Average Wait Time for a Social Security Disability Hearing in 2026

Most Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) applications must be appealed before they’re approved—dragging your claim out for months or even years. Once you’ve gone through the initial determination and reconsideration phase of a disability claim, you’ll need to request an appeal hearing. It’s at the hearing stage that most successful claims are approved: each year, between 55% and 60% of decisions at the hearing level are approvals.

But by the time you request a hearing, you’ll likely have already put many months into the disability process. And, unfortunately, you’ll probably spend considerable time waiting for a disability hearing, which can really stress your finances. According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), the average wait time for a disability hearing in January 2026 was 274 days (about 9 months) across the various disability hearing offices. That’s down from an average wait of 450 days (about 15 months) in 2023, but many applicants still wait up to a year for their hearing.

Here are the details about how long you may have to wait for a Social Security disability hearing in 2026.

How Long Does It Take to Get a Disability Hearing, by State?

You can expect to wait anywhere from a few months to over a year for a hearing in front of an administrative law judge (ALJ). The average wait time for a Social Security disability hearing will vary based on where you live. For SSDI hearing wait times by state, see the map above, which shows both state and local approval rates and ALJ hearing wait times.

For example, the average hearing wait times in New York and Los Angeles were nine months in 2025, and the average wait times in Richmond, Virginia, and Oakland, California were eight months. In Springfield, Massachusetts, the average wait time for a disability hearing is currently over one year.

Where’s the shortest disability hearing wait time? SSDI and SSI applicants in North Houston, Texas, Jackson, Mississippi, and Fort Myers, Florida only waited an average of six months for their ALJ hearings.

Here is Social Security's national list of hearing wait times, which is updated regularly.

Why Does the Average Wait Time for Disability Hearings Vary So Much?

Why do the hearing wait times differ across the country when Social Security disability and SSI are federal programs? The system is standardized, meaning it’s supposed to operate the same no matter where you live in the United States. But that’s not really possible because the Hearings Office, which handles ALJ hearings, isn’t one central office.

Factors Affecting Wait Times

The SSA has more than 160 hearings offices across all 50 states. Most offices face some challenges with a backlog of cases coming from Disability Determination Services. And there are location-specific issues that create additional delays in some offices.

One reason for the difference in disability hearing wait times across the country is that some hearing offices handle more cases. For instance, the Toledo office is responsible for only a tiny percentage of the country's disability hearings, while the Los Angeles hearings office handles a larger proportion of all hearings. But the number of claims in a region is only one factor.

Hearing office staffing levels are uneven nationwide, creating bigger backlogs in some offices and affecting hearing wait times in those locations. Some regions have been able to hire and hold on to more judges and decision writers than others.

Is Social Security Doing Anything to Shorten Wait Times?

In recent years, Social Security has started to share the workload among hearings offices in different states with the use of telephone and videoconference hearings. Social Security reduced the backlog of 350,000 cases waiting for a disability hearing in 2023 to about 270,000 cases in January 2025. But the number has crept up again in the last year, to about 330,000 in January 2026. And recent staffing reductions at the SSA may lead to increased hearing wait times and an even bigger backlog.

Unfortunately, you don't have a choice about which hearing office will handle your disability case. Where you have your hearing is based on where you live. But you can choose whether to have your hearing in person, by video, or by phone. Having a hearing virtually will likely reduce your wait for a hearing.

Can a Disability Lawyer or Claims Representative Help You Get a Faster Hearing?

Lawyers (who are also sometimes called claims representatives) don't have too much pull in actually scheduling the hearings sooner. But an attorney might be able to help you get your SSI or SSDI claim approved before the hearing is even scheduled. (An attorney can present a very strong case and help you gather and submit more compelling medical evidence, which could get you an on-the-record review or attorney advisor opinion before you get a hearing date.)

Are There Ways to Reduce the Wait Time for a Disability Hearing?

Calling the Social Security office where you initially filed your claim won’t speed up your hearing date. Local claims representatives have little to do with your SSDI or SSI case once it's sent to the hearing office.

There are a few things you can do yourself that might help you get a hearing sooner rather than later. For instance, you can waive "advance notice" of your hearing or write a "dire need letter" to your hearings office. If you have a serious financial hardship or are in danger of becoming homeless, a dire need letter can help expedite your hearing date. Learn more about what you can do to shorten the wait time for your disability hearing.

Perhaps most importantly, don't miss your hearing date. If you do, you might have to wait another six months to a year to get a new date.

How Long After a Disability Hearing Does a Decision Take?

Getting a decision after your Social Security disability hearing can take as little as two weeks or as long as three or four months. The average time is about two months. But how long it takes for your decision will depend on the judge's backlog of decisions, the complexity of your claim, and whether the judge requested any additional medical evidence or scheduled a "supplemental hearing." For the details, read our article on how long it takes for an ALJ to make a decision after a hearing.

Does a Longer Wait Mean Bad News?

Don't get discouraged if you don't hear anything for a month or two. Not getting a prompt decision isn't a sign that your case will be denied or that something is wrong. Find out why some hearing decisions take longer.

What Happens After You Finally Get a Decision?

If you ultimately receive a denial letter, you'll need to decide whether it makes sense to appeal further, to the Appeals Council.

If you receive an approval letter, congratulations! You can expect to receive your first monthly check and a back pay check within a month or two. Exactly when depends on the details of your claim: whether it was for SSDI or SSI, whether you've been working at all while waiting for a decision, and how big a backlog the payment center has. For more information, read about when your benefits will start.

Remember that applying for disability benefits is never a quick process. Overall, the average time it takes to get a decision on a claim, including claims decided at the initial application stage and claims that were appealed, is about two years.

Sources:

^{Social Security Performance, SSA, January 2026
Average Wait Time Until Hearing Held Report, SSA, September 2025
ALJ Disposition Data, Social Security, SSA, FY 2025}