How Long Does a Social Security Disability Appeal Take?

The disability determination process can take as short as a few months or as long as several years. According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), you can expect to wait between six to eight months for an initial decision on your disability claim, with a national average processing time of 231 days. Regional wait times can vary significantly—in 2024, initial claims in the New York area have been processed in under five months, while claimants in the Dallas region can expect almost 10 months of initial review before getting a decision.

Unfortunately for claimants who've been denied after waiting for almost a year, the disability process doesn't move considerably faster the farther up the chain of appeals you go. But you can take some control over how quickly your case moves up the ladder by keeping on top of appeal deadlines and hiring a lawyer to strengthen your case at each step.

Social Security Disability Appeal Process Time Frame

After you've received an initial denial, you have the opportunity to go through several stages of appeal. Most claimants who are approved for benefits only win after they've had a disability hearing, meaning they'll need to appeal more than once. Broadly speaking, you can expect it to take at least two years from the date you begin your application until you receive a final decision.

Each appeal stage has its own procedure and waiting times can vary significantly by geographic region. Here's a brief rundown of the appeals process for SSDI and SSI claims.

• Reconsideration. The first level of appeal. You'll request reconsideration if you've received an initial denial and disagree with the SSA's decision. A different claims examiner will review your file to see if the denial was incorrect.
• Disability hearing. If you're denied after reconsideration, you can ask for a hearing with an administrative law judge. At the hearing, you have the opportunity to speak directly with the judge and present your case for disability.
• Appeals Council. If you receive an unfavorable decision from a judge after your hearing, you can ask the Appeals Council to review the decision for any legal errors the judge made. If the Council agrees that the judge erred, you'll get sent to another hearing.
• Federal court review. At this stage, you're basically suing the SSA and asking a federal judge to agree that the agency misapplied its own rules.

Not many people who've been denied benefits go any further than the Appeals Council, and fewer still decide to pursue their claim in federal court. Each case is unique, however, so you (with the help of your attorney, if you have one) should consider at each stage whether it's wiser to appeal again or file a new application.

How Long Does an SSDI or SSI Reconsideration Take?

According to Social Security data for 2024, it takes on average 240 days, or about eight months, to receive a reconsideration decision on your disability appeal. Despite the long wait, only about 13% of SSDI or SSI claims are approved at the reconsideration level, so if you're denied again, you'll probably want to appeal once more by requesting a disability hearing.

How Long Do You Have to Appeal an SSDI or SSI Denial?

At each stage, you have 60 days from the date you receive your denial letter in the mail to submit an appeal. This is true whether you're requesting reconsideration or asking for a disability hearing. The 60-day deadline is pretty cut-and-dried, so don't take too long after receiving a denial to appeal the decision. If you miss the appeal deadline and you don't have a really good reason, you'll need to start the process over from square one.

Why Is My Disability Appeal Taking So Long?

Every case is different, and a lot of factors affect how quickly an appeal progresses. Some of these factors are completely out of your hands, such as whether your claims examiner has an application backlog or your file is assigned to a judge with a short docket (hearing schedule). Consultative examinations typically add more time to the decision-making process, as do supplemental hearings.

As of August 2024, the average wait time for a disability hearing is almost nine months. However, the exact amount varies considerably depending on the hearing office. There are almost 170 disability hearing offices nationwide, with different numbers of judges assigned to each office. Some locations, such as Fort Lauderdale, FL, or Lansing, MI have a below-average wait time of six months for a hearing. On the other end of the spectrum, claims handled by the Santa Barbara, CA office have a wait time of nearly 17 months.

You can get a better estimate of how long you'll wait by looking for the office handling your claim on the SSA's Average Wait Time Until Hearing Held Report search bar. Wait times are updated frequently (every month). If you're not sure what hearing office will be handling your claim, you can check the address on your Notice of Hearing Request Acknowledgement. Since the pandemic, many offices have shifted to remote hearings, so your office may be out of state.

How Can I Speed Up the Disability Appeals Process?

One of the most important steps you can take to keep your claim moving as rapidly as possible through the appeals process is to pay attention to the deadlines. Missing an appeal deadline can be a big setback, and all those months you waited for a decision will be in vain.

Another way to help speed up the process is by being proactive with your claim. For example, if you have new evidence you didn't submit with your initial application or new test results that show your condition is worsening, you don't have to wait for your hearing to bring it up. You can introduce this information at the reconsideration stage by calling the Disability Determination Services (DDS) office in your state.

If you were denied after reconsideration and you think your case is exceptionally strong, you may speed up your appeal by requesting an attorney advisor opinion or on-the-record decision. These are methods the SSA can use to award you benefits without having you attend a hearing.

Should I Appeal When the Process Takes So Long?

While the appeals process can be frustratingly long, it's usually worthwhile to stick with it rather than start a new application. That's because your chances of winning an appeal increase once you get to the hearing level. So even though only around 38% of initial applications are approved (and a dismal 15% of reconsiderations result in awards), once you have a hearing with a disability judge, your chances of a favorable decision increase to almost 50%.

But going beyond the appeal hearing level and taking your case to the Appeals Council can be a waste of time for many. The Appeals Council doesn't review every case, and you often can't introduce new evidence. So if you have new evidence to support your claim, it can make more sense to file a new application—something you can't do if the Appeals Council is reviewing your current claim.

How Long Does a Disability Appeal Take With a Lawyer?

Disability attorneys don't have a magic wand that can drastically shorten the appeals process. However, an experienced lawyer will know what to do to ensure that your claim is decided as quickly as possible and improve your odds of winning. For example, your attorney can:

• submit a prehearing brief for the judge that may eliminate the need for a hearing
• make sure all relevant medical evidence is promptly submitted to the SSA
• argue that you should be automatically disabled under a listed impairment, and
• determine whether your claim can be expedited as a Compassionate Allowance or QDD.

Having a disability lawyer becomes more important the farther you go in the appeals process, especially if you end up at the Appeals Council or in federal. But hiring a lawyer can improve your chances of winning disability benefits even at reconsideration. And because disability attorneys work mainly on contingency, you won't have to pay unless you win your claim. For more information, see our article on the advantages of hiring an attorney for your disability appeal.