Is Social Security required to make a decision on a disability case in a certain time period?

How to prove you are disabled
and win disability benefits

The simple answer to this question is that Social Security does have timely processing goals, but there are no mandates with regard to processing time. Social Security does not have an absolute time period for claims processing, because there are many reasons the processing of a disability claim can be delayed.

Claimants themselves cause some case processing delays. For example, if a claimant does not provide necessary information (i.e. activities of daily living questionnaires or work activity forms) timely, or fail to return needed medical release or disability forms, or a correct address and phone (needed so they can be reached to schedule need medical consultative examinations), their disability case will take longer to receive a decision.

Additionally, disability claimants cause delays by missing or rescheduling their consultative examinations. All of these things cause more processing time, thereby extending the time period it takes to make a disability decision.

There are also delays in case processing that can be attributed to Social Security. Claims representatives are sometimes slow in getting disability claims to state disability agencies. Sometimes state disability agencies (usually known as DDS, or disability determination services, this is where disability examiners work) take more time to make their disability decisions due to dramatically increasing disability caseloads and lack of staffing.

Certainly, it is advisable to check on the status of your disability claim periodically to make sure that it is being processed. There is always the chance the disability decision has been made and for some reason you have not received your decisional notice.

Currently, the average case processing time for an initial disability claim is about one hundred days, while reconsideration appeals take about sixty days for a decision. Disability cases at the hearing appeal level have the longest processing time because of the wait for a disability hearing. Disability claimants are often waiting a year or more to get their hearings.

Disability case processing times have become a public relations issue for Social Security, so they are constantly trying to streamline the disability process so that disability decisions can be made in a more reasonable time period even if the disability case is at the hearing office.

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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