The current policy towards people with disabilities is the result of the development of society, during which it has changed, going from providing medical care and social protection to people with disabilities, to recognizing civil rights and taking measures to involve people with disabilities in society. Studying the transformation of the legal regulation of the status of persons with disabilities is relevant in the context of ensuring safety as protection from systematic threats related to discrimination, safety as a sense of value and dignity, and safety as an opportunity to maintain optimal vital parameters. The norms of international law and Russian legislation regulating the legal status of persons with disabilities have been identified as the subject of the study. The purpose of the study is to study the dynamics of the formation of the legal status of persons with disabilities in international and domestic practice, to consider the evolution of the norms of Russian legislation regulating the legal status of persons with disabilities. The article analyzes the documents of the World Health Organization and the legal acts of the United Nations in order to study the dynamics of understanding disability and the rights of these persons, systematizes the periods of development of Russian legislation in the field of disability rights. The result of the study is the identification of a number of conclusions revealing the transformation of the legal regulation of the status of a disabled person in Russia, and the determination of the need to improve law enforcement practice.