20 CFR § 416.919a - When we will purchase a consultative examination and how we will use it.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t20/s416.919a"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "20 CFR § 416.919a - When we will purchase a consultative examination and how we will use it."
title_number: 20
title_name: "Employees' Benefits"
section_number: "416.919a"
section_name: "When we will purchase a consultative examination and how we will use it."
chapter_name: "SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION"
part_number: "416"
part_name: "SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED, BLIND, AND DISABLED"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-03-24"
last_updated: "2026-03-24"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
cfr_part: "416"
---


# 416.919a When we will purchase a consultative examination and how we will use it.

(a) *General.* If we cannot get the information we need from your medical sources, we may decide to purchase a consultative examination. See § 416.912 for the procedures we will follow to obtain evidence from your medical sources and § 416.920b for how we consider evidence. Before purchasing a consultative examination, we will consider not only existing medical reports, but also the disability interview form containing your allegations as well as other pertinent evidence in your file.

(b) *Situations that may require a consultative examination.* We may purchase a consultative examination to try to resolve an inconsistency in the evidence or when the evidence as a whole is insufficient to support a determination or decision on your claim. Some examples of when we might purchase a consultative examination to secure needed medical evidence, such as clinical findings, laboratory tests, a diagnosis, or prognosis, include but are not limited to:

(1) The additional evidence needed is not contained in the records of your medical sources;

(2) The evidence that may have been available from your treating or other medical sources cannot be obtained for reasons beyond your control, such as death or noncooperation of a medical source;

(3) Highly technical or specialized medical evidence that we need is not available from your treating or other medical sources; or

(4) There is an indication of a change in your condition that is likely to affect your ability to work, or, if you are a child, your functioning, but the current severity of your impairment is not established.

[56 FR 36964, Aug. 1, 1991, as amended at 62 FR 6421, Feb. 11, 1997; 77 FR 10656, Feb. 23, 2012]