HA 01210.080 – We added a reference to HALLEX HA 01110.010, Appointing a Representative and noted that claimants must use Form SSA-1696 to appoint a representative and that representatives must be registered with the agency to be appointed.

HA 01210.080 A.2.a – We moved the sixth bullet to the end of the bulleted list and revised the bullet for clarity.

HA 01210.080 B.1 – We simplified the instructions to administrative law judges (ALJs) regarding advising claimants about their right to representation and removed repetitive language. We also included a reference to subsection B.5 for postponement guidance.

HA 01210.080 B.2.a. – We revised this section to note that ALJs must inform unregistered individuals who wish to serve as a claimant?s representative that they must complete and submit Form SSA-1696 in addition to registering with the agency to represent the claimant.

HA 01210.080 B.3 – We added section B.3 detailing procedures when a registered representative attempts to appear for a hearing without a valid SSA-1696 on file and included guidance for each manner of appearance type (audio, online video, in-person, and agency video).

HA 01210.080 B.4 – This new subsection provides guidance for situations where a claimant has multiple representatives and the representative who indicated they would appear at the hearing did not submit a valid SSA-1696 prior to the start of the hearing. This new subsection notes that we must contact any validly appointed representative(s) to attend the hearing if the hearing is scheduled for an audio or online video manner of appearance and included a reference to the contact procedures included in the Standard Hearing Operations Procedure (SHOP).

HA 01210.080 B.5 – We renumbered this subsection from B.3 to B.5 and added guidance stating that an ALJ will typically grant a claimant?s postponement request when the claimant wants to appoint a registered representative who submitted an invalid SSA-1696 that was not corrected prior to the hearing. This section clarifies that such postponement requests will only be granted one time, absent extraordinary circumstance.