TechNow SAI Answers · Social Security paperwork

What is a Social Security Function Report — and how do you fill it out?

Short answer: The Function Report (Form SSA-3373) is the form where Social Security learns what your everyday life actually looks like now — what you can still do, what you can’t, and what help you need. Along with your medical records, it is one of the most deciding pieces of a disability claim, and it is the form people most often rush through.

Why this form carries so much weight

Doctors’ records say what is wrong. The Function Report says what it does to your days — dressing, cooking, cleaning, shopping, concentrating, getting along with people. Examiners compare the two. When the form is vague (“everything is hard”) it gets little weight; when it is specific and matches your records, it holds up.

Five things that make an answer hold up

1. Describe one real, typical day. Hour by hour, including the parts you would normally leave out — the rests, the help, the things you have quietly stopped doing.

2. Be specific instead of general. “I can stand about ten minutes before I have to sit down” tells an examiner more than “standing is hard.” Numbers, times, and distances beat adjectives.

3. Don’t exaggerate — and don’t minimize. Both hurt you. Many people downplay how bad things are out of pride; that reads as “doing fine.” Be exact about an ordinary day, not your best day and not your worst.

4. Name the help you get. If a family member, friend, or neighbor helps you with daily tasks, say who and what they do. There is a place for it, and it matters.

5. Keep a copy, and write down the date you sent it. Every form, every time. If it is ever “lost,” your copy is your proof.

What if writing is the hard part?

It is completely okay to get help filling the form in — a family member, a friend, or a paperwork-help service. The answers must be yours and true; whose hand holds the pen is not the point.

Where we fit — said plainly

LegalEase is paperwork help: we go through the forms with you, fill out every form completely, and get it submitted — a flat $29.99, with the first page read free. We are not Social Security representatives or lawyers, we never charge a percentage of anyone’s benefits, and we never promise an approval — nobody honest can. Start with the free read: upload page 1 securely on our site — no account, and your paper never goes to a personal phone. If we can’t help with your paper, we will tell you that for free.

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