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ADA pre-offer questions: what you can and cannot ask about disability

Before a job offer, the ADA bars disability-related questions and medical exams. You may describe the job's functions and ask whether the candidate can perform them, with or without reasonable accommodation. After a conditional offer, medical questions and exams are allowed if every entering employee in the same job category gets them12.

The line is less intuitive than it sounds: "Can you lift 50 pounds?" is usually fine, "Do you have back problems?" is not. This guide follows the EEOC's enforcement guidance, stage by stage.

Before the offer: what is allowed

According to the EEOC, at the pre-offer stage an employer may2:

  • ask whether the candidate can perform job functions, with or without reasonable accommodation, and state physical requirements such as lifting or climbing;
  • ask the candidate to describe or demonstrate how they would perform a task, as long as all candidates in the job category are asked;
  • ask whether the candidate needs an accommodation for the hiring process itself, such as an accessible interview room;
  • ask about accommodation for the job, and what kind, but only when the disability is obvious, when the candidate has voluntarily disclosed a hidden disability, or when the candidate has said they need an accommodation;
  • state attendance requirements and ask whether the candidate can meet them;
  • ask about required licenses and certifications, and about current illegal drug use.

Before the offer: what is not allowed

The EEOC lists as off limits2:

  • questions likely to elicit information about a disability, such as "What impairments do you have?";
  • questions about workers' compensation history, sick days taken or current medications;
  • questions about addiction history or alcohol treatment, and about lawful drug use (with narrow exceptions);
  • asking former employers what you could not ask the candidate directly;
  • medical exams of any kind, including alcohol tests and psychological tests that can identify a mental disorder.

Physical agility tests (doing the job's tasks) are not medical exams, as long as the employer does not measure physiological responses such as heart rate.

Rewording common questions

Instead of Why it is a problem Ask
"Is your back going to hold up carrying 50-pound parts?" Disability, before an offer (ADA, 42 U.S.C. § 12112(d)) "The job involves carrying parts up to 50 lb up ladders to rooftop units. Can you perform that task, with or without reasonable accommodation?"
"Has anyone in your family had cancer?" Genetic information, family medical history (GINA) "How do you verify a caller's identity before discussing a patient's account?"

The second row is not an ADA rule but GINA's, which bars requesting genetic information, including family medical history3. Recruiters often ask it in the same breath.

After a conditional offer

Once a conditional offer is made, the employer may ask disability-related questions and require a medical exam, and condition the offer on the results, as long as it does so for all entering employees in that job category2. If someone is screened out because of a disability, the employer must show the criterion is job-related and consistent with business necessity.

Medical information must be kept confidential, in separate medical files, even after the person leaves.

When the candidate volunteers a condition

Candidates sometimes mention a diagnosis unprompted. You may ask whether they need an accommodation and what kind; you may not ask about the condition itself. Do not note the diagnosis in the hiring file, and return to the job's requirements. More on handling disclosures in illegal interview questions.

Hiring without discrimination (US) puts recruiters in front of an AI-simulated candidate who volunteers health and family details, with a coach that flags each question. It is unofficial awareness training: the completion record shows the course was completed, not that a legal obligation is met.

See the course

FAQ

Can I ask a candidate if they have a disability?

Not before a job offer. You may ask whether they can perform the job's functions, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Can I ask how many sick days a candidate took last year?

Not before an offer. The EEOC lists sick-day questions as disability-related. You may state attendance requirements and ask whether the candidate can meet them.

Can I require a medical exam before hiring?

Only after a conditional offer, and only if all entering employees in the same job category are examined.

Is a drug test a medical exam under the ADA?

A test for current illegal drug use is not a medical exam under the ADA. An alcohol test is.

  1. Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12112 (medical examinations and inquiries), accessed 2026-10-31. ↩

  2. U.S. EEOC, Enforcement Guidance: Preemployment Disability-Related Questions and Medical Examinations, accessed 2026-10-31. ↩↩↩↩

  3. Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000ff-1, accessed 2026-10-31. ↩