TN 21 (08-23)

DI 13005.037 The Internet Continuing Disability Review Report (i454)

A. Background on the i454 application

Individuals receiving disability benefits must continue to meet the disability requirements of the law. To ensure compliance, the Social Security Administration (SSA) must conduct a medical continuing disability review (CDR). Under the law, SSA must review all disability beneficiaries at least once every three years for nonpermanent disability. The frequency of a scheduled review corresponds with the likelihood of improvement of the impairment(s). We must review permanently disabled beneficiaries on a schedule determined to be appropriate by the Commissioner.

The online medical CDR report provides adult beneficiaries and recipients with an electronic service option instead of completing and mailing the paper form back to SSA. The online version is called the i454 application. The link to the i454 is accessible on the beneficiary’s or recipient’s mySSA landing page.

B. Initiating an i454 application

Only adult beneficiaries and recipients without a representative payee are eligible to use the i454 since it is only available behind the mySSA portal.

Adult Title II Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries, Title XVI Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients or concurrent beneficiaries can use the i454 application.

1. Field office (FO) initiating a CDR with the option to complete an i454

When a beneficiary or recipient is due for a medical CDR, the FO must initiate the CDR using the procedures as listed:

  1. a. 

    Initiate the medical CDR via Workload Action Center (WAC) using the CDR Development Toolbox.

  2. b. 

    Print and mail the required forms (Cover letter, form SSA-454 (Continuing Disability Review Report) and form SSA-827 (Authorization To Disclose Information To The Social Security Administration) and supporting documents (for example, SSA-821 Work Activity Report - Employee, SSA-820 Work Activity Report – Self-Employment).

  3. c. 

    Enclose a return envelope for the beneficiary to return the completed CDR package and supporting documents.

    NOTE: The cover letter populated by WAC will include an automated i454 insert page to indicate that an adult beneficiary may choose to complete their SSA-454 online. WAC only includes the insert when the FO selects the Mail-In (START CDR) notice option.

After the FO initiates a CDR using WAC and the DCF field has been initiated, the link to the i454 appears on the beneficiary’s mySSA account. Only cases eligible for an i454 displays the link on the beneficiary’s my SSA account.

2. Beneficiary or recipient completes an i454

When the beneficiary or recipient chooses to complete an i454 instead of the paper SSA-454, they must complete the steps as listed:

  1. a. 

    Log into their mySSA account.

  2. b. 

    Click on the "Complete Your Continuing Disability Review" link on the landing page.

  3. c. 

    Complete the required fields with red asterisks. Failure to complete these fields will result in the inability to submit the form online.

  4. d. 

    Enter or exit the form multiple times prior to submission.

  5. e. 

    Receive an electronic receipt upon successful submission.

After submitting the i454, the beneficiary or recipient will be presented with an electronic receipt and summary of the form responses which can be printed, emailed, or saved to their personal device.

NOTE: Once the beneficiary or recipient submits an i454 to the local FO, they cannot make any changes to the submitted i454. They may contact their local FO to make any revisions to the submitted i454.

C. FO responsibilities for processing, reviewing, and transferring the i454

When the beneficiary or recipient submits an i454, the FO will receive an alert on the WAC DCF ‘Pending Medical CDRs listing using the ‘i454’ column with a submission date in the cell and a alert via the workload management information (WMI) list.

After the FO establishes the CDR into the electronic disability collect system (EDCS), the FO must follow these procedures.

  1. 1. 

    Click on “Date Submitted” within the Pending MEDICAL CDRs tab in WAC to open EDCS, which allows:

    • the beneficiary’s keyed in i454 and electronic SSA-827 to propagate into EDCS; and

    • the i454 submission alert will drop from the WAC and WMI list.

  2. 2. 

    Review the case for any EDCS edits.

    • If there are no edits, transfer the CDR to the DDS via EDCS and DCF.

    • If there are edits, attempt to contact the beneficiary via phone to complete the required information or send a follow-up letter.

  3. 3. 

    Transfer the CDR to the DDS using EDCS after any EDCS edits are resolved.

  4. 4. 

    Clear any pending DCF tickles.

NOTE: If the FO receives a duplicate paper SSA-454 form after an i454 has been submitted, please review the documentation for any changes or new information. If updates are appropriate scan a copy of the paper SSA-454 into the electronic folder and use the “Update after Transfer” EDCS utility to annotate the case.

D. References

  • DI 13005.025 Field Office (FO) Actions to Initiate a Continuing Disability Review (CDR)

  • DI 13005.040 Completion of the Form SSA-454-BK (Continuing Disability Review Report) in Adult and Title XVI Child Continuing Disability Review (CDR) Cases

  • DI 81010.095 Using the Update-After-Transfer (UAT) Utility


To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0413005037
DI 13005.037 - The Internet Continuing Disability Review Report (i454) - 08/21/2023
Batch run: 11/07/2023
Rev:08/21/2023