How Do I Appeal a CDR Cessation?

Getting a Notice of Disability Cessation after a continuing disability review (CDR) can be a shock, but the decision to stop your benefits isn't final. A CDR cessation happens when the Social Security Administration (SSA) reviews your file and decides you've medically improved enough to go back to work. If you disagree, you have the right to appeal.

If you’ve been awarded SSDI or SSI, you can expect to undergo a continuing disability review (CDR) every one to seven years to make sure you still meet the agency’s criteria for receiving benefits. While rare, CDRs sometimes result in a cessation of disability benefits.

The appeal process may be familiar to you if you weren’t approved for benefits on your first try, but cessation appeals use different forms and run on tighter deadlines if you want your payments to continue. Below, we cover each stage, from the forms you file to the hearings before a disability hearing officer and an administrative law judge.

How CDR Cessation Appeals Work

The CDR cessation appeals process closely mirrors the process of appealing an initial disability denial, although there are some key differences. First, you’ll request a reconsideration. In the past, the reconsideration was handled by your state disability determination services office, or DDS. A new staff member at DDS would review your file to look for mistakes, and the reviewer could reverse the cessation of disability benefits.

In March 2026, the SSA announced it would transition the processing of medical continuing disability reviews from DDS to a federal processing site called Disability Case Review (DCR). So going forward, you may receive communications from the DCR.

If the review by DCR (or DDS before the switch is fully phased in) still finds that the cessation is valid, you’ll have a hearing with a disability hearing officer (DHO) who is specially trained to review the medical-legal issues posed by a CDR cessation (for example, whether your carpal tunnel surgery and subsequent treatment improved your fine motor skills enough to do a job involving frequent typing).

If the DHO agrees that your benefits should have ended, you can request a hearing in front of an administrative law judge (ALJ). (Unlike reconsideration reviews for initial disability claims, Social Security requires CDR cessation appeals to go through a DHO before being sent to an ALJ.) If the ALJ upholds the cessation, you can appeal further to the Social Security Appeals Council and then on to federal district court.

Start Your Cessation Appeal Using Forms SSA-789 and SSA-3441

The two main forms you’ll need to start your CDR cessation appeal are SSA-789, Request for Reconsideration - Disability Cessation Right to Appear and SSA-3441, Disability Report - Appeal. Knowing how to fill them out properly (and promptly) can help increase your chances of a successful appeal.

Form SSA-789

You must file Form SSA-789 within 60 days to appeal, but you only have 10 days to submit it if you want to keep receiving benefits during the appeal process. (You’ll also need to submit an additional form, SSA-792, within those 10 days to let Social Security know that you want to keep receiving benefits while you appeal the cessation. Keep in mind that if you lose the appeal, you’ll probably have to repay these benefits.)

Form SSA-789 is a request for review and a request to attend your DHO hearing. It's a short, simple form that asks for your basic information (name, address, and Social Security number) and provides space for you to explain why you disagree with Social Security’s decision to end your benefits.

When completing Form SSA-789, you’ll see a space where you can provide additional medical information. Fill it in with the names of the doctors who are treating you for your health problems and explain any recent medical evidence you have to support a finding that you’re still disabled.

SSA-789 also requires you to state whether you want to be present at your hearing with the DHO. If you want to be present, you can simply check Box 1 to indicate that you wish to be there. Or, you can waive your right to appear personally at the hearing by checking Box 2 instead. If you decline to attend the hearing, you’ll need to complete Form SSA-773 as well, so that Social Security knows that you understand the rights you’re giving up by not appearing.

Form SSA-3441

You'll use Form SSA-3441 to update the SSA on any changes to your medical condition. It's the same form used to appeal an initial denial of benefits. If this is the first time you’ve filled out Form SSA-3441, you’ll need to complete it in its entirety. Even if you’ve completed the form before, you’ll need to fill it out again—but you only need to include any changes that have occurred since the last time you filled it out. If you aren't sure what’s changed, be as detailed as possible when you complete it.

Whether or not you’ve filed this form before, you should use it to provide information about any of the following:

• changes in personal information (name, address)
• new information about your condition
• additional information about your medical records
• changes in your medications
• results from new medical tests
• whether you are working or have tried to work
• how your impairment impacts your activities of daily living, and
• new information about any educational, vocational, employment, or similar services or training you’ve received.

There’s also space at the end of the form for you to provide any other information that you think is helpful. Be sure to attach any relevant medical records and give Social Security the correct contact information for everywhere you’ve received medical treatment since your CDR.

Consider requesting a copy of your case file from Social Security so you can see exactly which medical records the agency used to decide your condition had improved. Knowing that lets you focus on the right evidence. (We cover how to request your file below.) But don't miss the appeal deadline waiting for your file.

Request and Review Your Case File

You should review your file to see why your benefits were ceased or, if your reconsideration was denied, why the DCR decided your benefits should remain terminated. Social Security can mail it to you or give you access to the content of your file online (through your My Social Security account).

To request your file, file Form SSA-3288, Consent for Release of Information. This form gives Social Security your permission to mail you a copy of your file or release a copy of your electronic folder. On Form SSA-3288, check Box 8, Complete medical records, and Box 9. In the blank space under Box 9, write "disability determination rationale for cessation appeal." (Social Security won't honor a request for your "entire file," so naming the specific document matters.) There's no fee when you're requesting records for your own appeal.

