Ontario form
WSIB Functional Abilities Form (FAF)
The Functional Abilities Form for early and safe return to work (WSIB 2647A) describes what a worker can do, with restrictions, so the workplace can offer suitable work. It is not Form 8, not Form 26, and not a disability certificate. WSIB publishes a guide to completing it. Diagnosis belongs in the medical reports. The FAF is function.
What the FAF is asking
The employer and worker need a usable picture of abilities: sitting, standing, walking, lifting, carrying, reaching, climbing, hours, and whether the worker can return to the pre-injury job with or without modifications. “Unfit, see me in two weeks” is a Form 26 sentence. It is not a completed FAF.
Download the current 2647A and WSIB’s guide from wsib.ca. The worker’s consent section matters — this form is built to be shared with the employer for return to work. Do not put a full psychiatric narrative on a FAF that will sit in a supervisor’s inbox.
Abilities, not a secret diagnosis
WSIB’s FAF is designed so the workplace sees function, not your problem list. Put diagnoses on Form 8 / Form 26. On the FAF, write weights, postures, and hours.
Who completes the FAF
- The treating health professional who can defend today’s functional exam.
- Physiotherapists and others complete it when they are the treating professional and WSIB’s rules for that profession allow it.
- Do not complete a FAF from a phone message without seeing the worker, unless WSIB’s current process for that situation says otherwise — and even then, say you did not examine them.
- The employer does not complete the clinical boxes. The worker does not complete your restrictions for you.
How to complete the sections
- Date of assessment and claim identifiers.
- Can they return to regular work today? If yes, say so. If no, complete abilities.
- Hours: full shift, partial, or specific hour cap, and whether that is temporary.
- Lifting / carrying: below waist, at waist, overhead, frequency. “No heavy lifting” is not a number.
- Sitting, standing, walking tolerances in minutes if that is the limiter.
- Climbing, ladders, repetitive upper limb, gripping, driving — only the ones this job and this injury need.
- Environmental: heat, PPE, respiratory, if relevant to this injury.
- Date you will review. A FAF without an expiry becomes last winter’s restrictions living in HR forever.
Match the injury. A shoulder FAF that leaves overhead reaching blank is incomplete. A lumbar FAF that forbids “all work” without sitting or standing numbers cannot be used to design a job.
Worked example (fictional)
FAF — rotator cuff, warehouse
Fictional 42-year-old. Do not copy into a real 2647A.
Assessment 2026-09-04. Right rotator cuff strain, still in PT. Not fit for regular picker duties. Hours: 8-hour shift OK. Lifting: 5 kg waist to chest, occasional; no overhead lift; no carry on the right shoulder. Reaching: no prolonged above-shoulder work with the right arm. Left arm: unrestricted. Can do scanning, wrapping at bench height, paperwork. Review: 2026-09-18. Diagnoses and mechanism stay on Form 8/26, not on this FAF.
Why a FAF fails the workplace or WSIB
- “Light duties” with no weights or hours.
- A diagnosis essay and empty ability boxes.
- Restrictions that belong to a different body part.
- No review date.
- Using a FAF as the first report of injury instead of Form 8.
Complete the FAF from today’s functional exam
In Scribeberry, open Forms, search for the WSIB Functional Abilities Form or FAF, or upload the current 2647A PDF from wsib.ca. Generate from the encounter and your notes, then review every field before you sign. The clinician still certifies the content. Scribeberry does not file with WSIB or the employer.
Frequently asked questions
Does the employer see the FAF?
The FAF exists to be used for return to work, which means the workplace sees abilities. Keep diagnoses and irrelevant history on Form 8 and Form 26. Read the consent and sharing language on the current 2647A.
Is the FAF the same as Form 26?
No. Form 26 is medical progress. The FAF is functional abilities for job matching. WSIB may want both.
Where is the official form?
WSIB’s health-care provider forms page on wsib.ca lists the Functional abilities form for early and safe return to work (2647A) and a guide to completing it.
Does Scribeberry send the FAF to WSIB or the employer?
No. Scribeberry helps you complete the PDF from clinical context. You and the worker follow WSIB’s return-to-work process. You keep a copy in the chart.
Forms
