How Quickly must you file an Appeal if a Disability Claim is Denied?

How to prove you are disabled
and win disability benefits

Filing an appeal will typically be your best option if your social security disability or SSI disability claim has been denied. Appeals must be filed within 60 days of the date of your denial and this timeframe applies to all levels of the system.

If you have representation in the form of a disability attorney or a non-attorney claimant's representative, be sure to notify your representative's office as soon as you receive notification from the social security administration that your claim has been denied. SSA is required to provide notification to both you and your representative's office once they have been put on notice that you do, in fact, have representation.

However, it has been my experience over several years that, in many instances, either the claimant or the claimant's representative will not receive notification. And, in some cases, neither party will receive notification. Why this continues to happen is anyone's guess. However, suffice it to say, if you get a notice of denial in the mail, you should contact your social security attorney or non-attorney rep immediately.

After your representative is made aware of the fact that you've been denied, they will be on notice to file your disability appeal within the 60 day deadline. And, for the most part, representatives get appeals submitted to the social security administration in a timely manner. However, it does happen on occasion that a representative will, for whatever reason, miss an appeal deadline.

For this reason, it is not a bad idea for a claimant to check back with their disability representative's office if they have not received copies of the appeal paperwork within 4 weeks after the date of the denial. Doing so can verify that either the appeal was submitted to SSA (and for whatever reason your rep did not send you copies of the appeal), or it can serve as a reminder that the appeal still needs to be filed.

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Individual Questions and Answers

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SSD and SSI are Federal Programs

The title II Social Security Disability and title 16 SSI Disability programs operate under federal guidelines and, therefore, the program requirements--medical and non-medical--apply to all states:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Recent approval and denial statistics for various states can be viewed here:

Social Security Disability, SSI Approval and Denial Statistics by state

Special Section: Disability Lawyers and unnecessary claim denials