Disability benefit decision appeals time

Disability claimants who disagree with the determination made by Social Security and the State Disability Determination Services, may request a hearing with an administrative law judge. Social Security typically receives between 20,000 and 40,000 hearing requests monthly. Historically, wait times for a hearing decision could be over a year. We are working to reduce the time it takes for claimants to receive a hearing decision.

The SecurityStat process

Set a strategic goal.

Conduct Disability determination appeal hearings and issue decisions within an end of year monthly (September) average processing time of 270 days in fiscal year 2025.
Drive leading actions.
- Promote virtual hearings, so we can keep pace with demand and make decisions quickly.
- Adopt software that speeds up medical reviews.
- Develop technology to speed up decision writing.
Track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) over time.
- Hearing decision average wait time
- Hearings pending

Hearing decision average wait time

7-year trend

Line chart showing the average number of days individuals waited for a hearing decision over the past seven fiscal years. Beginning in fiscal year 2018, average processing time was nearly 600 days and then a downward trend to 326 days in fiscal year 2021. Wait times increased again to as high as 450 days in fiscal year 2023 and reduced to 342 days in FY 2024.

This chart shows how many days on average our customers waited for a hearing decision from our hearing offices over the last 7 fiscal years. Over the past several fiscal years, Congress appropriated dedicated funding to improve the customer experience for individuals who file a hearing request. In fiscal year 2023, we experienced a temporary increase in the average processing time as we prioritized individuals waiting the longest and those who chose to wait for an in-person hearing rather than accepting a video or telephone hearing when our hearing offices were closed to the public during the pandemic. In fiscal year 2024, on average, customers waited 342 days for a hearing decision, which is a decrease of 108 days compared to fiscal year 2023.

Monthly trend

Line chart of hearing decision average wait times for each of the most recent 12 months. Average wait times have decreased from 364 days in December 2023 to 280 days in November 2024.

This chart shows the average hearing processing times at our hearing offices for each of the most recent 12 months.

Current average hearing office time to decision

Heat map of the United States and Puerto Rico showing the average hearing wait times for fiscal year 2025. The majority of hearing offices have an average wait time less than 371 days, and only 2 hearing offices have a wait time higher than 470 days.

This map shows the average processing time of each hearing office so far this fiscal year. In August 2023, the hearing office in Anchorage, AK was incorporated into the Seattle, WA hearing office (Y38) for data reporting purposes. As a result, Alaska is not displayed separately in the above map.

Hearings pending

By fiscal year and monthly

This chart shows the number of hearing decisions pending by year for the last 7 fiscal years, followed by the months of the current fiscal year. We experienced a backlog of cases in fiscal year 2017 and gradually reduced our pending cases with the support of dedicated funding from Congress. Our hearings pending dropped below 262,000 in September 2024, marking a 30-year low.

Last updated on December 10, 2024

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