Reapply Or Appeal?
A new application is not an appeal, so check your appeal deadline before you refile. Generally, you have 60 days after you receive a decision notice to ask for an appeal.
Talk it through before you refile
Call if all three are true:
- You worked in recent years.
- You stopped because of a health or medical condition.
- You're not working, not on leave and not job hunting.
No recent work of your own, or applying for SSI only? SSA can help you directly at ssa.gov.
Lines open Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm Eastern.
A call does not file an appeal or a new application, and it does not extend a deadline.
For new or denied claims. Already receiving SSDI or SSI? Use SSA's benefit services instead.
Why the filing date matters
SSA may pay SSDI for as many as 12 months before the date your application was filed, if it finds you had a disability during that time and you meet all other requirements. For SSI, SSA cannot pay for periods earlier than the effective date of your application.
So the date on an application can limit how far back SSA can pay. Nothing on this page estimates a payment or says a past period will be paid.
What the appeal path looks like
An appeal starts by asking SSA to reconsider its decision. If you still disagree, the next levels are a hearing with an administrative law judge, a review by the Appeals Council and then a federal court action. You may not have to go through every level. See how the appeal time limit is counted.
Questions to answer before you refile
- When did the denial notice arrive, and have 60 days passed since then?
- Which decision is it: the first decision, a reconsideration, a hearing decision or an Appeals Council action?
- What does the notice say you can do next?
- If the time has passed, do you have a good reason to ask SSA for more time? SSA decides whether to allow a late appeal.