Appeals Council Review

§ 404.966. Testing elimination of the request for Appeals Council review.

(a) Applicability and scope. Notwithstanding any other provision in this part or part 422 of this chapter, we are establishing the procedures set out in this section to test elimination of the request for review by the Appeals Council. These procedures will apply in randomly selected cases in which we have tested a combination of model procedures for modifying the disability claim process as authorized under §§ 404.906 and 404.943, and in which an administrative law judge has issued a decision (not including a recommended decision) that is less than fully favorable to you.

(b) Effect of an administrative law judge's decision. In a case to which the procedures of this section apply, the decision of an administrative law judge will be binding on all the parties to the hearing unless—

(1) You or another party file an action concerning the decision in Federal district court;

(2) The Appeals Council decides to review the decision on its own motion under the authority provided in § 404.969, and it issues a notice announcing its decision to review the case on its own motion no later than the day before the filing date of a civil action establishing the jurisdiction of a Federal district court; or

(3) The decision is revised by the administrative law judge or the Appeals Council under the procedures explained in § 404.987.

(c) Notice of the decision of an administrative law judge. The notice of decision the administrative law judge issues in a case processed under this section will advise you and any other parties to the decision that you may file an action in a Federal district court within 60 days after the date you receive notice of the decision.

(d) Extension of time to file action in Federal district court. Any party having a right to file a civil action under this section may request that the time for filing an action in Federal district court be extended. The request must be in writing and it must give the reasons why the action was not filed within the stated time period. The request must be filed with the Appeals Council. If you show that you had good cause for missing the deadline, the time period will be extended. To determine whether good cause exists, we will use the standards in § 404.911.

[62 FR 49602, Sept. 23, 1997, as amended at 75 FR 33168, June 11, 2010]