How to Apply for the Canada Disability Benefit

The short answer

Get the Disability Tax Credit approved first, then apply to Service Canada. The Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) is a monthly federal payment for working-age adults with disabilities — people aged 18 to 64 who have an approved Disability Tax Credit (DTC) and low income. DTC approval does not enrol you automatically: you must submit a separate application to Service Canada before any payments begin. Applications opened on June 20, 2025, and the first month of eligibility was June 2025, with payments beginning in July 2025. For July 2026 to June 2027, the maximum is $204.20 a month.

This guide covers process only: the DTC-first sequence, the conditions, the four application routes, and what the benefit pays. It gives no eligibility advice and no financial advice — whether you qualify is Service Canada's decision.

Step 1: Get the Disability Tax Credit approved first

The DTC is the gate. You must have been approved for the Disability Tax Credit before you can receive the CDB, and the application form's instructions list DTC approval as the first eligibility requirement. The DTC is a non-refundable tax credit, not a payment: it reduces the amount of income tax you may have to pay. You apply for it with Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate, completed by you (Part A) and certified by a medical practitioner (Part B), and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) decides whether you qualify.

This guide does not re-walk the T2201 process. The full steps — who can certify which impairment, the digital and paper routes, the tax centres to mail to, and what happens after you apply — are in our How to Apply for the Disability Tax Credit in Canada guide. Do not apply for the CDB until the CRA has approved your DTC: an application without an approved DTC cannot lead to payments, and the weeks spent waiting on a DTC decision are not weeks the CDB application can use.

Step 2: Check the other conditions

The official application instructions list these conditions alongside DTC approval:

• You must be between 18 and 64 years old.
• You and your spouse or common-law partner (if applicable) must have filed your federal income tax return for the previous year. The CDB amount page states the same rule: to be eligible, both you and your spouse or common-law partner must have filed your federal income tax return.
• You must be a Canadian resident for income tax purposes.
• You must be one of the following: a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, an individual registered or entitled to be registered under the Indian Act, a protected person, or a temporary resident who has lived in Canada throughout the previous 18 months.

Your benefit is based on your adjusted family net income — your family net income from your tax return (line 23600), plus your spouse or common-law partner's line 23600 if applicable, with certain Universal Child Care Benefit and Registered Disability Savings Plan amounts added back or subtracted as the CDB amount page sets out. Because the amount depends on filed returns, a missing return is a common reason payments do not start.

Step 3: Gather what you need

What you need depends on whether Service Canada sent you a letter. Many people approved for the DTC receive a letter inviting them to apply, with a unique 6-digit application code in the upper right-hand corner. You can apply even if you did not receive a letter — the code is not a requirement, it only shortens the application.

If you received the letter, you will need your unique application code, your Social Insurance Number (SIN), and your status in Canada. You may also want to provide your direct deposit information (branch number, institution number, and account number), because Service Canada asks everyone to sign up for direct deposit as the fastest and most reliable way to get payments.

If you did not receive a letter, you will need your SIN, your mailing address, and your status in Canada. You may also want to provide your net income (line 23600) from your most recent notice of assessment — providing it will speed up processing — and your direct deposit information.

If you are applying as a legal representative on someone else's behalf, you need the applicant's code (if they received a letter), SIN, and status in Canada, plus a copy of your proof of legal authority to act for them — for example a court order appointing you as trustee, committee, or guardian, a certificate of guardianship, or a Continuing or Springing Power of Attorney — and a copy of both sides of your own non-expired government-issued ID. You complete the legal representative application form (CDB0005) instead of the standard form. You can also ask someone you trust — a friend, relative, caregiver, or translator — to help you with your own application.

Step 4: Apply through one of the four routes

Use one route only. Service Canada recommends applying online for a faster process.

• Online. Apply through the online portal at canada.ca/disability-benefit. The portal walks you through the questions and submits the application directly.
• By phone. Call the Canada Disability Benefit call centre at 1-833-486-3007. If you are outside Canada, call 1-833-486-2919. Teletypewriter (TTY) is 1-833-467-2700, and a sign language interpreter can call through the dedicated video relay service line (register at srvcanadavrs.ca).
• In person. Visit a Service Canada office near you.
• By printed form. Complete the printable Canada Disability Benefit application form (CDB0004), or the legal representative form (CDB0005) if you are applying for someone else. Drop it off at a Service Canada office or mail it to: Service Canada Centre, CDB Processing Centre, P.O. Box 60, Boucherville, QC J4B 5E6.

