Draft a reasonable accommodation request
Write either an ordinary working-preference request or a formal request linked to a disability or medical condition, kept separate, with no diagnosis asked for and nothing sent.
Asking for a change to how you apply, interview or work is easier with words ready. This drafter writes a short message for you to edit. It offers two kinds of request because they say different things, and it never blends them: one is an ordinary preference, the other connects the change to a disability or medical condition.
It covers United States federal guidance only. It does not decide whether you qualify, promise any adjustment, or send anything.
- Choose the kind of request, and read what each kind says before you choose.
- Say when you need it, who it is for, the task, and what gets in the way.
- Write the adjustment you want to discuss, or add ideas from the optional list.
- Make the draft, then edit, copy or download it. Review the note beside it before you send anything yourself.
Part of Career support that works for you, LAYIQ's guide for neurodivergent people, and useful to anyone. The guide that goes with this tool: read it here.
Request draft
Your draft will appear here, with a note on what this kind of request does and does not do.
Before you use this ordinary request
- This template does not add a disability-related explanation.
- Your own entries may still disclose personal information. Review them before sharing.
- A preference request may not notify the employer of an accommodation need.
- Nothing has been sent. You choose whether, when and how to send it.
- A disability self-identification question on an application is not a way to request an accommodation.
- This tool covers U.S. federal guidance only. It does not decide whether you qualify or promise any adjustment.
For questions about your own situation, contact the Job Accommodation Network (askjan.org) or the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (eeoc.gov).
What a reasonable accommodation is
Under the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act, the EEOC describes an accommodation as a change in the work environment or in the way things are customarily done that gives a person with a disability an equal employment opportunity.1 It can apply to the application process, to doing the job, and to the benefits and privileges of employment.1
It is available to qualified applicants and employees with disabilities. A person who cannot perform the essential functions of the job, with or without a reasonable accommodation, is not a qualified individual under the law.1 The ADA applies to private employers with 15 or more employees and to state and local government employers.2 An employer outside that coverage may still be covered by a state or local law.3
An ordinary request or a formal one
The difference matters. The EEOC gives an example of a worker who asks a supervisor for a new chair because the current one is uncomfortable, without linking the request to a medical condition. The guidance says that is not enough to put the employer on notice that the worker is requesting a reasonable accommodation.1 An ordinary preference can still be a good request. It just may not be treated as an accommodation request.
| Ordinary working-preference request | Formal accommodation request | |
|---|---|---|
| What it says | Asks to discuss a working arrangement that would help you complete the task. Adds no explanation about a disability or medical condition. | Says the change is needed because of a disability or medical condition. Adds no diagnosis. |
| Use it when | You want a change and prefer not to connect it to a condition, or do not need it treated as an accommodation. | You want the request treated as an accommodation request and are willing to link it to a condition, even briefly. |
| Keep in mind | It may not tell the employer you are making an accommodation request. | The employer may ask for documentation and may offer a different effective option. |
Either way, what you type is yours. If you write a diagnosis in the barrier or adjustment, it stays in the draft exactly as you wrote it. The tool never adds one, and it cannot promise your own words contain no personal information.
How to ask
- No magic words. You may use plain English and need not mention the ADA or the phrase "reasonable accommodation".1 JAN's employer guide says the same: it is enough to make it known that an adjustment is needed because of an impairment.5
- Any form works. Requests do not need to be in writing. You may ask in conversation or by any other means of communication.1
- Keep a copy. A written request can create a record if there is later a question about when you asked.4 Save what you send and what you receive.
- Timing is yours. The ADA does not require an applicant to tell an employer about a need for accommodation at any particular time.2 JAN suggests raising an issue early, before job performance suffers.4
A Self-Identification Question Is Not a Request
Some applications ask you to say, in a voluntary question, whether you have a disability. Answering it does not by itself arrange an adjustment. If you need a change to the application, a test or an interview, contact the person named on the posting and ask for it.
What happens next
- A conversation. The EEOC describes a request as the first step in an informal, interactive process.1
- Documentation, sometimes. When the disability and the need for accommodation are not obvious, the employer may ask for reasonable documentation, and may require only what is needed.1 JAN encourages employers to minimize documentation at the hiring stage.5 Ask what is needed and how to send it securely.
