How Long Does It Take To Get A Social Security Hearing Decision?

It seems to be fairly typical that, after a social security hearing has been held, a decision may not be forthcoming for weeks, and perhaps months. This is often the case even when an ALJ (administrative law judge) has indictated at the time of the hearing that he intends to pay the case (i.e. award disability benefits). In my own experiences involving claimant representation, I have found that claimants can sometimes be forced to wait an unreasonable length of time for a hearing decision.

However, it should be said that this is not always the case. I was in contact with one individual who recently had a hearing and mangaged to receive a decision letter (the letter she received was a "notice of decision - fully favorable", which was sent by the hearing office) only three weeks after her hearing. Better yet, she received her notice of award (this is the letter that specifies monetary amounts and which is sent by the social security office) only a couple of weeks after. Even better still, her social security disability back pay was deposited to her bank account before the notice of award was received in the mail (yes, this does happen, although why I can't say).

How long does it take to receive a social security hearing decision? It's difficult to formulate any rule of thumb since it may largely depend, in terms of workload and backlogs, on the disability judge or the hearing office that the judge is based at. However, in most cases, a claimant should probably expect to receive a notice of decision within 12 weeks following a hearing. Claimants who have not received a decision within 8 weeks following a hearing should probably consider calling the hearing office to get the status on their hearing decision. Claimants who are represented by a disability lawyer or a non-attorney representative, of course, should have their representative do the same.