Your application may take up to 28 calendar days to process. To check your application status, call the call centre at 1-833-486-3007. Make sure your application is accurate — if you notice any errors or missing information, contact Service Canada by phone or visit an office immediately to correct them. Giving false information on purpose can lead to fines, and benefits you should not have received will have to be paid back.

How much the benefit pays

The CDB is income-tested, so the amount you receive depends on your adjusted family net income. For the period of July 2026 to June 2027, the maximum monthly benefit is $204.20, and your payment is based on your adjusted family net income from your 2025 federal income tax return. The maximum for the previous period, July 2025 to June 2026, was $200 a month. The benefit is adjusted for inflation each year, and your entitlement is re-evaluated every year from the previous year's income.

Some working income is excluded when the benefit is worked out. For July 2026 to June 2027, up to $10,210 of working income is exempt if you are single, and up to $14,294 of combined working income is exempt if you have a spouse or common-law partner. Working income means income from employment, self-employment, and taxable scholarships. Earning more than the exemption does not necessarily mean your benefit will be reduced.

The worked examples on the CDB amount page use the previous benefit year's figures: a single person receives the full benefit if, after subtracting up to $10,000 of working income, their adjusted family net income is $23,000 or less, and a couple receives the full benefit if, after subtracting up to $14,000 of combined working income, their adjusted family net income is $32,500 or less. Above those thresholds, the benefit falls by 20 cents for every dollar of income over the threshold — or by 10 cents per person when both partners in a couple are eligible. The page states plainly that those examples, and the estimator, are currently calculated using data for July 2025 to June 2026, so treat the $23,000 and $32,500 thresholds as the published previous-year figures, not as the current year's indexed thresholds. Use the estimator on the CDB amount page to work out your own figure.

When payments start

If you qualify, you will begin receiving payments the month after your application is received and approved. Your first payment will be on the third Thursday of the month following your approval. You may receive back payments for up to 24 months from when Service Canada gets your application, but not for any months of eligibility before June 2025.

The benefit is not taxable income: it does not need to be reported as income on your annual return. Payments arrive by direct deposit or by cheque to your mailing address if you did not provide banking information.

What the official pages do not state

Three things readers ask about are not stated on the pages, and this guide does not fill the gaps. First, the CDB amount page has not published the indexed income thresholds for July 2026 to June 2027 — its worked examples and estimator still use July 2025 to June 2026 data, so the current-year thresholds are not stated here; check the CDB amount page or ask Service Canada before doing the arithmetic. Second, the pages do not say how provinces and territories treat the CDB for their own disability programs, so this guide makes no claim about whether the benefit reduces provincial support — check with your provincial or territorial program. Third, the amount page mentions a supplemental payment and notes that supplemental payments are not payable for individuals who died before September 2026, but the text gives no amount or eligibility detail for it, so this guide states none. The program is one year old and its figures and rules are still moving; confirm the current figures on canada.ca before relying on any number in this guide.

Related guides:

• How to Apply for the Disability Tax Credit in Canada — the DTC application that must be approved before you can apply for the Canada Disability Benefit.
• How to Apply for ODSP in Ontario — Ontario disability support, a separate Ontario benefit with its own two-stage application.
• How to Apply for Old Age Security in Canada — the federal pension for seniors, which takes over as the main federal income support when the CDB ends at age 65.
• How to Apply for the Canada Workers Benefit — the refundable credit for low-income workers, which includes a disability supplement for people with an approved DTC.
• How to Apply for the Canada Child Benefit — the federal child benefit, which includes a child disability benefit for children eligible for the DTC.

Sources

• Government of Canada, Canada Disability Benefit — the benefit for people with disabilities aged 18 to 64, first month of eligibility June 2025, payments beginning July 2025, payments starting the month after approval, first payment on the third Thursday of the following month, and back payments up to 24 months from June 2025.
• Government of Canada, Canada Disability Benefit: How much you could receive — the $204.20 monthly maximum for July 2026 to June 2027 based on the 2025 return, the $200 maximum for July 2025 to June 2026, the working income exemption of $10,210 for a single person and $14,294 for a couple, the 20-cent reduction, the $23,000 and $32,500 thresholds in the previous-year worked examples, and the note that the examples and estimator use July 2025 to June 2026 data.
• Government of Canada, Canada Disability Benefit: How to apply — the four application routes, the 6-digit application code, what to provide with and without a letter, the legal representative requirements, the Boucherville mailing address, and the instruction to correct errors immediately.
• Service Canada, Application for the Canada Disability Benefit — CDB0004 — the printable application form and its instructions: the eligibility requirements including DTC approval, age 18 to 64, filed tax return, Canadian residence, and status categories; the six application options including the call centre numbers; and the processing time of up to 28 calendar days.