When you receive the file, first look at the "Evidence Received" section and make sure the key doctors and test results are listed.

Next, find the disability determination rationale (also called the disability determination explanation) and open it. Then look for the "comparison point decision" (CPD) evaluation. The comparison point decision is the most recent favorable decision in your case—either the initial decision date or the last CDR review at which your benefits were continued. Social Security measures "medical improvement" by comparing your condition as of the CPD against your condition now, so the rationale should spell out which medical records the agency relied on at each point to conclude that you've improved.

This area of your file will have a comparison of the old and new medical evidence. Your job will be to show why the medical records don't add up to enough improvement for you to return to work. Use the rationale to pinpoint the evidence the agency used so you can argue against it. (Learn more about reviewing your case file.)

Prepare for Your Disability Cessation DHO Hearing

Assuming you choose to attend your DHO hearing, you’ll get a letter letting you know the time and location of the hearing. The letter will also ask you to notify the DHO about whether you plan to bring any witnesses to testify about your impairment and whether a lawyer will be present.

Once your hearing is scheduled, you should review your case file to make sure that it’s accurate and that nothing’s missing. Pay special attention to what the file has to say about your work history, medical records, residual functional capacity, and Social Security’s technical rationale forms (which explain why the agency decided to stop your benefits).

During the DHO Hearing

DHO hearings are informal—they aren’t held in a courtroom but take place in more of a conference room setting. At the beginning of the hearing, the DHO will usually explain how the hearing will be conducted so that you know what to expect. The DHO will likely want to discuss your work history and medical treatment and will ask why you think your disability benefits should continue. At that point, you should ask the DHO to explain what significant medical improvement Social Security believes you’ve undergone that enables you to now work, and what kind of work the agency thinks you can perform.

These questions are important because, if Social Security is going to end somebody’s benefits after a CDR, the agency usually has to show that significant medical improvement has occurred and that they can now go back to work. (20 C.F.R. § 404.1594.) And once you know what Social Security based the cessation on, you can try to prove why the agency is wrong. You’ll need to explain how your medical evidence shows that your condition hasn’t improved and that you can't do the kind of work that Social Security thinks you can do.

After the DHO Hearing

Within a few weeks after your hearing, a written opinion will be sent to you that states the DHO's decision and the basis for the decision. If the DHO doesn’t reinstate your disability benefits, you can appeal the denial to an administrative law judge at the Social Security Office of Hearings Operations (OHO).

Request a CDR Cessation Appeal Hearing With an ALJ

If your cessation disability appeal was denied by the DHO, you have 60 days to appeal the decision to an administrative law judge. But (as with the DHO hearing), if you still want your benefits to continue during the appeal, you’ll need to file your request for a hearing within 10 days (with a 5-day allowance for mailing).

To request an ALJ hearing, you must file Form HA-501-U5, Request for Hearing by Administrative Law Judge. You also have to file SSA-827, Authorization to Disclose Information to the Social Security Administration to allow your doctors to send updated records to the SSA and another SSA-3441, Disability Report - Appeal.

Form HA-501-U5

The HA-501 request for hearing form is similar to the SSA-789 form you used to start your cessation appeal. You’ll need to provide your basic personal information, a statement about why you believe the CDR decision was wrong, information about any new evidence (including copies of medical records), and whether you intend to appear in person at the ALJ hearing.

Form SSA-827

The SSA-827 medical release form allows Social Security to request and receive your personal medical information. (This is the same form you likely completed when you initially applied for disability benefits.)

Form SSA-3441

The SSA-3441 form is another disability report; even though you already filed one with your Request for Reconsideration of Disability Cessation, you need to file an updated version when you request a hearing. When you complete the form this time, add any new information that wasn’t discussed in your most recent disability report, including recent doctor visits and recent test results.

Preparing for the Hearing

Once you’ve completed and returned the forms, Social Security will schedule an ALJ hearing. Wait times for hearing dates can be long, depending on the caseload at the OHO, so you might not get a notice of your scheduled hearing for many months. Use the time to request an up-to-date copy of your case file.

If you’ve been through an ALJ hearing before, a cessation appeal hearing will be very familiar to you. (If you haven’t, you can find more information in our article on what happens at an ALJ hearing.) The judge will ask you questions to determine whether you’ve reached a level of medical improvement that would allow you to return to full-time employment.

Do I Need an Attorney for a Disability Cessation Appeal?

You aren’t required to hire an attorney to represent you through the CDR or disability cessation appeal process. But because the procedure can be complicated, and a lot is at stake, it may be a good idea to try to find an attorney who specializes in Social Security disability law and will handle cessations.

If you find a lawyer to help you appeal a CDR cessation, Social Security will pay the attorneys' fees directly using any past-due benefits you have coming. But because of this payment system, many lawyers can be reluctant to take cessation cases if you continue receiving benefits during the appeal (since there would be no past-due benefits available to pay the fees). When contacting potential attorneys’ offices, you should explain that you’re getting continued benefits and ask them if they have a fee arrangement that takes this into account. (Learn more about attorneys’ fees in our article on how much Social Security disability lawyers cost.)