed. Describe an average day — or a below-average day. The natural instinct is to describe a good day. That is the wrong instinct. SSA assumes the activities you describe are things you do with some consistency. 

Personal Care 

Bathing, dressing, grooming, and preparing meals. The detail matters here. “I can dress myself” is not the same as “I can dress myself, but it takes 30 minutes and I need to sit down halfway through because standing aggravates my condition.” Write the second sentence. 

Household Tasks and Errands 

Cooking, cleaning, shopping, and driving. Distinguish between “can do” and “can do reliably, repeatedly, without consequences.” A claimant with chronic back pain might load the dishwasher on a good day. That does not mean they can perform that activity consistently, day after day. 

Social Activities, Hobbies, and Concentration 

Even if you’re applying for a physical condition, pay attention to the mental health questions. Chronic pain causes sleep deprivation. Pain medications cause drowsiness and brain fog. These are functional limitations under SSA rules and belong in this section. 

Abilities Checklist: Lifting, Standing, Sitting, Walking 

This is a checkbox section, but examiners focus on the open-ended explanation fields next to each checkbox — use them. “I can lift 10 pounds” with no context tells an examiner nothing. “I can lift up to 10 pounds but only when I’m not in a pain flare, which happens 3 to 4 days per week” tells them something that affects an RFC assessment. 

Medications, Treatments, and Side Effects 

List every medication and all side effects you experience — even ones you’ve adapted to, like drowsiness or nausea. Adapted-to side effects are still functional limitations. They belong on the form. 

Additional Information — The Remarks Section 

Most applicants leave this blank. That’s a mistake. If your typical day is more complicated than the form’s fixed questions can capture, write it here. If space runs out, write “See attached — additional page” and attach a continuation sheet. 

How to Handle Limited Space on the Form 

The SSA-3373 accepts additional pages if you need more room. At the top of any attached page, write: “Continuation of Form SSA-3373, Section [name], Question [number].” At the bottom of the limited field on the form, write: “See attached continuation, Page [X].” This cross-referencing prevents your extra pages from getting separated during processing. 

The 6 Biggest Mistakes on the SSA-3373 — and How to Avoid Them 

1. The “Good Day” Trap. You described your best day instead of an average one. SSA evaluates your ability to function on a consistent, sustained basis — five days a week, eight hours a day, the way work actually works. 

1. Vague independence claims. “I can cook.” “I drive.” Each reads as unqualified ability without context — how often, how long, with what help, with what consequences. 

1. Inconsistency with medical records. If your SSA-3373 says you walk two miles daily and treatment notes from three months ago restrict you to 15 minutes of walking, DDS will flag that. 

1. Skipping medication side effects. Opioid drowsiness, psychotropic brain fog, and anti-inflammatory GI problems are functional limitations. List them. 

1. Leaving the Remarks section blank. You’ve been given space for everything the form’s fixed questions can’t capture. Use it. 

1. Rushing the form. The SSA-3373 is legal documentation. Read every question fully before answering. Read your completed answers before submitting. Ideally have an attorney review them. 

How SSA Examiners Actually Read Your Answers 

DDS examiners don’t read your SSA-3373 to confirm your answers — they read it to evaluate your answers against a specific framework: frequency, duration, assistance required, and aftereffects. 

Frequency: How often do you do this? “Sometimes” is not useful. “Three times a week” is. Duration: How long does it take? Assistance: Do you need help, and what happens without it? Aftereffects: What happens after you perform the activity? 

Beyond the framework, examiners cross-reference your SSA-3373 against your medical records, prior statements, treating physician reports, and — if applicable — the Third-Party Function Report (SSA-3380). Inconsistencies between these sources are the primary driver of credibility issues at the DDS stage. 

Examples: How to Rewrite a Weak Answer Into a Strong One 

The examples below are illustrative — they show the difference between vague and specific   answers. Adapt them to your actual situation. 

Condition-Specific Answer Guidance 

If You’re Applying With Depression or Anxiety 

Focus on the concentration, social activity, and persistence questions. Describe how often you have days when you can’t focus long enough to complete a task. List psychotropic medication side effects — drowsiness, emotional blunting, cognitive fog. Note the variability: mental health conditions have good days and bad days. See our guide on disability benefits for depression and anxiety here. 

If You’re Applying With Chronic Pain or a Musculoskeletal Condition 

Be precise with limits in the sitting, standing, lifting, and walking sections — don’t write “a while” when the truthful answer is “approximately 15 minutes before pain becomes severe.” Document what you can’t do at all versus what you can do inconsistently. 

If You’re Applying With a Variable Condition (Fibromyalgia, Autoimmune, MS) 

Use the Remarks section and additional pages to document your flare pattern. How many days per month do you experience flares? What does a flare prevent you from doing? 

The Third-Party Function Report (Form SSA-3380) — What’s Different? 

SSA sometimes sends the SSA-3380 to someone who knows you well — a spouse, parent, close friend, or caregiver. The purpose is to triangulate your self-report with an outside observer’s account. 

What Happens After You Submit the SSA-3373 

After you submit the form, DDS continues reviewing your medical records. If records are incomplete, they’ll request more documentation or schedule a Consultative Examination (CE) at SSA’s expense. See our page on disability claims assistance.

If DDS denies your claim, your next step is a Request for Reconsideration, which must be filed within 60 days of the denial notice. If reconsideration is also denied, you have 60 days to request an ALJ hearing. Everything you wrote on your SSA-3373 becomes part of that hearing record. 

When to Get Help With Form SSA-3373 

Consider getting help if you have multiple conditions with overlapping limitations, your condition has variable severity, you’ve already been denied once, or you’re approaching an ALJ hearing. 

At Keener Law, we represent disability clients across Georgia and nationwide — in California, Florida, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maine, Vermont, Montana, Arkansas, and more. Our team handles every stage of the SSD process: initial claims, reconsideration, ALJ hearings, and appeals. Attorney fees are contingency-based and regulated by SSA: You don’t pay unless we win. 

Call (800) 900-2400 (Toll Free) or visit for a free disability consultation.