How Long Does a Social Security Disability Review Take? When Will I Know if I Pass?

After you start receiving disability benefits, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will review your claim from time to time to see if you still qualify. These periodic disability updates are called continuing disability reviews (CDRs).

When Social Security decides it's time for you to have a CDR, you'll receive a form in the mail with instructions on how to report back to the agency. Being nervous about having to submit a disability update is understandable, but the more you know about how the CDR process works, the better equipped you’ll be to complete the report.

Should I Be Worried About a Disability Update Report?

Getting a disability update report is a normal, expected part of receiving disability benefits and shouldn’t be a cause for alarm. The vast majority—about 93%, according to recent data—of initial CDRs result in a continuation of benefits. (Even then, the remaining cases have a greater than 50% chance of getting their benefits reinstated on appeal.) So the odds are in your favor that you’ll continue to receive benefits as usual.

How Often Does the SSA Review Your Case?

Most CDRs take place every three to seven years, depending on your age and medical condition. The scheduling process takes into account factors such as how likely your health will improve over time. For more detailed information, check out our article on how often Social Security will conduct case reviews.

What Does the Disability Update Report Form Look Like?

Most disability recipients receive the short form SSA-455, Disability Update Report, or “the mailer” as Social Security calls it. Form SSA-455 has just a few questions. (You can find a sample completed form SSA-455 here.) Some recipients will need to complete the long form SSA-454, Continuing Disability Review Report.

Whether you receive the mailer or the long form depends on how likely the SSA believes you will be able to return to work. For example, if you have a low probability of showing medical improvement—meaning your condition is unlikely to significantly change for the better—you’ll probably get just the mailer. But if you’re on the younger end with a good medical prognosis and have recently posted earnings, the SSA is more likely to send you the long form report. (Children who are collecting disability benefits never receive the short form mailer.)

Some people receive both the short and long forms. If you state that you’re working on the short form or that you haven’t been to the doctor recently—two indicators that signal to Social Security that you might no longer be disabled—the agency will likely follow up by sending you the long form report asking for more details.

What to Do If You Receive Only the Short Form (Disability Update Report)

The majority of adults collecting disability benefits receive just the short-form mailer only. If you get this form, you’ll complete it by answering questions about whether your health has improved, what work (if any) you’ve done recently, and if you’ve started any kind of school or training.

You can fill out the scannable mailer and send it in, or you can complete Form SSA-455 online. Most people who complete the mailer will get a letter back saying that Social Security doesn’t need to do a full medical review at this time, and you’ll continue on your periodic review interval in the same manner as before. So, for example, if you’re scheduled to be reviewed every five years, you’ll get your next notice in five years.

What to Do If You Receive Only the Long Form (Continuing Disability Review Report)

If the SSA thinks you have a high probability of medical improvement, you’ll likely be sent the long form Continuing Disability Review Report rather than the mailer. Receiving Form SSA-454 means that you're getting a full medical review to make sure that you’re still disabled, so you need to fill out this form completely and send it in.

Unlike the mailer, the long CDR form contains extensive questions about your disability, including whether your condition has changed, what your daily activities and limitations are, and the details of all your medical treatment, including doctors’ visits. You’ll need to provide your healthcare providers’ names and contact information so that Social Security can request your medical records.

What If You Receive the Mailer Followed by the Long Form Report?

Very few disability recipients who initially get the mailer are then sent the long form report. If this happens to you, it’s because one or more of your answers on the short form report suggest that more information is needed about your ability to work, and the SSA needs to conduct a full medical review.

How Long Does a Continuing Disability Review Take?

CDRs can take as little as one month or more than six months to complete. The exact time it takes usually corresponds to the type of disability update report you receive.

• If you received the short-form update, you should hear back from the SSA within one to three months.
• If you received the long-form update, you should hear back from the SSA within three to five months.
• If you received the short-form and then the long-form update, you should hear back from the SSA within five to six months (potentially longer).

How Will I Know If I Passed My CDR?

If you sent back the mailer and, after reviewing it, Social Security thinks that you’re still disabled, then you’ll receive a “deferral notice.” The notice will say that the agency didn’t find any reason to conduct a full medical review, and your benefits will continue. This is essentially “passing” your CDR for people who’ve received only the short form report.

If you sent back the long form report and, following a full medical review, Social Security concluded that you’re still disabled, then you’ll receive a “Continuance Notice” letting you know that your benefits aren’t going to stop. You can find out more in our article about passing a CDR.

If, following a full medical review, Social Security decides that you’re no longer disabled, the agency will mail you either a “Notice of Disability Cessation” or “Notice of Disability Benefits.” These notices will inform you that your benefits will be terminated. You do have the right to appeal the cessation.

Appealing a Cessation of Benefits After a CDR

The first step to appeal a cessation of benefits after a CDR is to “request reconsideration”. Reconsideration reviews can be conducted by either a claims examiner or disability hearings officer working for your state's Disability Determination Services. On average, CDR reconsiderations take between three to six months.

If, following reconsideration, you’re denied again, you can appeal further by requesting a hearing with an administrative law judge, or ALJ. (You may have gone in front of an ALJ before, when you were first applying for disability benefits.)

You aren’t required to have an attorney to appeal a cessation of benefits, but it can be helpful, even if you were originally awarded benefits without hiring a representative. The more complex your case is, the more likely it is that legal assistance will be valuable. For more information, check out our set of articles on hiring a disability lawyer.