Like a road test after a vehicle repair, this is a structured check of what a person can safely do after an injury. In medical, insurance, and legal settings, a functional capacity evaluation is a standardized assessment of physical abilities and limits, usually measuring lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, standing, walking, bending, reaching, grip strength, and tolerance for repeated activity. It is typically performed by a physical therapist or occupational therapist and is used to compare a person's current abilities with the demands of a job or daily tasks.

In practice, the results can affect work restrictions, return-to-work planning, and disputes about whether someone can perform light duty, regular duty, or no work at all. The evaluator may give specific limits, such as maximum lifting weight, hours of standing, or whether repetitive overhead reaching is safe. Those findings are often reviewed alongside medical records, imaging, and the treating doctor's opinion rather than replacing them.

In a Virginia workers' compensation claim, a functional capacity evaluation may become evidence before the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission when the parties disagree about disability status, wage loss, or suitable employment. No Virginia statute sets a universal deadline or numeric threshold for ordering one, but its conclusions can influence whether benefits continue, whether a job offer is considered suitable, and whether an employer argues that the worker has reached maximum medical improvement.