Listing 3.02 in 2026: How SSA Evaluates COPD and Chronic Lung Disease, the FEV1 and FVC Tables, the DLCO and Arterial Blood Gas Tests, and the SpO2 Cutoffs That Win at Step 3

Published June 12, 2026 by Anthony Albert, Benefits Research Director

About 16 million Americans have been diagnosed with COPD, and millions more live with other chronic lung problems like emphysema, chronic bronchitis, pulmonary fibrosis, and severe asthma. A lot of those folks try for SSDI or SSI and run straight into Listing 3.02. The thing is, most people don't know that Listing 3.02 isn't a single test. It's four separate paths to a Step 3 medical win, and your file probably already contains the data for at least one of them.

If your treating pulmonologist has run a spirometry test, you may already qualify under 3.02A (FEV1) or 3.02B (FVC). If you've had a DLCO test (sometimes called a diffusion test), 3.02C(1) is in play. If your file has an arterial blood gas (ABG) reading from a hospital admission or pre-surgical workup, 3.02C(2) might already be satisfied. And if pulse oximetry on room air shows a low SpO2, 3.02C(3) can finish the job without any other testing.

This article breaks down all four paths, the actual numeric cutoffs from the 2026 Blue Book, how the tests get scored, what SSA does when DDS sends you for a consultative pulmonary function test, and how Listing 3.03 (asthma) and 3.04 (cystic fibrosis) sit alongside 3.02. It ends with two worked examples from California and Texas showing how the same disease (COPD) can win under two completely different paths.

Where 3.02 Lives in the Listings

Listing 3.02 sits inside the 3.00 Respiratory Disorders section of the Blue Book at 20 CFR Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 1. The respiratory listings got a major rewrite that took effect October 7, 2016, and that rule still controls today's claims with minor technical updates. The current section includes 3.02 (chronic respiratory disorders, which covers COPD and most chronic lung disease), 3.03 (asthma), 3.04 (cystic fibrosis), 3.07 (bronchiectasis), 3.09 (chronic pulmonary hypertension), 3.11 (lung transplant), and 3.14 (respiratory failure).

The 3.00 introductory section is where the rules for spirometry, DLCO, ABG, and SpO2 testing live. Pulmonary listings depend on test technique. If the technique is wrong, the test gets thrown out. That's why 3.00E (spirometry rules) and 3.00F (DLCO rules) get cited so often.

The Four Paths to Meeting 3.02

Listing 3.02 has three subparts. The C subpart has three sub-subparts. That gets you to four paths total. You only need one to win at Step 3.

If your file already has spirometry from your pulmonologist, you start with 3.02A and 3.02B. If you have a DLCO from a fuller pulmonary function workup, add 3.02C(1). If you've ever had a hospital admission with ABG drawn, that's 3.02C(2). And if a pulse ox reading on room air shows you below the cutoff, that's 3.02C(3).

3.02A: The FEV1 Table

FEV1 is the air you can forcibly blow out in the first second of a forced exhalation. It's the single most important number in pulmonary medicine because it captures airway obstruction better than any other simple test. COPD by definition involves a reduced FEV1.

SSA doesn't use a single FEV1 cutoff. It uses a table based on your height (or age 18 to 20 with separate cutoffs), measured in centimeters or inches without shoes. Here's the table for adults age 20 or older. Values are in liters at body temperature and pressure saturated with water vapor (L, BTPS):

How to read it. If you're a 5 foot 8 (172.7 cm) man and your post-bronchodilator FEV1 is 1.55 L, you fall in the 169.0 to less than 174.0 row, where the male cutoff is 1.60 L. You're under. You meet 3.02A. If your FEV1 is 1.65 L, you're above, and 3.02A is out, but 3.02B, 3.02C, or a vocational win at Step 5 are still open.

SSA always uses the highest FEV1 value from your test session, not the average. Spirometry under 3.00E requires three attempts, and the highest reading counts. The test also has to be done after bronchodilator administration if the pre-bronchodilator FEV1 is below 70 percent of predicted. The post-bronchodilator number is what SSA scores against the table.

3.02B: The FVC Table

FVC is the total volume of air you can blow out after a maximal inhalation. It captures restrictive lung disease (where the lungs can't expand fully) better than obstructive disease. Pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis, scarring from old infections, severe scoliosis affecting the chest wall, and neuromuscular disease all reduce FVC.

