Quick answer
First the agency determines whether you meet vocational rehabilitation (VR) eligibility requirements. If it uses an order of selection, it also determines your priority for services. When you can be served, planning identifies an appropriate employment goal and the supports needed to reach it.
An assessment is information gathered to answer a question. Different questions may concern eligibility, your work goal, a service, or a support need. Ask what each assessment is intended to establish.
What to do
Confirm the application and how the agency will contact you.
Review existing information with the counselor. Discuss additional assessment only where it is needed.
Receive and understand the eligibility decision and any priority or waiting-list notice.
When services are available, participate in choosing the goal and developing the individualized plan for employment (IPE).
Review the written IPE before signing. Check services, providers, responsibilities, timing, and costs.
Keep copies and check whether the agreed services actually start. Request a review if needs or circumstances change.
Ask about the timeline that applies to you
The federal rule ordinarily gives the agency 60 days after application to determine eligibility. It allows specified exceptions, including an agreed specific extension for exceptional and unforeseen circumstances and trial-work exploration.
The federal IPE rule ordinarily provides a 90-day development period after eligibility, unless a specific extension is agreed. Planning under an order of selection also depends on being eligible for services under that system. If you are waiting, ask the agency to explain how the rule and your current category apply; do not assume the waiting list is an ineligibility decision.
Review what the documents actually establish
Completing an assessment does not by itself show that it answered the right question or was adequate for the decision. Ask about gaps or findings you do not understand.
A draft plan, a signed plan, an authorized purchase, and a completed service are different stages. If you disagree with a decision or a step seems stalled, the rights and problem-solving guides can help you find the appropriate route.
Background, examples & sources
A fictional example
A person is found eligible but receives a waiting-list notice. They ask for their priority category, how to update contact information, and available referrals while waiting. They do not treat eligibility as a written promise that a proposed course will be paid for immediately.
Keep a small process record
- Application confirmation and contact details.
- Eligibility, priority, and waiting-list notices.
- Assessment questions, reports received, and corrections requested.
- The signed IPE, approved changes, authorizations, and service-start confirmations.
More detail when you are ready
Official information
- 34 CFR 361.41: eligibility timing (Federal regulation)
- 34 CFR 361.42: eligibility and priority assessment (Federal regulation)
- 34 CFR 361.45: employment-plan development and review (Federal regulation)
- 34 CFR 361.46: what the plan contains (Federal regulation)
- California: order of selection (Official agency guidance)
- Nevada: service process (Official agency guidance)
Last source review: 2026-10-10 · Current primary sources reviewed for this introductory scope; individual eligibility and services require agency decisions
Federal text: eCFR Title 34 displayed current through October 8, 2026. Primary sources substantively reviewed October 10, 2026. State agency information, where used, can change, including application routes and waiting-list status.
Your next step
What rights should I know about?
Prepare for your individualized plan for employment — free worksheet.
Free help with vocational rehabilitation disputes