CA-17 Duty Status Report: How Your Doctor Completes It

What the CA-17 Duty Status Report Is

The CA-17 is the OWCP duty status report, the form that tells your employing agency what work you can and cannot safely do while you recover from a federal work injury. It is one of the most frequently completed forms in an OWCP claim because it drives light duty, work restrictions and your eventual return to full duty. Core Medical Center completes CA-17 reporting as part of physician-directed federal injury care in Blue Springs, serving federal employees across the Greater Kansas City metro.

In short: the CA-17 is a two-sided form. Your agency describes your job’s physical demands on side A, your doctor documents your diagnosis and safe work capacity on side B, and the agency uses it to offer work within those restrictions.

Side A and Side B: Who Completes What

The form only works when both halves are done correctly:

• Side A (your employing agency): your job title and the physical requirements of your position, such as lifting, standing, reaching, climbing and hours
• Side B (your attending physician): the diagnosis due to the injury, clinical findings, whether you can return to work, and specific restrictions like maximum lifting weight, hours per day and activities to avoid

Side B is where claims are protected or weakened. Restrictions that are vague, inconsistent with the clinical record, or missing objective findings give the agency and the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs nothing solid to act on. The official form and instructions are available through the Department of Labor’s OWCP program.

Why the CA-17 Matters So Much

Three things ride on this one form:

1. Your safety. The restrictions determine what your agency can assign you. A rushed or generic CA-17 can put you back into work your injury cannot tolerate.
2. Your pay. If suitable limited duty is offered within your restrictions and refused, benefits can be affected. Restrictions must be accurate, not casual.
3. Your claim file. The CA-17 becomes part of the medical evidence OWCP reviews. It needs to agree with the CA-20 attending physician’s report and the treatment notes, so the file tells one consistent story.

How We Complete a CA-17 Correctly

Your provider examines you first, then documents. That order matters. A duty status report from Core Medical Center reflects a current, hands-on evaluation: the diagnosis tied to your accepted injury, the objective findings behind it, and restrictions specific enough for your agency to act on. Because your treatment, therapy and paperwork happen under one roof, side B never drifts out of sync with your actual clinical record.

If your claim involves more than duty status, our OWCP Claims Assistance service covers narrative reports and denied-claim support, the OWCP Forms Library explains every major form in the file, and our OWCP Doctor page covers the treatment side of federal injury care.

Bring Your CA-17 to Your Next Visit

If your agency has asked for a duty status report, bring the form and your claim number to your appointment and your provider will complete side B after your evaluation. For an accepted OWCP claim, authorized care is billed through the Department of Labor rather than to you. Same-week appointments are typically available.