The Functional Capacity Evaluation
Built in-house. Refined over 30 years. The FCE is where REHAB AT WORK started earning the trust of adjusters, attorneys and physicians — one defensible report at a time.
The FCE in three steps
Refer
Portal, fax or phone — records can follow. We verify coverage, obtain authorization, and schedule at the clinic nearest the worker.
Evaluate
One standardized evaluation day: lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, positional tolerance and endurance — with consistency-of-effort checks woven through the protocol, not bolted on at the end.
Report — within 72 hours
Capabilities stated in job terms, matched demand by demand against the job description, sent to everyone listed on the referral.
One question, answered objectively
Every stalled claim is stuck on the same question: what can this person safely do? The FCE answers it with a standardized, comprehensive battery — not an opinion, a measurement.
What we measure
- Material handling: lifting at multiple heights, carrying, pushing, pulling
- Positional tolerance: sitting, standing, reaching, kneeling, crouching, climbing
- Endurance and sustainable pace over the evaluation day
- Consistency of effort — validity measures woven through the protocol, not bolted on at the end
Why ours is different
Most clinics license an FCE product off the shelf and administer it. We wrote our own — and have refined it through three decades of daily clinical use, insurer scrutiny and cross-examination. Every evaluator at every clinic is trained on the same protocol, so a REHAB AT WORK FCE means the same thing in Baltimore as it does in Manassas. When a case goes to a hearing, the clinicians who perform the evaluation are available for peer review and expert testimony.
The report
Capabilities are stated in the same terms jobs are defined in — weights, frequencies, positions, durations. Give us a job description and the report makes the match (or the mismatch) explicit: demand by demand, met or not met. That's what makes it usable for a return-to-work decision, a settlement negotiation, or a hearing.
Three ways to order it
- Standard FCE — the full battery and report
- FCE with Impairment Rating — one product for cases moving toward settlement or adjudication
- Work Site FCE — conducted against the actual job, at the actual site
Most FCEs do not end in a program
An FCE is a test, not a sales call. Measured over 1,036 evaluations (FCEs Jan 2025 – May 2026, 90-day follow-up), 21.9% were followed by the client beginning a work hardening or work conditioning program. About four in five were not.
We think that number belongs on this page. If an evaluation reliably produced more work for the people performing it, you would be right to discount it — so here is ours, with its denominator attached.
Counted honestly: the denominator is attendance-verified FCEs, excluding evaluations performed at the end of a program. The figure is a conversion rate — clients who actually started a program — which is necessarily lower than a recommendation rate, since a recommendation must still clear authorization, the employer and the client. We publish the one we can verify. How we count →
Want to see what you'd receive?
We don't publish our evaluation format. It's the product of thirty years of refinement, it's ours, and it stays that way — but that's no reason to order one sight unseen. Call us and a clinician will walk you through a real report, section by section, and answer the question behind the question: will this hold up on my file, or in a hearing?
(888) 827-6361 — ask for a report walk-through
The report reaches you within 72 hours
Scheduling in workers' comp depends on authorization, the claimant, and a dozen things none of us control — so we won't pretend to a number we can't hold. What we do control is the document, and we commit to it: your FCE report is sent within 72 hours of the evaluation being completed.
It goes to everyone you list on the referral — adjuster, nurse case manager, referring physician, attorney, employer. If the case is moving toward a hearing or an authorization is expiring, say so on the referral and we'll plan around it.
FCEs near you — scheduled at any of our 10 clinics:
Alexandria, VA · Baltimore, MD · Columbia, MD · Frederick, MD · Glen Burnie, MD · Herndon, VA · Lanham, MD · Manassas, VA · Rockville, MD · Waldorf, MD
Questions we hear about the FCE
What is a functional capacity evaluation?
A functional capacity evaluation (FCE) is a comprehensive, standardized battery of tests measuring what a person can safely do: lifting at multiple heights, carrying, pushing, pulling, positional tolerance and endurance, with consistency-of-effort measures built into the protocol. The report states capabilities in the same terms jobs are defined in, so the match or mismatch to a specific job is explicit.
Who orders an FCE?
Physicians, insurance adjusters, nurse case managers, attorneys and employers. It is used to make a return-to-work decision, to support a settlement negotiation, or to put objective capabilities on the record for a hearing.
When do I get the report?
Your FCE report is sent within 72 hours of the evaluation being completed, to everyone listed on the referral — adjuster, nurse case manager, referring physician, attorney, employer.
Will an FCE just lead to more treatment?
No — an FCE is a test, not a sales call. Across our attendance-verified evaluations, about one in five clients went on to begin a work hardening or work conditioning program afterward; about four in five did not.
Is an FCE covered by workers’ compensation insurance?
We work with all workers’ compensation insurances. We verify coverage and obtain authorization before the evaluation is scheduled.
Questions about the process? Ask the pros. Industrial rehab leaders who know workers’ compensation and case management — call (888) 827-6361 or start a referral and we'll recommend the right next step.
Need capabilities on paper?
Refer the FCE to any of our clinics — the report follows the case, not the building.