- Possibly a different arrangement. If more than one accommodation is effective, the employer may choose which to provide, though the EEOC says your preference should be given primary consideration.1 You can explain if an offer does not meet your needs. Nothing here promises a particular adjustment.
- Privacy. The ADA contains strict confidentiality requirements for medical information, with listed exceptions.2
At the application, the interview and on the job
At the application stage, an employer cannot refuse to consider you because you require a reasonable accommodation to compete for or perform a job.2 Before an offer, employers generally cannot ask questions likely to reveal a disability.2 The table lists examples of what people have asked about. They are ideas, not entitlements.
| Stage | Examples | Source |
|---|---|---|
| While applying | More time on an online assessment, a private room for testing, and a description of the testing setup in advance. | JAN, hiring process guide.5 |
| For the interview | Questions in advance, written answers, a virtual interview, all interviews in one location, fewer interviewers at once, or a demonstration of job skills in place of a talking format. | JAN, hiring process guide and Neurodiversity.56 |
| On the job | Written instructions and checklists, a quieter workspace, uninterrupted work time, breaks, or hard tasks scheduled for your higher-energy time of day. | JAN, Executive Functioning and ADHD.79 |
Ideas to discuss, starting from what is hard
The optional picker in the tool starts from a difficulty, not a diagnosis. Its ideas come from JAN's Neurodiversity, Executive Functioning, Tourette Syndrome and ADHD pages, JAN's guide to the hiring process, and the British Dyslexia Association, which is a UK source and reflects UK practice.6789510 Some difficulties, such as handwriting and tics being noticed, have no page of their own, so those lists borrow from related ideas on the same pages. Check that an idea fits you before you ask for it.
United States Federal Employment Guidance
This page summarizes U.S. federal guidance from the EEOC and the Job Accommodation Network. Reviewed November 12, 2026. It is general information, not legal advice, and it does not say whether you qualify. Federal employees, state and local rules, and union or contract terms can differ. For questions about your own situation, contact the Job Accommodation Network (askjan.org) or the EEOC (eeoc.gov).
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to say the words "reasonable accommodation"?
No. The EEOC says you may use plain English and need not mention the ADA or use the phrase.1 The formal draft uses the phrase because it is clear, and you can change it.
Does the request have to be in writing?
No. The EEOC says requests do not need to be in writing and can be made in conversation.1 A written copy can still help you keep a record.4
Will I need to share a diagnosis or medical records?
The drafter has no diagnosis field and takes no uploads. In a real request, if your disability and need are not obvious, the employer may ask for reasonable documentation.1 Ask what is needed before you send anything.
Is a disability question on an application the same as asking for an accommodation?
No. A voluntary self-identification question does not by itself arrange an adjustment. If you need one, ask the contact on the posting.
Will the employer give me exactly what I ask for?
Not necessarily. If more than one accommodation is effective, the employer may choose, though the EEOC says your preference should be given primary consideration.1
What happens to what I type?
It stays on this page while it is open. Refreshing or closing the page removes it. Nothing is saved to an account or sent anywhere, and the tool does not record which ideas you looked at.
Sources
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship under the ADA (opens in a new tab). Published October 17, 2002. Accessed November 12, 2026.
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Job Applicants and the ADA (opens in a new tab). Published October 7, 2003. Accessed November 12, 2026.
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Coverage of State and Local Governments (opens in a new tab). Accessed November 12, 2026.
- Job Accommodation Network. Disability Disclosure (opens in a new tab). Accessed November 12, 2026.
- Job Accommodation Network. Employers' Practical Guide to Reasonable Accommodation During the Hiring Process (opens in a new tab). Accessed November 12, 2026.
- Job Accommodation Network. Neurodiversity (opens in a new tab). Accessed November 12, 2026.
- Job Accommodation Network. Executive Functioning Deficits (opens in a new tab). Accessed November 12, 2026.
- Job Accommodation Network. Tourette Syndrome (opens in a new tab). Accessed November 12, 2026.
- Job Accommodation Network. Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (opens in a new tab). Accessed November 12, 2026.
- British Dyslexia Association. Reasonable adjustments in the workplace (opens in a new tab). Accessed November 12, 2026.
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