Can I apply more than once for Social Security disability?

Over the same period, more than half of cases that were appealed and reached a hearing before an administrative law judge — the second stage in the SSA appeals process, and the first where applicants can make oral arguments and present witnesses — resulted in benefits being awarded.

Your condition

If your medical condition is roughly the same as when you previously applied for benefits, a new application is likely to meet the same fate as the old one, unless you have gathered new medical evidence about its severity. Such evidence can also be presented in an appeal, preserving the advantages noted above.

Reapplying may be a good option, however, if you are seeking benefits due to a different medical condition than the one that prompted a prior filing, or on the basis of an existing impairment that has markedly worsened since your previous claim.

Deadlines to appeal

You have 60 days from the date of an adverse ruling on a benefit claim to file an appeal. If you miss the deadline, you will probably have to reapply to continue pursuing benefits. Again, bear in mind that a new claim will have little chance of succeeding if it essentially mirrors one that was already rejected.

SSA can grant a late appeal request, but you must show you had good cause for missing the 60-day window. Examples of good cause could be personal circumstances that preclude you from filing in time, such as homelessness or a serious illness; physical, mental or language limitations; receiving inaccurate or incomplete information from the SSA about your appeal rights; or a fire or other accident that destroyed records pertinent to your case.

Another option if you missed the appeal deadline is to ask Social Security to reopen your claim. You can do this as part of a new disability application for a closely related cause. A benefit of reopening is that, like an appeal, it preserves your original filing date.

Within 12 months of a denial, you can request a reopening for any reason. After that, the SSA will only consider reopening a case under specific, limited circumstances, such as new and material evidence regarding your condition or a showing that the prior denial resulted from fraud or error.

Keep in mind

• With very few exceptions, you cannot file a new disability application if you have a pending claim for the same type of benefit. If you have an SSDI case at any level of Social Security's review process, you'll have to drop it to submit a new SSDI claim.
• You can file for SSI, the other disability benefit Social Security administers, if you have an SSDI case in review, although the SSA might consolidate the two claims.