Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability Form (CC-305)

The Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability form, Form CC-305, is the one-page Department of Labor form that federal contractors used to ask job applicants and employees whether they have, or have ever had, a disability. It has three boxes: “Yes, I have a disability, or have had one in the past,” “No, I do not have a disability and have not had one in the past,” and “I do not want to answer.” Answering was always voluntary. The bigger news is that a 2026 Department of Labor rule ended the requirement to ask, and the form is discontinued from September 21, 2026. You may still meet it, or a look-alike, on some applications. Any of the three boxes is a legitimate answer, and the form is not a way to ask for an accommodation. This is general information, not legal advice.

This guide goes deep on the disability question. For gender, race and veteran questions as well, see voluntary self-identification questions on job applications.

What Form CC-305 says

The last version the Department of Labor posted (an archived copy from September 2026) has six parts:

A final box is for the employer’s records, such as job title and date of hire. An expiry date that has not yet passed does not mean the form is still required: the Department of Labor’s self-identification forms page says it is discontinued, effective September 21, 2026.

Who had to ask, and how often

The form came from Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, which bars federal contractors from discriminating because of disability. Its basic rules cover contracts over $20,000 (up from $15,000 on October 1, 2025). The invitation to self-identify sat in the affirmative action part of the rules, which applies to contractors with 50 or more employees and a contract of $50,000 or more. According to the Department of Labor’s 2026 final rule, those contractors had to ask at three points:

The same rule also removed the 7% utilization goal that the form’s “Why are you being asked” paragraph refers to.

Why the Department of Labor dropped it

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) says an employer must not ask a job applicant whether they have a disability. In the 2026 rule, the Department of Labor concluded that a required “invitation” to self-identify is an employer-initiated disability inquiry of exactly that kind, whatever the form calls it. Some commenters argued the form was fine because it is voluntary and offers “I do not want to answer.” The Department disagreed: handing someone a form is a request for information, and a decline box does not change that.

The rule leaves a door open. It says that if a contractor, using its own legal and business judgment, believes it has a legal basis under the ADA to collect the information, the rule does not stop it. The rule also says it covers the Section 503 regulations only, and it left Section 503’s ban on disability discrimination in place.

One more source reads the question differently. The EEOC’s ADA guidance from 1995, still posted on its site in November 2026, says an employer may invite applicants to self-identify for affirmative action if it says the answer is voluntary, keeps it confidential, promises no adverse treatment for refusing, and keeps it on a form separate from the application. For you as an applicant, both readings point the same way: the question is optional.

Why you may still see it

• Old forms. Employers update their application systems on their own schedules, so the CC-305 may linger on some careers sites for a while.
• The employer’s own choice. As above, the rule does not forbid a contractor that believes it has a legal basis from asking.
• State and local rules. Law firm DLA Piper notes that several states and localities have their own disability data reporting requirements for their contractors, and the federal change did not rescind them.
• After an offer. The same note says the ADA permits post-offer medical inquiries if they are applied uniformly to everyone entering the same job category, so some employers may invite new hires to self-identify then.
• Federal agencies. If the employer is a federal agency itself, you may see a different form, the SF-256 from the Office of Personnel Management, which uses its own list of codes and also says self-identification is voluntary.

If you answered the CC-305 in the past, DLA Piper notes that the rule does not require contractors to purge the data they already collected, and recommends keeping it confidential and apart from general personnel files.

What counts as a disability on the form

The form’s test is whether a condition substantially limits one or more major life activities, now or in the past. That tracks the ADA, which, as ADA.gov explains, also covers someone with a history of an impairment (such as cancer in remission) and someone others perceive as having one. Major life activities include eating, sleeping, walking, seeing, hearing, concentrating, learning, working and the operation of major bodily functions.

The form’s examples, grouped:

The list says disabilities “include, but are not limited to” these. Many people who manage a condition well, such as diabetes or ADHD, do not think of themselves as disabled, yet the form lists both. You decide how to answer; the form does not ask for a diagnosis, proof or details.

Should you answer?

There is no right answer, and the form says your choice will not harm you. These situations can help:

On accommodations: because the answer is meant to stay away from the hiring team, a “Yes” here tells no one that you need an adjustment. The main self-identification guide has a short email you can send to request one.

Changing an answer you already gave

Under the old rules, employers had to remind employees at least once in each five-year cycle that they could voluntarily update their answer. That reminder is gone, but nothing stops you asking. If you are an employee and want to change or withdraw an earlier answer, ask HR in writing:

Hi [Name], I completed a voluntary disability self-identification form when I [applied / joined]. I’d like to change my answer to [“I do not want to answer” / “Yes” / “No”]. Could you update my record, or send me the form to do it myself? Please let me know once it’s done. Thank you, [Your name]

Autofill tools and the disability question

This is a question to answer yourself, every time. Leepo Companion, Leepo’s free Chrome extension, fills application forms on sites such as Workday, Greenhouse and Lever and attaches your resume, and you check the form and press the employer’s own Submit button. Gender, veteran status, disability and salary questions always wait for you. Read more about autofill for job applications. For the veteran question that often sits next to this one, see what a protected veteran is, and for the decline option on every question, see decline to self-identify.

The short version

• Form CC-305 asked whether you have, or have had, a disability: Yes, No or “I do not want to answer.”
• The Department of Labor discontinued it from September 21, 2026, but some employers may still ask.
• The form defines disability broadly, including past conditions such as cancer.
• Answering is voluntary, and declining is one of the official choices.
• The form is not an accommodation request. Ask the recruiter directly for any adjustment you need.