Disability āŗ The hearing
What happens at a disability hearing, and do I need help?
For anyone whose disability claim was denied again after reconsideration. By the end you’ll know what the hearing is, how long it takes, how to prepare, and exactly what paid help costs.
The hearing is the second level of appeal. You present your case to an administrative law judge. SSA’s average wait for a hearing decision was 270 days in fiscal year 2026. You can bring a representative. Under SSA’s fee agreement process, the representative is paid only if you win: 25% of your past-due benefits, up to $9,200.
What is a disability hearing?
An administrative law judge (often called an ALJ) is a judge who hears Social Security appeals. The hearing is your chance to explain, in your own words, how your health limits what you can do. It comes after reconsideration, the first level of appeal.
Expect questions about your medical conditions and treatment, your daily routine, and the jobs you have held.
How do I ask for a hearing?
You must ask in writing within 60 days of receiving your reconsideration denial. SSA assumes the letter reached you 5 days after the date printed on it, so in practice you have about 65 days from the date on the letter. The rule is the same for SSDI and SSI.
60 days from when you receive the reconsideration denial, which SSA counts as 5 days after the date on the letter. If you miss it, you can ask in writing for more time, but SSA grants it only if you show a good reason.
Your denial letter explains how to request a hearing. Read it the day it arrives and file early. You can start on SSA’s appeal page or by calling 1-800-772-1213.
Free tool: Enter the date on your reconsideration letter. See the last day to ask for a hearing.
Start āHow long is the wait?
SSA publishes two numbers for hearing decisions, and both are its own figures for different periods:
- 270 days on average across fiscal year 2026, SSA’s year that ended in September 2026.
- 287 days for the single month of September 2026.
Either way, plan for a wait of about nine months or more. Use that time to build your file.
Is it worth the wait? SSA’s data on SSDI applications filed in 2020 shows that 53.0% of medical decisions made at the hearing level or above were approvals. That compares with 33.6% at the first decision and 12.9% at reconsideration. These figures leave out SSI-only claims, and they describe everyone, not your case.
Will my hearing be in person, by video or by phone?
SSA holds hearings four ways:
- In person at an SSA hearing office
- By phone (SSA calls it audio), from a private place you choose
- By agency video, using SSA’s video equipment at one of its offices
- By online video on your own phone, tablet or computer, from a private place you choose
After you ask for a hearing, SSA mails a “Notice of Ways to Attend a Hearing” with two forms. SSA can set your hearing by phone or agency video unless you object. It uses online video only if you agree.
- To object to phone, agency video or both, tell SSA in writing within 30 days of receiving the notice. If you object to both and haven’t moved, SSA schedules you in person, or by online video if you agree to it.
- To choose online video, agree in writing within 30 days. You can change your mind any time before the hearing starts.
A few exceptions apply. For example, if you move while you wait, SSA decides again how you will appear. Read your notice and send back the form you want on time.
How should I prepare?
- Keep seeing your doctors. Ongoing treatment records are the core of your case.
- Send new records as you get them. New tests, specialists, hospital stays and medication changes all matter.
- Write down your limits. How long can you sit, stand or walk? How much can you lift? How many bad days do you have in a month?
- List your past jobs. For each one, note what it required: lifting, standing, walking, and the skills it took. If you are 50 or older, this is especially important. See how age works in your favor.
- Ask your doctor for specifics. A short letter that states your limits in plain terms (“can’t stand more than 20 minutes”) helps more than a diagnosis alone.
- Practice describing a normal day. Morning to night, what you can do, what you can’t, and what happens when you try.
Do I need to pay for help?
You can go to a hearing on your own, or with a representative. Here is how paid help works, stated plainly.
Under SSA’s fee agreement process, you and the representative sign an agreement, and SSA must approve it. The fee is a share of your past-due benefits, also called back pay: the benefits owed for months before you were approved. If you don’t win, there are no past-due benefits to take a share of, so there is no fee under the agreement.
| Your past-due benefits | 25% of that | The most a representative can charge |
|---|---|---|
| $20,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| $40,000 | $10,000 | $9,200 (the cap) |
The fee is 25% of past-due benefits or $9,200, whichever is less. The $9,200 cap applies to fee agreements approved on or after November 30, 2024. SSA has said it will publish a notice only when it raises the cap.
Before you sign anything, ask: “Is this a fee agreement SSA will approve? Will I owe anything else, such as the cost of copying my medical records?” Get the answers in writing.
Who may not need paid help?
You may do fine on your own if your medical records are complete and up to date, your doctors have written down your limits, and you are comfortable explaining your work history and daily life to a judge.
Help may be worth the fee if your records are spread across many providers, your condition makes it hard to organize paperwork or speak for yourself, or your work history is complicated. Whatever you decide, the fee rules above are set by SSA, not by the representative.
What if the judge says no?
You can ask the Appeals Council to review the judge’s decision. The deadline is the same: 60 days from when you receive the judge’s decision, counted as 5 days after the date on it. After that, the last level is a lawsuit in federal district court. The judge’s decision letter explains how to take the next step.
Related
Sources. SSA, “Appeal a decision we made” Ā· SSA, “Social Security Performance” (updated Oct 26, 2026) Ā· Federal Register, “Maximum Dollar Limit in the Fee Agreement Process” (May 10, 2024) and “Maximum Dollar Limit in the Fee Agreement Process; Partial Rescission” (May 6, 2025) Ā· 20 CFR 404.1730 (eCFR, current Nov 2026) Ā· 20 CFR 404.901, 404.933 and 404.968, and for SSI 416.1401, 416.1433 and 416.1468 (eCFR, current Nov 9, 2026) Ā· 20 CFR 404.936 and 416.1436 (how you appear at a hearing; eCFR, current Nov 10, 2026) Ā· SSA, “Ways to Attend Your Social Security Hearing Before a Judge,” ssa.gov/appeals/hearing_options.html (read Nov 12, 2026) Ā· SSA, Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2025, Tables 61–63 (released Oct 2026).
Last verified: November 12, 2026. We re-check these figures every January and whenever the rules change.
Benefits Insider is an independent publisher, not a government agency. This page is general information, not legal or financial advice for your situation. For a decision on your case, contact Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 or your state Medicaid office.