Not Sure What Comes Next With Your Disability Claim?
Every Social Security disability claim moves through the same stages: application, initial decision, reconsideration, hearing, and Appeals Council review. Each appeal request is due within 60 days of receiving the last decision. Find your stage below to see what to check, what to gather, and when legal help makes sense.
Most people arrive here holding a letter they did not expect, or helping someone who is. The order of the stages matters more than anything else on this site, because it decides what you can do next. Many claims are denied at the first two stages, so it pays to think about the hearing early, while records are still easy to request. Each guide here explains one stage in plain English.
Where are you in the disability claim process right now?
- I have not applied yetWhat to gather and which questions to settle before you file.
- I received an initial denialHow the 60 days are counted and what reconsideration involves.
- I am getting ready for a hearingHow to read your hearing notice and prepare questions for counsel.
- A judge denied my claimWhat Appeals Council review is, and where court work goes from there.
- I am helping another adultHow to support someone’s claim without taking over their decisions.
- I am not sure which stage I am inCompare your letter with the five stages below.
How a Social Security disability claim moves through each stage
The stages run in order. Each appeal stage is a request you file yourself, and each one opens a new 60-day window when the decision arrives.
- Application
You apply for SSDI, SSI, or both. A state agency called Disability Determination Services (DDS) reviews the medical side of the claim.
- Initial decision
Social Security mails a written notice explaining the decision and the reasons for it, including the evidence a disability decision relied on.
- Reconsideration
A DDS examiner reviews your request, the original application, and any new evidence you send.
- Hearing
An administrative law judge (ALJ) decides the case on the full record. You can submit evidence, present witnesses, and answer the judge’s questions.
- Appeals Council review
The Appeals Council reviews the judge’s decision. It can deny review, decide the case itself, or send it back to a judge.
After the Appeals Council, the next step is a lawsuit in federal district court, and Downard & Associates refers those cases to a trusted affiliate firm. Each appeal request is due 60 days after you receive the previous decision. Social Security treats a notice as received five days after the date printed on it, unless you show it arrived later.
Sources: 20 CFR 404.900; 20 CFR 404.901; 20 CFR 404.909; 20 CFR 404.933; 20 CFR 404.968; SSA, Appeal a decision we made.
Is your disability claim SSDI, SSI, or both?
The answer decides which rules apply to everything outside the medical question. SSDI works the way an insurance policy works: you paid for the coverage through Social Security taxes on your wages, and whether you can draw on it depends on your work credits and on when that coverage was last in force. That is why two people with the same condition can get different SSDI answers.
SSI follows different rules. It does not look at your work record at all; it is a needs-based program with limits on income and resources. An SSI denial can turn on a bank balance as easily as on a medical record. Some people qualify for both programs at once, and the SSDI or SSI guide walks through how to tell which applies to you.
Sources: SSA, How you qualify for disability benefits; SSA, SSI eligibility.
“The medical standard is the same, the big difference is where the money comes from.”Ray Akers, Managing Attorney, Downard & Associates
Practical checklists for your disability claim, ready to print
Each worksheet is a blank page you fill in by hand or on your own screen. Nothing you write is sent to us or saved on this site.
Medical Provider Organizer
List every doctor, clinic, and hospital, with approximate dates and the records each one holds.
Work History Worksheet
Describe what each job actually required: lifting, standing, hours, and the tasks behind the title.
Denial Notice Checklist
Find the parts of a denial notice that matter and note what to bring to a conversation about it.
First-Call Checklist
A short list to keep in front of you on a first call, whether the claim is yours or someone else’s.
How Downard & Associates helps adults with SSDI and SSI claims
This site is run by Downard & Associates, PLLC, a law firm in Lebanon, Tennessee that has practiced disability law since 2002. Today, Social Security disability is all we do. Our part in a claim is simple to describe: we listen, we talk it through with you, and we tell you plainly where the claim stands and what the next filing needs.
We represent adults in every state by phone and video, because Social Security disability is federal law and federal rules allow representation before Social Security nationwide (42 U.S.C. 406; 20 CFR 404.1705(a)). Federal court cases go to a trusted affiliate firm.
What we handle
- SSDI and SSI claims for adults 18 and over
- Applications
- Reconsideration
- Administrative law judge hearings
- Appeals Council review
- SSDI claims for people who receive VA benefits
What we do not handle
- Claims for children
- VA claims or VA appeals
- Continuing disability reviews or cessation cases, where benefits are being stopped
- New cases about back pay alone
- Federal court cases, which we refer to a trusted affiliate firm
Sending us an inquiry starts a conversation with our team. It is not an appeal and does not file anything with Social Security; only a request filed with Social Security protects your deadline. We respond to inquiries within 3 business hours.
Sources: 42 U.S.C. 406; 20 CFR 404.1705.
Questions about getting help with a disability claim
Do I need a lawyer to appeal a Social Security disability denial?
No. Social Security lets you handle an appeal yourself or choose an attorney or other qualified representative to help. A representative can gather records, track deadlines, and prepare you for a hearing, where a judge reviews the full record.
Is Disability Next Steps part of the Social Security Administration?
No. This website is operated by Downard & Associates, a private law firm, and is not affiliated with Social Security or any government agency. Social Security’s own website is ssa.gov, and its national number is 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).
What should I do if my appeal deadline is only a few days away?
File the appeal with Social Security first. You can request reconsideration online, by phone at 1-800-772-1213, or at a Social Security office, and a representative can join the claim afterward. Waiting for a call back is never a reason to let the 60 days run out.
Who writes the guides on this site?
Downard & Associates, a Social Security disability law firm in Lebanon, Tennessee. Each guide links the Social Security rules it relies on, so you can check the current rule yourself.
Sources: SSA, Appeal a decision we made; SSA, Request reconsideration.
Start with the disability claim stage you are in today
Pick the situation that matches your letter, read the guide for that stage, and print the worksheet that goes with it. When you want someone to review the file with you, our team is a phone call away at (615) 255-4307.