Filing for Social Security Disability in Mississippi

Disability benefits in Mississippi are provided through a federal program administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA), but there are differences in each state, including:

• state approval and denial rates
• average monthly payments for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security disability (SSDI)
• limits on charges for medical records
• contact information for the local offices that administer disability benefits, and
• vocational rehabilitation services.

Below is an overview of the information specific to Mississippi.

How Do I Apply for Disability Benefits in Mississippi?

You apply for disability benefits online or through a local Social Security field office. At the field office (or over the phone), a claims representative will review your application to make sure you've met all of the technical requirements for benefits (such as the work history requirements for SSDI or the income limits for SSI).

If you meet the technical requirements, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will send your application to a claims examiner at Mississippi's Disability Determination Services (DDS) office in Madison for a medical decision to be made on your records.

What Do I Need to File an SSDI or SSI Claim?

Here is some of the basic information you'll need to apply:

• your contact information, birth date, and Social Security number
• your spouse's name, birth date, Social Security number, and date of marriage for any marriages that lasted at least ten years
• the date of any divorces
• the name and age of any children
• contact information for your doctors and any clinics or hospitals you've visited
• the date of the last day you worked
• your dates of employment over the last 15 years and your employers' names
• the type of work you performed over the last 15 years
• your total income for each of the last three years, and
• your bank account information (for direct deposit).

For more information, read our article on how to get your application filled out and filed.

Where Is Mississippi's Disability Determination Services?

Mississippi's Disability Determination Services (DDS) is the state agency that makes decisions on whether or not a Mississippian is disabled, based on their medical records.

If you have questions about your application after it is filed, you should contact DDS. Below is the contact information.

MS DDS
1281 Highway 51 North
Madison, MS 39110
Telephone: 800-962-2230

What Happens If My Claim Is Denied?

If the claims examiner at Mississippi DDS denies your claim, you can ask that a different claims examiner reconsider it. You do this by filing a reconsideration request (this is the first level of appeal).

If your claim is denied again, you can request a hearing by filing a request for a hearing with an administrative law judge. The DDS will then send your claim to the Office of Hearings Operations (OHO), a branch of Social Security in either Hattiesburg, Jackson, Tupelo, or Memphis, where a judge will decide your case at a disability hearing.

How Long Does It Take to Get a Decision on a Disability Claim in Mississippi?

It takes about four to six months to get an initial decision from Mississippi's DDS. If your claim is denied, it will likely take another three to five months to get an answer on the reconsideration.

If you get turned down a second time and have to go to a disability hearing, you're less than halfway done. In 2023, it's taking an average of 16 months to get a hearing date in Mississippi, from the time you file a request for hearing until the date the case is decided by an ALJ.

Disability Approval Statistics in Mississippi

In Mississippi, when DDS reviews your initial application, you have a lower chance of being approved for benefits compared to the national average, though many of these denials are reversed at the appeal hearing. Below is a chart comparing Mississippi's statistics to the national averages.

Stage of Application	Mississippi	Nationally
Initial Application	34%	38%
Reconsideration Review	14%	15%
Appeal Hearing	53%	57%
Hearing Wait Time	16 months	15 months

Source: ALJ Disposition Data Fiscal Year 2023 and Average Wait Time Until Hearing, June 2023 (Social Security).

Does Mississippi Limit Medical Record Fees?

In Mississippi, health care providers may charge you to make you a copy of your medical records to submit with your disability application or appeal, but the state limits how much a provider is allowed to charge you.

Number of Pages	Cost Per Page
1-20	No more than $20 for the set
21-80	$1
81 and above	$0.50

In addition to the charge per page, health care providers may charge you 10% of the total cost of copied pages, for postage and handling. They may also charge you $15 if they have to get your records from an off-site location.

How Much Are Disability Benefits in Mississippi?

The average SSDI payment in Mississippi is $1,480 per month, but some people receive up to $3,620, depending on their past income. (And widows and disabled adult children receive less.) Read more about how Social Security calculates your SSDI payment.

The monthly SSI payments from the federal government are $914 for an individual or $1,371 for a couple, but these amounts are usually reduced because SSI recipients often have earned or unearned income. So the average SSI payment in Mississippi is only $553. The State of Mississippi does not offer any state supplementary payment for SSI recipients.

Is Disability Income Taxable in Mississippi?

The State of Mississippi exempts 100% of Social Security benefits and SSI benefits from a resident's tax liability. That means the state doesn't tax SSDI or SSI payments.

For people with higher incomes, the federal government will tax a portion of their SSDI benefits. But the IRS doesn't tax SSI benefits.

Where Are Mississippi's Hearing Offices?

The Office of Hearings Operations (OHO) is the office that handles all disability appeals. When you have a hearing, you will go to one of the four hearing offices that handles the disability appeals for Mississippi.

Below is the contact information for the three hearing offices in Mississippi and one in Tennessee, which is currently hearing appeals for applicants from the Olive Branch field office.

Hattiesburg Hearing Office	1901 Broadway Drive Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39402 Telephone: 866-348-5831 Services the following Social Security field offices: Brookhaven, Forest, Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Laurel, McComb, Meridian, Moss Point, Natchez, and Philadelphia
Jackson Hearing Office	McCoy Federal Building, Suite 401 100 West Capitol Street Jackson, Mississippi 39269 Telephone: 888-385-8499 Services the following Social Security field offices: Cleveland, Greenville, Greenwood, Jackson, Kosciusko, and Vicksburg
Tupelo Hearing Office	1150 South Green Street Suite 3A Tupelo, MS 38804 Telephone: 866-275-9405 Services the following Social Security field offices: Clarksdale, Columbus, Corinth, Grenada, Starkville, and Tupelo
Memphis Hearing Office	309 Monroe Avenue Memphis, TN 38103 Telephone: 866-348-5830 Services the Olive Branch field office in Mississippi

Before your hearing, check for address and phone number changes with Social Security's hearing office locator.

Are There Services That Can Help Me Return to Work in Mississippi?

Individuals who are disabled often face difficulties going back to work, if they can at all. The Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services (MDRS) is available to help those with disabilities find and keep a job.

Specifically, the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) is the office that provides services including job counseling, job training, assistance finding a job, and help at your job, as needed. To apply for services, you should apply online or contact your local MDRS office.

Get More Information on Filing for Disability

If you'd like to find out more about getting disability and what to expect during the application process, check out these articles:

• What's the Difference Between SSDI and SSI?
• How to Get Financial Assistance While Waiting on Disability
• Can You Work While Receiving Social Security Disability Benefits?
• Do You Qualify for Disability Benefits? (Take our quiz.)

_{Updated September 11, 2023}

Other Sources:
_{Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2021
Annual Statistical Supplement, 2022}