Which Providers Count as Medical Sources on Forms

SSA recognizes only certain licensed professionals as acceptable medical sources under 20 CFR 404.1513(a). Everyone else, from chiropractors to massage therapists to counselors, falls into the other sources category in 20 CFR 404.1513(d), which carries different weight in the evidence.

The split matters when you fill out the medical sources part of Form SSA-3368-BK, the Adult Disability Report. Slots and attention are limited, and listing providers whose records cannot carry the claim can crowd out the ones that do.

The two categories of providers

An acceptable medical source is a provider whose evidence can establish that you have a medically determinable impairment, which is the threshold finding in 20 CFR 404.1521. Other sources, sometimes called nonmedical sources, can describe how your condition affects you, but their evidence cannot establish the impairment itself.

The practical difference is about order, not worth. Evidence from acceptable medical sources anchors the claim, and evidence from other sources fills in the picture of daily function.

The acceptable medical sources list

Under 20 CFR 404.1513(a), acceptable medical sources include licensed physicians, meaning medical doctors and doctors of osteopathy, licensed or certified psychologists, licensed optometrists, licensed podiatrists, and qualified speech-language pathologists.

Rules that took effect March 27, 2017 added three more groups: licensed audiologists for hearing loss and auditory processing disorders, licensed advanced practice registered nurses, and licensed physician assistants. That expansion came from SSA's revisions to the medical evidence rules published in 2017.

Providers at public and charitable clinics count as long as they hold the required license. A physician at a free clinic, a county hospital, or a federally qualified health center is a licensed physician.

Providers with limits on their scope

Several acceptable sources count only within a defined lane. Optometrists count for visual disorders, podiatrists for impairments of the foot or the foot and ankle depending on how your state licenses them, and audiologists for hearing and auditory processing.

Psychologists include school psychologists, but those count only for intellectual disability, learning disabilities, and borderline intellectual functioning. Speech-language pathologists count for speech or language impairments only.

These limits rarely change what you write on the form, since you list the provider either way. They change your expectations about which records answer which question.

Who is not an acceptable medical source

Under 20 CFR 404.1513(d), practitioners of other healing arts such as naturopaths, chiropractors, and herbalists are nonmedical sources. So are healthcare providers not on the acceptable list, which includes massage therapists and physical and occupational therapists.

For mental health, clinical social workers, licensed professional counselors, and marriage and family therapists are not acceptable medical sources. Psychiatric evidence that can establish an impairment comes from physicians and psychologists.

Registered nurses who are not advanced practice providers are also outside the acceptable list, as are paramedics, EMTs, and athletic trainers. Teachers, social welfare personnel, clergy, family members, neighbors, and past employers appear in the same other sources category.

What happens to evidence from other sources

Evidence from other sources is not thrown away. The DDS, the state agency that makes the medical determination under 20 CFR 404.1613, can use it to show the severity of your impairment and how it affects your ability to function.

A physical therapist's progress notes describing your range of motion over months, or an employer's account of missed shifts, can be genuinely useful. The point is that such evidence supports rather than anchors.

Why the difference matters when you fill out the form

The Adult Disability Report asks for your medical sources: doctors, hospitals, and clinics that have treated you. The DDS uses that list to decide where to send record requests under the authorizations you sign on Form SSA-827.

Providers who are acceptable medical sources belong on that list first, especially treating physicians and psychologists who know your history. Specialists who performed surgeries or managed your main conditions come next.

Providers who are not acceptable medical sources should not crowd the list, but they do not have to be hidden. If a chiropractor or therapist is a big part of your life, mention them, and use the remarks section to explain their role in your care.

How to order your provider list

Lead with the providers who treat the conditions you are claiming. A treating physician who has seen you repeatedly across years is the center of the evidence, so list them with a full address and phone number.

Then list the hospitals and specialty clinics connected to those same conditions, including surgeons and hospital stays. The form asks for treatment dates and reasons, so approximate months and years are fine where exact dates escape you.

Keep the list focused on current treatment plus the recent history of the claimed conditions. Very old care, or care unrelated to your impairments, mostly adds record requests without adding evidence.

Where nonmedical evidence fits instead

After you file, SSA sends additional forms, including the Function Report, Form SSA-3373, which asks about daily activities. That is the natural home for describing how your life has changed, and it reaches evidence from family members, friends, and former employers.

Statements from an occupational therapist, a caseworker, or a pastor about what they have observed can be submitted as part of the file too. They are most convincing when they are specific and consistent with the medical record.

None of this substitutes for an acceptable medical source. If you have stopped seeing licensed providers because of cost or access, say so, and note any return visits, since the DDS can also arrange a consultative examination under 20 CFR 404.1519 when the record is thin.

Special situations

Telehealth prescribers count when they are properly licensed. If you see a physician or a nurse practitioner through a telehealth service, list them like any other provider, with the service's address.

Care from military and veterans facilities counts, because VA physicians and psychologists are licensed providers. Indian Health Service and prison facilities are the same, and the records exist even when getting them takes extra steps.

If your treatment has mostly come from sources that are not on the acceptable list, make that plain on the form and in remarks, and include the licensed providers you have seen even briefly. Emergency room physicians are licensed physicians, so ER records from a hospital belong on the list of medical sources.

Frequently asked questions

Does a nurse practitioner count as an acceptable medical source?

A licensed advanced practice registered nurse, a category that includes many nurse practitioners, has counted since rules effective March 27, 2017 under 20 CFR 404.1513(a). A registered nurse outside that category does not.

Can a chiropractor's records help my disability claim?

A chiropractor is a nonmedical source under 20 CFR 404.1513(d), so those records cannot establish a medically determinable impairment. They can still help describe your symptoms and day to day function.

What about a therapist or counselor for depression?

For mental impairments, acceptable medical sources are licensed physicians and licensed or certified psychologists under 20 CFR 404.1513(a). A counselor's or clinical social worker's notes can still support severity as evidence from an other source.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Social Security rules change, and your situation may involve details not covered here. Consult a qualified representative or contact SSA directly for advice about your claim.