Your Right
to Question the
Decision Made
on Your Claim
SSA.gov
What’s inside
Your Right to Question the
Decision Made on Your Claim 1
When to appeal 3
How to appeal 4
Continuation of payments: 5
Your right to representation
with your appeal 6
Checking the Status of
Your Appeal 7
Contacting Social Security 7
1
If we recently denied your claim with
us for Social Security benets or
Supplemental Security Income (SSI),
disability benets or a nonmedical
related issue, you can appeal our
decision if you disagree.
There are four levels of appeal when you
disagree with a determination you have
received from us:
• Reconsideration (Form SSA-561).
—A reconsideration is a complete
review of your claim by someone
who did not take part in the rst
determination. We will look at
all the evidence used in the rst
determination, plus any new
evidence that we obtain or that
you submit.
—If you are requesting a
reconsideration of a determination
about whether you have a
qualifying disability, we will send
your request to the Disability
Determination Services (DDS) for
your State for review. You may
receive letters from your State
DDS while they are handling
your reconsideration.
—If you are appealing our
determination about a nonmedical
issue (such as an overpayment),
your reconsideration will be
handled by our local ofce or
payment center. The local ofce or
payment center technician handling
your appeal may contact you
for evidence.
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• Hearing by an administrative law
judge (Form HA-501).
—A hearing is a review of your
claim by an administrative law
judge, or ALJ, who did not take
part in the rst or reconsideration
determination. The ALJ will look at
all of the evidence in your case.
—Regardless of the issue(s) you
are appealing, your local ofce
will send your request for hearing
to one of our hearing ofces for
action. You will receive information
from the hearing ofce about the
hearing process, and the hearing
ofce will send you a notice when
we have scheduled your hearing.
—You can learn more about the
hearing process at www.ssa.gov/
appeals/hearing_process.html.
• Review by the Appeals Council
(Form HA-520).
—If you disagree with your hearing
decision, you may ask the Appeals
Council to review the decision.
—The Appeals Council may deny or
dismiss your request for review, or
it may grant review.
—If the Appeals Council grants your
request for review, it will either
issue a new decision or return your
case to an administrative law judge
for further action.
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—You can learn more about the
Appeals Council Request for
Review process at www.ssa.gov/
appeals/appeals_process.html.
• Federal Court review.
—If you disagree with the Appeals
Council’s decision on your case, or
if the Appeals Council denies your
request for review, you can le a
civil action in Federal district court.
—To learn more about the Federal
Court review process, visit
www.ssa.gov/appeals/court_
process.html.
When to appeal
The most important part to remember
about an appeal is the timeframe in
which you can ask for one. Generally,
you have 60 days from the date you
receive the notice of our decision to ask
for any appeal. We assume you will get
our notice within ve days after the date
on the letter, unless you can show us
you got it later.
If you do not appeal within the 60 day
time limit, you may lose your right to
appeal and the last decision we made
becomes nal. For example, if you do
not ask for a reconsideration within
60 days, you may lose your right to
have a hearing.
If you have a good reason for not
appealing your case within the time
limits, we may give you more time.
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A request for more time must be made
to us in writing, stating the reason
for the delay.
If the last day to appeal falls on
a Saturday, Sunday, or national
holiday, the time limit extends to the
next workday.
How to appeal
If you received a determination from
us that you do not agree with, you
need to send us a request in writing.
You can request an appeal online
for most levels of appeal, even if you
live outside of the United States. Visit
www.ssa.gov/benets/disability/
appeal.html to get your online appeal
started. The reconsideration, hearing
by an administrative law judge, and
review by the Appeals Council appeals
are online.
The fastest and easiest way to request
an appeal is to submit a request online,
but appeal forms are also available
for download at www.ssa.gov/forms.
You can also call our toll-free number,
1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778),
or contact your local Social Security
ofce to request appeal forms.
Overpayments
If you have an overpayment, we will
send a notice letting you know if we
paid you more than you should have
received. The notice explains how
to ask us to reconsider our decision,
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or not collect the overpayment
(we call this a “waiver”), or let you pay
back the amount at a different rate.
Our webpage explains what to do in
each situation.
Appealing a Disability
Cessation Decision
If you receive a decision that you no
longer have a qualifying disability,
you will need to le a Request for
Reconsideration – Disability Cessation
Right to Appear (SSA-789). This form
is not online, but you can download this
form at www.ssa.gov/forms.
Continuation of payments:
• After a medical review:
—If you appeal our determination that
you no longer have a qualifying
disability within 10 days after the
date you receive our letter, your
payments will continue while we
make a decision on your appeal.
• After a nonmedical review:
—If you are receiving SSI and
le an appeal for a nonmedical
determination within 60 days after
the date you receive our letter:
• Your payments will continue.
• Your payments will remain at the
same amount until we make a
decision on your appeal.
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• If the decision on your appeal is
unfavorable, you may have to
pay back any money you weren’t
eligible to get.
• Any medical assistance you have
that is based on SSI may also
stop. If your medical assistance
stops, your medical assistance
agency will contact you.
Your right to representation
with your appeal
You may choose to have someone help
you with your appeal or represent you.
Your representative may be a lawyer or
other qualied person familiar with you
and the Social Security program. We will
work with your representative just as we
would work with you. They can act for
you in most Social Security matters and
will receive a copy of any decisions we
make about your claim.
Your representative cannot charge or
collect a fee from you without rst getting
written approval from us.
We can give you information about
organizations that may help you nd a
representative. Many representatives
charge a fee, but there are others who
provide free services if you qualify, or
who only charge a fee if you’re awarded
benets. Usually, your representative
will need our written approval before
collecting a fee. If you decide to select
a representative, you need to tell us in
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writing. You may use our form for this
purpose, Claimant’s Appointment of a
Representative (Form SSA-1696).
Checking the Status of
Your Appeal
Whether you led your appeal online,
by mail, or in an ofce, you can check
the status of your appeal using your
personal my Social Security account.
A personal my Social Security account
is an easy, convenient, and secure
way to do business with us. If you don’t
have one, you can create one today by
visiting: www.ssa.gov/myaccount.
Contacting Social Security
The most convenient way to do business
with us is to visit www.ssa.gov to get
information and use our online services.
There are several things you can do
online: apply for benets; get useful
information; nd publications; and get
answers to frequently asked questions.
When you open a personal
my Social Security account, you have
more capabilities. You can review
your Social Security Statement, verify
your earnings, and get estimates of
future benets. You can also print a
benet verication letter, change your
direct deposit information, request
a replacement Medicare card, get
a replacement SSA-1099/1042S,
and request a replacement Social
Security card (if you meet certain
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requirements). Access to your
personal my Social Security account
may be limited for users outside the
United States.
If you don’t have access to the internet,
we offer many automated services by
telephone, 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week, so you do not need to speak with
a representative.
If you need to speak with someone, call
us toll-free at 1-800-772-1213 or at our
TTY number, 1-800-325-0778, if you’re
deaf or hard of hearing. A member of our
staff can answer your call from 8 a.m.
to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. We
provide free interpreter services upon
request. Wait times to speak to a
representative are typically shorter
Wednesdays through Fridays or later
in the day.
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Notes
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Notes
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Notes
Social Security Administration | Publication No. 05-10058
May 2022 (March 2022 edition may be used)
Your Right to Question the Decision Made on Your Claim
Produced and published at U.S. taxpayer expense
