Properly filling out the Social Security Work History Report Form (SSA-3369-BK) is crucial to your Social Security disability case. Balin Law’s Founder, principal attorney Paulette Balin describes how the Social Security Administration reviews these reports and details how you can strengthen your case.
The following article is adapted from the video above, ‘How to Fill Out the Social Security Work History Report Form (SSA-3369-BK)’, available on YouTube.
Note: In mid-2024, after this video was made, Social Security reduced the Work History reporting requirement from 15 years down to 5 years. The revised Work History Report Form now includes some guidance on what (not) to include in Section 2 for Work History.
The Work History Report Form: When and Why it’s Used
The Work History Report Form SSA-3369-BK is required part of Social Security’s application for disability benefits. Both the Work History Report and the Function Report can make-or-break your disability claim. It is critical that these forms be completed properly; we frequently have clients come to us after their claim was denied because of this form being filled out incorrectly.
Why does Social Security need my Work History? Don’t they already have my employment record?
The Work History Report is used to identify your skills and experience to determine if there’s another job you could do with your impairment. This is because Social Security determines disability by your ability or inability to work. Two people could have identical medical problems but because they’ve worked in very different fields, one person may be unable to work and will be approved for SSDI, while the other person’s job is unaffected by their medical issue.
Filling Out Section 2 – Work History
Since June 2024, Section 2 now includes some instructions. For example, it now states that you do not need to include jobs held for less than 30 days.
The form still gives 10 lines, but you only need to fill in the job titles you held during the 5 years prior to becoming disabled. Beginning with your most recent job, list every title/position, even if they were for the same employer. If you were at the same job for 5+ years, with the same title and job duties, you will only fill in line 1.
Tips from Attorney Balin: Avoid adding fancy titles if they don’t reflect the true nature of your work and the physical demands. If you were a foreman with a crew, but you were out digging ditches or other physically demanding, labor-intensive work, don’t bill yourself as a foreman, manager, or supervisor, especially if you didn’t have the ability to hire and fire people. There’s no need to add “fluff” here like it’s a resume. Don’t worry about impressing anyone; rather, just focus on describing the work you actually did.
This section lists “Job Title,” the “Type of Business,” and it says the “Dates Worked.” Very simply put the month and year that you started the job until you ended the job. If you don’t remember exactly the month, at least put the season. We really just want to account for the last 5 years. That 5 year window is really, really important because if you did a job 6 years ago, Social Security shouldn’t be considering the physical and mental demands of that job. Again, the fancier the title, and the more skills you had, the harder it is to win the case because Social Security is going to think you can do those same skills at a less demanding job.
Job Title No. 1 Section
For the Job Title No. 1 section, you describe the job. What did you do all day? How did you do it? Then it lists machines, tools, equipment, and that’s pretty straightforward. Again, if you were actually out there in the trenches, you really want to underscore the fact that you were in the trenches, that you were not sitting behind some fancy desk pushing papers, because that’s not how you did the job.
Where it says, “In this job, how many total hours each day did you: walk, stand, etc.” Again, the more physically demanding your job was, the easier it is to win. But again, consistent with the truth. Some days you may have only stood for a couple hours, and other days, you may have stood for six hours. Work with the most demanding of days. You can put a range that I walked anywhere from two to six hours, but put the six hours in. Don’t minimize it because it really translates into a whole different series of questions that Social Security then has to address.
It’s my job as an attorney to try to win the case. Disability claimants have to help us win the case by filling out the form properly. None of these forms ever get submitted on our watch in an incorrect fashion. We review these very carefully. We like you to fill it out in advance and then we review it. But a lot of times, clients come to us late in the game, and these forms have already been submitted. Then we have to double back and try to figure out how to massage these work history forms consistent with the truth, of course, in a way that is going to best present your case.
Filling out the Lifting and Carrying section of the Work History form
In the Lifting and Carrying section, you want to talk about the most you lifted. If you worked as a clerk at a store, but you were also in charge of receiving boxes of things and putting it in the warehouse, I want you to talk about that. Talk about how much weight you lifted. Again, the more physically demanding the job, the easier it’s going to be.
The only time that the skills are not a big issue is if you’ve got, for example, side effects from medication, if you’ve got pain, if you’ve got mental impairments so you can’t concentrate. But physically, the more physically demanding your job has been, the easier it is to win. Then if you keep going through these pages, it’s the same thing over and over with each job title that you’ve had in the last 5 years prior to the onset date of disability.
I want to briefly mention that some jobs are what are called “composite jobs.” A composite job is where one performed significant elements of two different occupations. Again, I want you to talk about the more physically demanding aspects of that job, because as you’ll find out at the fourth step of the sequential evaluation, if you can go back to your past job, anything you did in the last 5 years at what is called an SGA level (for 2026, the SGA level is earnings over $1,690/mo.), Social Security is going to turn down your case. I encourage you to carefully fill out this form and then call us. We’re here to answer your questions and we’re here to help you win your case.