How often does someone get disability approved in just a few months ?

How to prove you are disabled
and win disability benefits

The odds of being approved for disability in just a few months are good. If someone gets approved for disability at their initial disability claim (i.e. disability application), or they are approved at the reconsideration appeal level it is likely it will take just a few months to get disability benefits.

Initial disability claims generally take about three months for a decision; even if that decision is a denial, the denial can be appealed with a reconsideration appeal, formally known as a request for reconsideration. When a reconsideration is requested, the case is sent back to DDS, or disability determination services and the same process is used to evaluate the case; only this time, the case is handled by a different disability examiner.

Reconsideration appeals take about sixty days for a decision. The processing time periods of these levels of the Social Security disability process would allow someone to get disability benefits in a few months provided they are approved for disability benefits at either of these levels.

National Social Security approval rate statistics show that roughly thirty to thirty-five percent of all disability applicants get disability approved with their initial disability claim. While reconsideration appeals have the highest rate of denial in the Social Security disability process, another ten to fifteen percent are approved. In fact, taken as a whole, approximately 40 percent of those who file their disability applications will likely get their disability approved in less than a year. However, that still leaves a majority who are denied and must request a hearing in order to eventually be awarded benefits.

Can you shorten the time it takes to process your case?

If you have a severe medical condition, you might shorten the time it takes to be approved for disability benefits by getting medical records from all of your medical sources that have treated you within the past twelve months. Social Security will take any medical records even if they are further in the past; however they must have medical records of treatment that are no more than ninety days old to make their disability determination.

If you are not financially able to provide them yourself (doctors and hospitals will sometime provide free copies, but may also charge for copying), make sure you can give the Social Security claims representative at the social security office the information that will be needed to obtain records from your treatment providers: their names, addresses, treatment dates, etc.

This enables the disability examiner working on your disability claim to get all of your medical records timely. If you have no medical treatment or nothing in the recent past, it is likely you will be sent to a consultative examination. Consultative examinations will allow the disability examiner to get a current status of your disabling conditions.

It is important that you attend your consultative examination if one is scheduled for you; if you reschedule your examination you add more processing time to your disability claim. However, if you miss it and do not reschedule, your disability claim will be denied so reschedule if necessary.

Other than trying to make sure Social Security has all the medical information they need, you can make sure that you and your third party contact person (you will list this person at the time you file for disability--the third party contact is someone who is familiar with your situation and condition and can be reliably contacted to provide information) return questionnaires about your ability to perform daily activities. Disability examiners use these questionaires—known as “activities of daily living questionaires--to get an idea of how your disabling conditions limit you and prevent you from working.

Lastly, make sure that you do not wait your entire sixty-day appeal period before filing for a reconsideration appeal. This just adds an unnecessary two months to the time it takes to get approved for disability.

Note: This pages does not address this question in terms of an administrative law judge hearing, disability, because if your case is heard by a judge at a hearing, it will take more than a few months to get your disability approved due to the lengthy wait times involved in getting a hearing scheduled.

Return to: SSDRC, or the Questions, Answers, Tips, and Advice page

Individual Questions and Answers

How does Social Security Disability Representation work?

Will the the SSA Disability Examiner Call or Contact Me at some point?

When you Apply for Social Security do you get Medicare?

How do you Apply for SSI?

What are the questions that get asked at a social security disability or SSI hearing?

What are the earnings limits for those on disability benefits?

What makes a person eligible to receive disability benefits?

Applying for disability benefits in Missouri

Social Security Disability and Going In Front Of A Judge - What Happens?

Winning at a Social Security Disability Hearing

Can a Congressional Inquiry Really Help Your Disability Case?

What Will a Disability Lawyer Do to Win a Social Security Case?

The Social Security Denial Letter

How long does it take to hear an answer after filing for disability?

How Quick Is The Disability Claim Decision Made?

What Happens When You File an SSI or Social Security Disability Application?

Social Security Disability And Trial Work Months

Social Security Disability Hearing with a Judge

Qualifications for SSI and Social Security Disability

Where are Social Security Disability and SSI hearings held?

Filing an Application for Disability Benefits under SSD or SSI - Step by Step

Will You Be Denied For Disability If Your Records Indicate You Can Return To Work?

Medical Disability Requirements for SSD and SSI

SSDI Decision, SSI Decison - How long does it take?

Is An ALJ More Likely To Grant A Claim For Disability?

Who Do I Contact To File For Disability Benefits from the Social Security Administration?

To Apply for Disability with Depression

How should I prepare for a disability hearing with Social Security ?

Do I Have A Good Chance Of Winning Social Security Disability On Appeal?

What happens if my Social Security Disability Application is denied?

Social Security Attorneys and What they do for you

Social Security Disability Denial, Does It Matter If I Get Denied On Reconsideration?

How Do You Qualify For Disability If You Don’t Have Money To Go To the Doctor?

Who Makes The Social Security Disability Decision, A Judge Or A Caseworker?

How Important is the Treating Physician to a Social Security Disability or SSI case?

How to Appeal a disability claim denial from Social Security

The Continuing Disability Review for SSD and SSI claims

How long does it take to be approved for SSI or Social Security disability ?

Can I Receive Disability Benefits with Back problems?

How many Social Security disability cases are approved for back pain?

Advice for a Social Security Disability Continuing Review

If you have had a heart attack will you qualify for Social Security disability?

ADHD, Social Security Disability, and Applying for Benefits

What happens if you get denied for social security disability three times?

After you file for SSD, the Disability Examiner may contact you for additional information

What Is The Social Security Disability Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire?

How Long Will It Take For A Decision Letter For Social Security Disability?

Sjogren's Syndrome and Filing for Disability

Can you apply for disability if you have a mental condition ?

Social Security Denial - What should be done if your disability is denied?

Will The Condition You have Determine How Much You Get For Disability?

Can you win your Disability Case by Yourself?

Getting Your Social Security Disability or SSI Claim Status

Speeding up the Request for a Social Security Hearing - Documentation that is needed

What if I go to a Social Security hearing without an Attorney or a Disability Representative?

Slceroderma and Filing for Disability

Hiring a Qualified Disability Lawyer in Illinois

What Happens in the processing of a disability claim after you file?

What are the questions that get asked at a social security disability or SSI hearing?

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