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If you file for social security disability (SSD) or SSI and are turned down, you have 60 days to file an appeal. Social Security does allow a 5-day “grace” period to take mailing time into consideration, but it’s best not to put off notifying SSA of your intent to appeal—far too many people do not mail their claims in on time, and if you are even one day past the deadline you could lose the right to appeal. Note: The 60-day deadline for all appeals is calculated from the date stamped on the upper-right corner of your denial notice, not the date when you first became aware your claim was denied. Claimants who are denied disability benefits have the right to file more than one appeal, and it’s a good thing, too. The first appeal, called a request for reconsideration, has such a high rate of denial (nationwide about 85% of all reconsideration appeals are denied) that there has been some talk of eliminating this level of appeal altogether. However, as it now stands, all disability applicants must file a request for reconsideration with Social Security before they can move on to the next level of appeal, a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ). Reconsideration appeals are decided by the same state disability determination services (DDS) agency that denied your original application. Although your reconsideration is reviewed by a different disability examiner than the one who denied your initial claim, it is rare for one disability examiner to overturn the decision of another without proof of some gross error. After all, disability examiners all work for the same agency and must follow the same rules, and the work environment at DDS does not exactly encourage examiners to award benefits freely—pressure to keep the total number of approvals down exists at every level within this organization. Upon receiving notice that your reconsideration appeal is denied, you may file a request for a hearing before a federal disability judge, or ALJ. Again, you have 60 days to file this appeal, plus five days for mailing. ALJs are far more likely to award benefits than disability examiners, no doubt in part because they do not work for social security in a traditional sense, and can make decisions without pressure to keep approval numbers down. ALJs are typically not tolerant when it comes to hearing requests that are received after the appeal deadline—at this level, meeting your deadline is critical. In some cases a claimant may be able to provide a disability examiner, perhaps even a disability judge, with a good reason for missing a deadline. Disability examiners, while less likely to approve a claim for disability benefits, tend to be more lenient than judges when it comes to social security appeal deadlines. However, there is always a chance that you will not be cut any slack and be forced to start over with a new claim, even if you feel you have a legitimate excuse. If that happens, it could take up to 3 years before you have the opportunity to be heard by an administrative law judge. If you were turned down for disability benefits, either at the initial application stage or upon reconsideration appeal, you may wish to speak with a disability attorney or non-attorney rep about representation, particularly if you are not mentally or physically able to stay on top of developments in your case. A social security disability representative will be sure to file all of your paperwork on time, and to gather the medical records and physician statements necessary to represent you at your appeal. 
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