This checklist is for anyone who has a new illness, injury or disability that makes it hard to work or manage daily life, and for families caring for a child with a disability. Many disability benefits depend on one approval, the Disability Tax Credit, so it pays to start that early.
In the first 4 weeks
- Apply for EI sickness benefits if you were working. EI sickness benefits can pay you for up to 26 weeks when you can’t work for medical reasons. You need a medical certificate that says you can’t work and for about how long. Apply online as soon as you stop working. If you apply more than 4 weeks after your last day of work, you may lose benefits. This applies in Quebec too.
- Report a work injury to your employer and your workers’ compensation board. If the injury or illness happened at work, tell your employer and file a claim with the workers’ compensation board in your province. While you wait for a decision, EI sickness benefits can still be paid, but you sign an undertaking to repay them once your compensation claim is settled.
In the first 3 months
- Apply for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC). The DTC lowers your income tax, and approval opens the door to the Canada Disability Benefit, the RDSP, the Child Disability Benefit and the CWB disability supplement. Apply with form T2201. You can do Part A in your CRA account or by calling 1-800-959-8281, and your medical practitioner can send Part B digitally. Or mail the paper form. Use the same method for both parts. The CRA can adjust tax returns you filed up to 10 years back for years you qualified.
- Apply for CPP disability if you can’t work at any job regularly. You must be 18 to 64 and have paid into the CPP in 4 of the last 6 years (or 3 of the last 6 if you contributed for at least 25 years). Your condition must be long-term and not expected to improve, or likely to cause death. Apply online in My Service Canada Account or mail form ISP-1151. Your health care professional then completes the medical report (ISP-2519), and you send consent form ISP-2502. A decision usually takes up to 120 days. Questions: 1-800-277-9914. In Quebec, apply for the QPP disability pension through Retraite Québec instead.
- Apply for provincial disability assistance if money is tight. Each province has its own program, with income and asset limits and its own medical forms. If you get CPP disability, some provinces make it easier: Ontario’s ODSP skips its separate disability review, and B.C. can grant the PWD designation without the standard application. See the table below.
| Province | Disability income program |
|---|---|
| Ontario | Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) |
| Alberta | AISH or ADAP (one combined application) |
| British Columbia | Disability assistance with the PWD designation, 1-866-866-0800 |
| Saskatchewan | SAID, 1-888-567-7243 |
| Manitoba | Manitoba Supports for Persons with Disabilities (MSPD) or EIA for persons with disabilities |
| Quebec | Social Solidarity Program (severely limited capacity for employment) |
| New Brunswick | Extended Benefits Program, 1-833-733-7835 |
| Nova Scotia | Income Assistance (enhanced rate for disability), 1-877-424-1177 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | NL Disability Benefit (automatic with the DTC, ages 18 to 64) |
| Prince Edward Island | AccessAbility Supports (apply before age 65) |
Once your DTC is approved
- Apply for the Canada Disability Benefit if you’re 18 to 64. You need DTC approval and a filed 2025 tax return (and your spouse’s, if you have one). The maximum is $204.20 a month from July 2026 to June 2027. Apply online, by phone at 1-833-486-3007, or at a Service Canada Centre. You can get up to 24 months of back pay, starting no earlier than June 2025.
- Open a Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP). An RDSP is a long-term savings plan for people approved for the DTC. It can be opened until the end of the year you turn 59. The government adds grants of up to $3,500 a year (up to $70,000 over your lifetime) and, on a low income, a bond of up to $1,000 a year (up to $20,000) with no contribution needed. Grants and bonds stop after December 31 of the year you turn 49. Unused amounts from up to 10 past years when you had the DTC can be caught up.
- If it’s your child, check for the Child Disability Benefit. If you get the Canada Child Benefit and your child is approved for the DTC, the Child Disability Benefit is added automatically, up to $290 a month per child from July 2026. The CRA also pays it for the current and two previous benefit years.
- Claim the CWB disability supplement if you work. If you earn a low income from work and have an approved T2201 on file, the Canada Workers Benefit includes a disability supplement of up to $860 for the 2026 tax year. You claim it on your tax return.
- File your taxes every year, even with little or no income. The Canada Disability Benefit, the Child Disability Benefit, the CWB and Newfoundland and Labrador’s disability benefit all use your tax return to work out what you get.
Money you may now qualify for
- Canada Disability Benefit: monthly federal payments for working-age adults with DTC approval.
- CPP disability: monthly payments if you can no longer work regularly, plus a benefit for your children. In Quebec, see QPP payments.
- EI payment dates: when your sickness benefits will arrive.
- Provincial disability support: ODSP, AISH, ADAP, BC disability assistance, Saskatchewan SAID, Manitoba EIA and MSPD, Quebec Social Solidarity, NL Disability Benefit and PEI social programs.
- Canada Child Benefit: the Child Disability Benefit is paid with it.
- Canada Workers Benefit: extra money for low-income workers, with a disability supplement.
- Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit: a tax-free quarterly payment for people with low and modest incomes who file their taxes.
- Nearing 65? See the turning 64 or 65 checklist, since CPP disability automatically changes to a CPP retirement pension at 65.
Common questions
Can I get EI sickness and CPP disability at the same time?
You can apply for both. EI sickness covers up to 26 weeks, while CPP disability is for long-term conditions and can take up to 120 days to decide, so applying for both early helps avoid a gap in income.
How long does the Disability Tax Credit take?
Times vary, and the CRA posts current times on its online processing time checker. Applications are accepted all year, and sending yours before you file your tax return may avoid a delay in your tax assessment.
Do I need the DTC to get the Canada Disability Benefit?
Yes. You must be approved for the DTC, be 18 to 64 and have filed your 2025 tax return. Apply for the DTC first, then the Canada Disability Benefit.
Is it too late to open an RDSP at 55?
No. You can open one until the end of the year you turn 59. Grants and bonds stop after the year you turn 49, but you and your family can still contribute until the end of the year you turn 59.
I live in Quebec. What’s different?
You apply to Retraite Québec for the QPP disability pension instead of CPP disability, and provincial help comes through the Social Solidarity Program. EI sickness, the DTC, the Canada Disability Benefit and the RDSP are federal and work the same way.
Not sure what else fits your situation? Try our benefits checkup. Service Canada and the CRA never ask for fees, gift cards or passwords by text or email.