Same height bins, but the cutoff values are higher (because total volume is always higher than one-second volume). If you've got pure obstructive disease like classic COPD, your FVC may be normal even though FEV1 is destroyed. That's why FEV1 is the COPD path and FVC is more often the fibrosis or restrictive path. If you have mixed disease, both can be low and either can satisfy 3.02.

3.02C(1): DLCO

DLCO measures how well gas (specifically carbon monoxide as a tracer) crosses from the alveoli into the bloodstream. It captures gas exchange. Diseases that damage the alveolar-capillary membrane (emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, sarcoidosis with parenchymal involvement) reduce DLCO. Diseases that only narrow airways (uncomplicated asthma, mild bronchitis) often have normal DLCO.

Listing 3.02C(1) cutoffs are based on height alone (no separate age band, no separate young-adult row):

Units are mL CO (STPD) per minute per mmHg. This is the actual measured DLCO, not the percent of predicted. A lot of pulmonologists report DLCO as percent predicted (such as "DLCO 38 percent of predicted"). That's not what SSA uses. SSA uses the raw absolute value. If the report only shows percent predicted, your representative has to get the absolute number from the lab, or get the test repeated with full reporting.

DLCO testing has technical requirements under 3.00F. The patient has to be in a stable state, off bronchodilators for the required washout period (varies by drug class), not have had a recent meal, and not have smoked within 24 hours. If those aren't met, SSA can reject the result.

3.02C(2): Arterial Blood Gas

ABG is the gold standard for measuring blood oxygenation. A needle goes into the radial artery (usually) and a small blood sample is drawn. The lab reports PaO2 (partial pressure of oxygen), PaCO2 (partial pressure of carbon dioxide), and pH.

SSA's 3.02C(2) cutoffs depend on PaCO2 because in chronic lung disease, low PaO2 with high PaCO2 (hypercapnic respiratory failure) is more severe than low PaO2 with normal PaCO2. They also depend on altitude because the higher you live, the lower the ambient oxygen, so the cutoffs shift down.

Here's the table at less than 3,000 feet above sea level (where most Americans live):

Read it as a sliding scale. If your PaCO2 is normal (say 40), the PaO2 has to be at or below 55 to meet the listing. If your PaCO2 is low (which can happen in early COPD with hyperventilation), the PaO2 cutoff is higher, all the way up to 65 at PaCO2 of 30 or less.

At 3,000 to 6,000 feet of elevation (Denver, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico), the table shifts down 5 mmHg across the board: PaO2 cutoffs run from 60 (at PaCO2 of 30 or below) to 50 (at PaCO2 of 40 or above). Above 6,000 feet (high mountain communities), the cutoffs shift another 5 mmHg: 55 down to 45.

An ABG drawn during an acute exacerbation doesn't count. The test has to be at a stable baseline. POMS DI 22021.040 spells out the technical requirements.

3.02C(3): SpO2 by Pulse Oximetry

This is the simplest and the most overlooked path. A nurse or doctor puts a finger probe on, reads the saturation, and SSA scores it directly against a three-row table:

The reading has to be on room air (no supplemental oxygen) and at rest. It also has to be a properly calibrated device. SSA doesn't accept consumer pulse oximeters bought on Amazon. The reading has to come from a clinical setting.

Why this matters. A lot of COPD patients live around 88 to 92 percent at rest. They don't qualify under 3.02C(3). But during a flare or admission, they can drop into the mid-80s. If you have hospital records showing 87 percent on room air at admission (before they put you on oxygen), that's a hit. Just one reading isn't enough though. SSA wants consistency, and the rule under 3.00H requires that the SpO2 be representative of your stable baseline, not a single moment during acute illness.

Listing 3.03: Asthma

Asthma gets its own listing because it behaves differently from COPD. The 3.03A FEV1 cutoffs are higher than 3.02A (asthmatic airflow obstruction is intermittent, so SSA sets a higher bar for chronic limitation). Here's the adult table for age 20 or older:

3.03B is a separate hospitalization path: three hospitalizations within a 12-month period, each at least 30 days apart, each lasting at least 48 hours (counting time in the ER immediately before admission). If you hit 3.03B, SSA finds you disabled for one year from the date of discharge from the last hospitalization. After that one year, SSA does a continuing disability review. For more on CDRs and the medical improvement standard, see our deep-dive on CDR under 20 CFR 404.1594.

