Past work is relevant if it meets all the relevancy requirements. If the evidence is sufficient to show that past work does not meet any one of the relevancy requirements in DI 25005.015A, do not obtain a description of the demands and duties of the job. For complete information on determining relevancy of past work, see DI 25005.015.

If the vocational information in the file is complete enough to determine the demands of the work are outside the claimant’s RFC both as the claimant did the work and as generally performed in the national economy, no additional vocational development is required to rule out ability to do past relevant work (PRW).

If even one of the physical or mental demands of the claimant’s PRW is beyond the claimant’s RFC, there is no need to obtain additional evidence about whether the demands of the job are within the claimant’s RFC.

If the vocational evidence is not sufficient to make a step 4 finding, use expedited vocational assessment, if applicable. For more information about expedited vocational assessment at steps 4 and 5 of sequential evaluation, see DI 25005.005.

If the vocational evidence is sufficient to find the claimant can do PRW either as the claimant did the work or as the work is generally performed in the national economy, find the claimant not disabled at step 4 of sequential evaluation. No additional vocational development is required.

Obtain additional vocational information if all the following are true:

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  The expedited vocational assessment in DI 25005.005 does not apply,

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  It appears that the claimant may be capable of performing a past job either as they did the job or as it is generally performed in the national economy, and

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  Additional information is needed to determine whether that job met the relevancy requirements for PRW.

Prior to allowing at step 5 of sequential evaluation, vocational evidence must be sufficient to rule out the ability to do PRW both as the claimant did the job and as it is generally performed in the national economy.

Obtain additional vocational information

• •

  if the expedited vocational assessment in DI 25005.005 does not apply;

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  if the claimant’s work meets the relevancy requirements in DI 25005.015A;

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  if the information provided about PRW is insufficient to determine whether the claimant can do the job as actually performed; and

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  if the information about PRW is not complete enough to identify the work in the Dictionary of Occupation Titles (DOT) (to evaluate it as it is generally performed in the national economy) or to determine that the claimant’s PRW does not have a DOT counterpart. ( For additional information about using the DOT to identify PRW, see DI 25005.025.)

  IMPORTANT: If the evidence is sufficient to determine the claimant can do PRW as generally performed in the national economy or as the claimant did the job, stop development, and deny the claim at step 4 of sequential evaluation.

  If the evidence is sufficient to rule out ability to do PRW, proceed to evaluation of step 5 of sequential evaluation.

Sufficient information about the claimant’s PRW is required to evaluate ability to do PRW as the claimant did the job if the claimant has an RFC that reflects a significantly eroded unskilled occupational base. For example, if a claimant has an RFC for sedentary work with additional restrictions that significantly erode the claimant’s ability to perform work at this level, there must be sufficient information about all the claimant’s PRW to rule it out at step 4 of sequential evaluation.

Because it will not be possible to find a DOT counterpart within the claimant’s RFC, it is not necessary to evaluate ability to do work as it is generally performed in the national economy if the claimant has an RFC for:

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  Inability to sustain a 40-hour workweek. See Sustainability and the Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) Assessment DI 24510.057,

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  Inability to meet the basic demands of unskilled work. See Mental Limitations DI 25020.010A3, or

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  A significantly eroded range of sedentary work. See Determining Capacity to Do Other Work—Implications of a Residual Functional Capacity for Less than a Full Range of Sedentary Work SSR 96-9p DI 25015.020.