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How do I appeal a decision on disability benefits by Social Security?
If your initial claim for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is denied — as most are — you have multiple opportunities to challenge that decision. And while pursuing an appeal can take months, even years, you do have some chance of succeeding. Among workers who were awarded SSDI benefits from 2013 to 2022, nearly a third were applicants who appealed after first being turned down, according to the most recent available data from the Social Security Administration (SSA).
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There are four stages in the appeal process.
1. Reconsideration
Medical eligibility for disability benefits is reviewed by state-level Social Security agencies called Disability Determination Services (DDS). If they reject your claim, your first recourse is to ask the SSA to reconsider. You can file for reconsideration online or by filling out forms SSA-561, SSA-3441 and SSA-827 and sending or bringing them to your local Social Security office. (If you want to deliver them by hand, call 800-772-1213 to make an appointment.)
In a reconsideration, an examiner and medical team from your state DDS who were not involved in the initial review take a fresh look at your claim. You can provide additional evidence, such as records of more recent medical examinations or treatment, and point out evidence that DDS may have missed the first time around. The examiners may request additional information themselves.
According to the SSA, the average wait for a reconsideration decision was 241 days, or about eight months, as of August 2025. The reversal rate — the share of applicants whose reconsideration request yields a benefit approval — is 16 percent, the agency says.
2. Hearing before an administrative law judge
If DDS won't change its mind, you can request a hearing with an administrative law judge (ALJ), who will review the evidence in your case and listen to your testimony and that of expert witnesses. To request a hearing, use the online appeal system or complete form HA-501 and return it to Social Security. You can choose to have your hearing in person, by phone or via online video.
Be prepared for it to take a while to get a hearing date: In July 2025, average wait times in the country's 165 regional Social Security hearing offices ranged from 6 to 17 months.
Disability hearings generally last less than an hour but can run longer if there are multiple witnesses. Afterward, it can take anywhere from several weeks to several months to get a decision. The approval rate for applicants at the hearing stage has averaged around 50 percent since 2020, according to Social Security data.
3. Appeals Council
If an administrative law judge rules against you, the next step is to ask for a review by SSA's Appeals Council. You can file online for an Appeals Council review or submit form HA-520 to Social Security.
A panel of Appeals Council members will look over the judge's findings and the evidence, as well as any new information you want to add. The panel has three members if the claimant chooses to present an oral argument and two if the council is only reviewing the case record. (If those two disagree, a third member is brought in to break the tie.) The council can uphold, modify or reverse the ALJ's ruling, or order the judge to hold a new hearing and issue another decision.
The SSA says the average wait time for an Appeals Council ruling is 216 days, or just over seven months. According to agency data, the council approves benefits in 1 percent of cases it receives and sends 12 percent back for further review.
4. Federal courts
The federal bench is your last resort. If the Appeals Council denies or dismisses your claim, as it does in most cases, you can file suit in U.S. District Court. An unfavorable ruling there can be challenged at the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The letter Social Security sends you about an Appeals Council ruling will include information on how to take your case to court.
Federal courts approve benefits in 1 percent of cases they receive and remand most back to the SSA.
You'll find more detailed information about the process at the SSA's Hearings and Appeals site.
Keep in mind
- At each stage of the process, you generally have 60 days from the date of an adverse decision to request an appeal to the next level.
- You can use your online My Social Security account to check on the status of a pending disability application or appeal and to obtain electronic copies of the case documents.
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