- 1). Write a letter and mail it to Social Security within 60 days of receiving their denial notice. Ask that your case be reconsidered. Social Security includes instructions on how to appeal in its letter of denial. Send your request for reconsideration to the address stated in the notice you received. Someone not familiar with your original case will be appointed to review your claim.
- 2). Ask for a hearing with an administrative law judge if your request for reconsideration is denied. Ask for the hearing in writing and file it with Social Security. A judge unfamiliar with your case will be assigned to review your file and make a decision. The judge's office will send you a note letting you know when and where your hearing will take place. At this meeting, you're allowed to have witnesses testify on your behalf. Social Security may also ask its own expert witnesses to give their opinion about your case. In preparation for the hearing, Social Security may ask you for new information. Although it's beneficial for you to attend your hearing, you're required to do so only if the judge orders you to. Notify Social Security if you don't plan to be present. If you'd like to attend the hearing by can't, Social Security will try to make new arrangements, including video-conferencing, to make it possible for you to participate. After the judge makes her decision, Social Security notifies you in writing.
- 3). Write to Social Security and ask that its Appeals Council review your case if the administrative law judge denied you disability benefits. There's no guarantee the Appeals Council will agree to review your case. But if it does, it will either come to a decision on its own or ask another administrative law judge to reach a conclusion about your claim.
- 4). File a lawsuit in a federal district court if the Appeals Council denies your request or chooses not to review your case. When Social Security sends you the letter with the Appeals Council's decision about your claim, it also includes instructions for filing the lawsuit. (See References 1, "Federal Court")
previous post
next post