1. (a) General. You are entitled to disability benefits while disabled before attaining full retirement age as defined in § 404.409 if—

   1. (1) You have enough social security earnings to be insured for disability, as described in § 404.130;
   2. (2) You apply;
   3. (3) You have a disability, as defined in § 404.1505, or you are not disabled, but you had a disability that ended within the 12-month period before the month you applied; and

   4. (4) You have been disabled for 5 full consecutive months or no waiting period is required. The 5-month waiting period begins with a month in which you were both insured for disability and disabled. Your waiting period can begin no earlier than the 17th month before the month you apply—no matter how long you were disabled before then. No waiting period is required if:

      1. (i) You were previously entitled to disability benefits or to a period of disability under § 404.320 any time within 5 years of the month you again became disabled; or
      2. (ii) You have been medically determined to have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and we approved your application for disability insurance benefits on or after July 23, 2020.
2. (b) [Reserved]

[44 FR 34481, June 15, 1979, as amended at 48 FR 21930, May 16, 1983; 51 FR 10616, Mar. 28, 1986; 51 FR 16166, May 1, 1986; 53 FR 43681, Oct. 28, 1988; 57 FR 30119, July 8, 1992; 60 FR 8145, Feb. 10, 1995; 68 FR 4704, Jan. 30, 2003; 86 FR 48021, Aug. 27, 2021; 91 FR 16829, Apr. 3, 2026]