Listing 3.04: Cystic Fibrosis

CF has its own listing with two main paths: 3.04A (FEV1 same cutoffs as 3.03A) plus a more inclusive set of exacerbation criteria under 3.04G that don't require hospitalization. To meet 3.04G you need two of the following within a 12-month period: pulmonary exacerbation requiring 10 consecutive days of IV antibiotics, pulmonary hemorrhage requiring any-length hospitalization, weight loss requiring tube feeding for 90 consecutive days, or CFRD requiring daily insulin for 90 consecutive days.

3.04F has its own SpO2 cutoffs, more lenient than 3.02C(3): 89 percent at low altitude, 87 percent at 3,000 to 6,000 feet, and 85 percent above 6,000 feet.

How Spirometry Has to Be Done

3.00E sets out the spirometry rules. If the test doesn't follow them, SSA can throw out the results. The key requirements:

• Three forced expiratory maneuvers, each producing a valid trace that meets ATS/ERS reproducibility criteria.
• Highest value from the three attempts gets used.
• Post-bronchodilator testing required if pre-bronchodilator FEV1 is less than 70 percent of predicted. The post-bronchodilator FEV1 is what SSA scores.
• Height measured without shoes on the day of the test, in centimeters.
• Patient should be free from acute respiratory infection or exacerbation for at least two weeks before testing.
• Spirometer calibration documented.

The "highest value, not average" rule is a big one. A lot of treating physician reports show only the average or only the best one without the others. SSA wants to see all three traces. If the report is incomplete, SSA can order a consultative PFT.

What SSA Does When DDS Orders a Consultative PFT

If DDS thinks your file doesn't have current pulmonary function testing (within 12 months for COPD and most chronic lung disease per 3.00E1), they'll schedule a consultative exam (CE) with a contract provider. POMS DI 22510 sets the rules.

The quality of consultative PFTs varies. Some are done at well-equipped pulmonology offices with full ATS-trained technologists. Others are done in storefront clinics with a portable spirometer and 15 minutes of total appointment time. If your CE results conflict with your treating pulmonologist's results, you have grounds to argue the CE shouldn't control. The treating physician's results, if done correctly, get more weight under 20 CFR 404.1520c persuasiveness rules. For the full deep-dive on how medical opinion evidence works under 1520c, see our breakdown on 404.1520c persuasiveness framework.

What Happens If You Don't Meet 3.02

Most people with significant COPD don't meet 3.02. Their FEV1 is bad but not table-bad. That doesn't end the case. SSA moves to Step 4 (past relevant work) and Step 5 (other work). Your residual functional capacity (RFC) under SSR 96-8p captures what you can still do despite the disease, and then the medical-vocational grid rules under 20 CFR 404 Appendix 2 (Grid rules) decide whether jobs exist that you can perform. For more on how RFC and grids work together, see our walkthrough of SSR 96-8p RFC assessment and the grid rules and borderline age.

COPD RFCs typically include environmental limitations: avoid concentrated exposure to fumes, odors, dusts, gases, poor ventilation, and temperature extremes. They often include exertional limits: limited to light or sedentary work, no lifting above 10 to 20 pounds. They sometimes include rest break requirements if oxygen use is documented.

How Long the 3.02 Win Lasts

Most COPD cases that win under 3.02 get a Medical Improvement Not Expected (MINE) classification because COPD doesn't improve. Lung function in COPD declines over time, not reverses. That means CDRs happen on a 5 to 7 year cycle, sometimes mailer-only (SSA-455). For asthma cases that win under 3.03B (the hospitalization path), the rule is explicit: disabled for one year, then CDR. For details on what triggers more or less frequent CDRs, see CDR frequency and triggers.

Worked Example 1: California COPD Win Under 3.02A

Worked Example 2: Texas COPD Win Under 3.02C(2) ABG Path

Other Pulmonary Listings to Know

If you're outside 3.02 but inside one of these other listings, the analysis is similar. Look at the actual measured numbers in your chart, score them against the listing, and see whether you meet.

What to Do Before Filing

If you suspect 3.02 might be in play but you've never had a full pulmonary function workup, ask your pulmonologist for the following before you apply:

1. Full spirometry with pre- and post-bronchodilator FEV1 and FVC, with the actual trace included.
2. DLCO test (sometimes ordered as "full PFTs" which include spirometry, lung volumes, and DLCO).
3. Resting SpO2 reading on room air documented in the chart.
4. If you've ever had an ABG drawn, request that result from medical records.
5. Height measured without shoes documented in the chart.

Without those numbers, DDS will order a consultative PFT, and you lose control of the testing process. With them, your file has the data SSA needs to decide at Step 3 without waiting on a CE.

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