Filing for Social Security Disability in Oklahoma

If Oklahoma's DDD finds you're disabled and can't work based on your medical record, you'll receive SSDI or SSI disability benefits.

By , J.D. Albany Law School
Updated 9/13/2023

Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits in Oklahoma are paid for and regulated by the federal government, but the approval rates are unique to Oklahoma, as are its state supplemental payments for SSI recipients and the state agency that makes the initial disability determinations for Oklahomans.

How Do I Apply for and Get Disability Benefits in Oklahoma?

You can apply for disability benefits online at Social Security's application page 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, including 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 Oklahoma's Disability Determination Division (DDD), a state agency that handles all initial applications for Social Security and SSI disability benefits, for a medical decision to be made on your records.

Oklahoma has one DDD office that handles all medical reviews of disability applications. Here's the contact information for that office—you can call the office for an update on the status of your application.

Disability Determination Division

3535 N.W. 58th Street
Oklahoma City, OK
Telephone: 405-419-2200

How Does Oklahoma's DDD Decide if I Qualify for Disability?

The claims examiner at the Disability Determination Division in Oklahoma City will use a step-by-step process to determine if you have a qualifying disability. The five questions the claims examiner will ask are:

  1. Are you working too much to be considered disabled?
  2. Is your condition "severe"?
  3. Is your condition found in the list of disabling conditions?
  4. Can you do the work you did previously?
  5. Can you do any other type of work?

If DDD finds you're disabled and can't work based on your medical record, you'll receive an award letter approving you for disability benefits.

What Happens If DDD Denies My Disability Claim?

If the claims examiner at Oklahoma's DDD denies your claim, you can ask that the decision be reconsidered by a different claims examiner. You do this by filing a reconsideration request (this is the first level of appeal).

If DDD denies your claim again, you can request a hearing by filing a request for a hearing with an administrative law judge. The DDD will then send your claim to the Office of Hearings Operations (OHO), a branch of Social Security in either Oklahoma City, Tulsa, or McAlester, where a judge will decide your case at a disability hearing. (Claims from the Durant field office are currently being heard in the hearing office in North Dallas.)

Contact information for the OHO offices is at the end of the article.

How Long Does It Take to Get a Disability Decision in Oklahoma?

It takes about five to seven months to get an initial decision from Oklahoma's DDD. If your claim is denied, it will likely take another four to six months to get an answer on your request for reconsideration.

If DDD denies you benefits a second time and you have to go to a disability hearing, you're looking at an even longer wait. In 2023, it's taking an average of 13 months to get a hearing date in Oklahoma, from the time you file a request for hearing until the date the case is decided by an ALJ.

What Are Oklahoma's Disability Approval Statistics?

At the initial application stage, only 31% of applicants in Oklahoma are approved for benefits by DDS, compared to the national average of 38%. And at the first level of appeal, called the reconsideration stage, only 12% of applicants in Oklahoma are approved for benefits, while 15% are approved nationally.

The good news is that, at the hearing stage, Oklahoma has a higher approval rate (63%) than the rest of the nation (57%).

Stage of Application

Oklahoma

Nationally

Initial Application Approval

31%

38%

Reconsideration Approval

12%

15%

Hearing Approval

63%

57%

Hearing Wait Time

13 months

15 months


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

How Much SSDI or SSI Will I Receive in Oklahoma?

The average SSDI payment in Oklahoma is $1,505 per month, but some people receive up to $3,600, depending on their income. (Widows and disabled adult children receiving benefits based on someone else's earnings record get less.) Learn more about how Social Security calculates your SSDI payment.

The average federal SSI payment in Oklahoma is $572 per month, though some people receive the federal maximum of $914 (in 2023). But most people receive less than the maximum because the amount of SSI they receive depends on whether they receive free room and board or have other countable income.

Does Oklahoma Have a State Supplement to SSI?

In Oklahoma, the state offers a small additional payment in addition to the federal government's monthly payment for SSI.

In 2023, the federal government pays $914 per month to individuals and $1,371 to couples. Oklahoma pays an additional amount per month, which is determined by the amount of your countable income. The Oklahoma state supplement (called the state supplemental payment, or SSP) typically can't exceed the maximum of $41 per month.

Oklahoma's SSP is administered by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, and you can find information for the supplement's eligibility on the website of Oklahoma Human Services.

Oklahoma 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 does not tax SSI benefits.

Oklahoma's Vocational Rehabilitation Service

People with disabilities who receive SSI or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) may feel they can try to back to some type of work but need help finding and/or keeping a job. Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VR) in Oklahoma offers that type of assistance.

VR's services offered include job evaluations, job preparations, job search help, and onsite job training. To apply for services, you can contact the nearest VR office to you by calling 800-845-8467 or using their online locator.

Where Are Oklahoma's Hearing Offices?

Below is the contact information for the Office of Hearings Operations (OHO) offices that serve residents of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma City Hearing Office

301 NW 6th Street
Suite 300
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
Telephone: 866-701-8094

Services the Social Security offices in Ada, Ardmore, Chickasha, Clinton, Enid, Lawton, Moore, Oklahoma City, and Shawnee.

Tulsa Hearing Office

Eastgate Metroplex, Suite 500
14002 E. 21st Street
Tulsa, OK 74134
Telephone: 888-286-1124

Services the Social Security offices in Bartlesville, Miami, Muskogee, Okmulgee, Stillwater, and Tulsa.

McAlester Hearing Office

524 South 2nd Street
McAlester, OK 74501
Telephone: 877-748-9767

Services the Social Security office in McAlester, Oklahoma.

North Dallas Hearing Office

12790 Merit Drive
Building 9, Suite 500
Dallas, TX 75251
Telephone: 866-331-7135

Services the Social Security office in Durant, Oklahoma.

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

Get More Information on Filing for Disability

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

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