How Long Does It Take To Get a Social Security Disability Award Letter?

There is no set length of time that it will take you to receive a Social Security disability award letter. If your disability claim was allowed at the initial or reconsideration level of the disability process, you will receive a disability allowance letter soon after the state disability agency (DDS) has rendered its decision. (Here is how long it takes for the disability determination to be made.)

However, if you were approved for disability benefits following an administrative law judge (ALJ) hearing, it may take a longer period of time to receive your award letter. This may be the case even if the judge indicates to you at the hearing that your claim will be approved. Why is this? Because although disability judges makes decisions on claims at each disability hearing, administrative law judge decisions still have to be written up. To help speed things up, the ALJ hands off the acutal writing of the decision to  a "decision writer." Decision writers compose the notice of decision that is sent out from the hearing office (in the judge's name), but the judge has to approve the final letter.

If a disability claimant is approved and receives a fully favorable or partially favorable decision from a judge following a hearing, the claimant will also receive, sometime later, a disability award letter. It often take one to two months following a decision to get the notice of decision and the award letter.