Listing code
103.03
Children (Part B)
Body system
103.00
Respiratory disorders (children)
Subsections
0
No lettered criteria
Step in evaluation
3 of 5
Listing match approves the claim
SSA listing text and criteria
Asthma . (see 103.00G ) with exacerbations or complications requiring three hospitalizations within a 12-month period and at least 30 days apart (the 12-month period must occur within the period we are considering in connection with your application or continuing disability review). Each hospitalization must last at least 48 hours, including hours in a hospital emergency department immediately before the hospitalization. Consider under a disability for 1 year from the discharge date of the last hospitalization; after that, evaluate the residual impairment(s) under 103.03 or another appropriate listing.
This listing has no lettered subsections. The diagnosis itself, supported by the medical evidence described in the body-system overview, is what SSA evaluates.
Source: SSA Blue Book listing 103.03. Last synced 2026-05-04.
Where claims under 103.03 usually fail
One failure mode is counting the wrong hospital events, such as using emergency visits that do not lead to an admission that lasts at least 48 hours (including the emergency department hours immediately before admission). Another is not meeting the 30-day minimum gap between hospitalizations. A third is using a 12-month span that does not fit within the relevant period under SSA review for the application or continuing disability review. A fourth pitfall is assuming this listing stays in place indefinitely, when the rule provides a 1-year evaluation period from the discharge date of the last hospitalization and then requires evaluation of residual impairment(s).
Medical evidence that strengthens this claim
Medical records should show the asthma diagnosis and document the exacerbations or complications that led to hospital care. Hospital documents need to support each of the three hospitalizations lasting at least 48 hours, including the emergency department hours immediately before hospitalization, and show the discharge dates so the 12-month window and at least 30 days apart can be verified. Evidence that only shows symptoms and signs such as dyspnea, wheezing, coughing, or tachypnea without the required hospitalization pattern will not match what this listing requires.
What happens if your records do not meet this listing
If the three-hospitalization pattern is not met, SSA does not stop the evaluation. The process continues by assessing whether there is a longer-term residual impairment after the hospitalization-based 1-year window, using 103.03 or another appropriate listing. In practice, many cases that do not fit the exact hospitalization timing still get evaluated under a different listing based on the remaining functional effects.
Work activity and the SGA gate for this condition
For an initial SSDI claim, work activity is considered at the start of the case, and SSA evaluates whether work activity rules are met while the medical evidence is being reviewed. This childhood asthma listing is tied to hospitalizations for exacerbations or complications, so the level of severity reflected by three qualifying hospitalizations is what drives whether the listing is satisfied during the specified 1-year evaluation period from the discharge date of the last hospitalization. After that 1-year period, the focus shifts to evaluating residual impairment(s) under 103.03 or another appropriate listing. If approved, trial work period and extended period of eligibility rules apply after approval.
Listing 103.03 FAQ
Questions that come up repeatedly for asthma disability claims.