Five-step sequential evaluation
Substantial gainful activity, severe impairment, Listing-level severity, past relevant work, and other work — all steps resolved, or the case does not release.
The most rigorous SSDI/SSI approval engine a denied claimant can have.
Disability Benefits Approval Engine assembles a documentation-complete disability claim — every medical record, every regulatory Listing match, every vocational grid rule, every appeal deadline — checked against the letter of 20 CFR 404 and 416 before a specialist releases it.
Every subsection of 20 CFR 404/416Five-step sequential evaluation, gate-checkedSSA eFolder · provider records · Listings · vocational gridSpecialist release on every case5-business-day SLA
Why claims fail
A single missing record can void the entire award.
A Social Security disability claim is only as strong as the evidence behind it. Miss one required medical record, skip a regulatory Listing, misapply the vocational grid, or fail to meet a deadline — and the claim can be denied, delayed, or abandoned.
Most claimants navigate this alone, from memory, once in a lifetime. The regulations have not been read end-to-end since the last time it mattered. That is exactly where completeness gaps hide.
Disability Benefits Approval Engine exists to close that gap with a single, exhaustive standard applied identically to every file.
64%
of initial claims denied in FY2025 — the gap between denial and approval is evidence completeness
The benchmark
Measured against the letter of the regulation — subsection by subsection.
We do not summarize the law and hope. Every case is scored against a versioned rule pack tied to the exact text of 20 CFR 404 and 416. These are the provisions each case is held to.
Blue Book Listings
Every impairment is screened against the applicable Listing; if met or equaled, the case is flagged for allowance at step three.
Residual functional capacity
A function-by-function RFC is constructed from the medical record, with page citations, and applied at steps four and five.
Vocational grid rules
The Medical-Vocational Guidelines are applied based on age, education, work experience, and RFC — deterministically, never estimated.
Complete medical record
All relevant medical evidence is retrieved from SSA's eFolder and treating sources; gaps are identified and closed before filing.
Deadline compliance
Every appeal deadline (60 days for reconsideration, 60 days for hearing request) is tracked and met; no missed deadlines.
How a case is built
Intake to specialist release, with deterministic gates the AI cannot overrule.
AI extracts and drafts. Deterministic rules — running as code, outside the model — decide what is complete. A human specialist signs every release. That order is never reversed.
01
Evidence Gap Scan
Upload the claimant's information and any existing records. We return a free completeness read: which regulatory elements and medical records you already have, and which are missing.
02
Records retrieval
As your authorized representative, we access SSA's Electronic Records Express eFolder and order missing records from treating sources.
03
Grounded drafting
The medical chronology, Listing analysis, RFC, and vocational grid are drafted from validated data and the 20 CFR rule pack into field-locked templates — no legal opinions, no invented facts.
04
Deterministic completeness gates
Every Listing is checked; the RFC is reconciled to the record; the vocational grid is applied; deadlines are verified. Any failure blocks release.
05
Specialist release
A disability specialist reviews the exception queue and signs the release. Complex cases route to attorney review first.
06
Delivery
You receive the case file: medical chronology, Listing analysis, RFC, vocational grid, appeal request, pre-hearing brief, and deadline calendar — ready for the accredited representative to file and present.
The bar we hold
Rigor you can measure.
100%
Specialist-released
No case ships without a human signature.
5 days
Standard SLA
From complete intake to released case file.
<1%
Critical-defect target
Tracked against a gold-standard case library.
3
Evidence sources
SSA eFolder · treating providers · claimant records, every applicable file.
Why Disability Benefits Approval Engine
Built to be the most thorough option a claimant has.
Documentation-complete, by design
The deliverable is completeness itself — every regulatory element and medical record accounted for or explicitly exception-coded. Nothing is left implicit.
Deterministic, not vibes
The gates that decide completeness are code, not a model's opinion. A drafting error cannot slip past a regulatory requirement.
In its lane, on purpose
We prepare documentation and run searches as your clerical agent. We never give legal advice, contact SSA directly, or represent you at hearing — that is done by your accredited representative.
Engagement
Flat fee, per released case. No hourly billing, ever.
Simple, predictable, and aligned with a documentation standard — not a percentage of any award.
- A free Evidence Gap Scan before you commit — see exactly what is missing.
- One flat fee per released case file; disclosed pass-through record retrieval costs.
- Optional fixed-fee attorney review for complex cases.
- Optional Hearing Continuity Add-on for hearing preparation exhibits and testimony outline.
FAQ
Questions, answered precisely.
Is Disability Benefits Approval Engine a law firm?
No. Disability Benefits Approval Engine, a service of Your Deputy, Obuke LLC, provides documentation-completeness services. It is not a law firm, does not provide legal advice, and does not represent you in any legal matter. Attorney review is available and recommended for complex cases.
Do you contact SSA or represent me at hearing?
No. We prepare the documentation file. Your accredited representative (attorney or SSA-approved non-attorney) files the appeal, communicates with SSA, and represents you at hearing.
What makes a case 'complete'?
Completeness is defined by the regulations: the five-step sequential evaluation resolved, the Blue Book Listings screened, the RFC constructed, the vocational grid applied, all medical records retrieved, and deadlines tracked. Deterministic gates enforce each one before release.
How fast is it?
The standard SLA is five business days from complete intake to a specialist-released case file. The free Gap Scan is returned much sooner and tells you exactly what is still needed.
How are you priced?
A flat fee per released case file, plus disclosed pass-through record retrieval costs. No contingency and no percentage of any award.
See what's missing before it costs you an approval.
Start with a free Evidence Gap Scan. Send your claimant information and we'll return a completeness read against every subsection of 20 CFR 404 and 416.
Documentation-completeness service · not legal advice · your accredited representative files and presents every case.