What if I miss my Social Security appeal deadline?

What is the Social Security Disability Appeal Deadline?

The most common Social Security Disability appeal deadline is 60 days. If your initial claim is denied, you have 60 days to appeal and ask for Reconsideration. If your Request for Reconsideration is denied, then you have 60 days to file the appeal, which is a Request for Hearing before an Administrative law Judge. The appeal deadlines for further appeals depend on the status of your case.

What if I Did Not File My Appeal on Time?

If you did not file by the Social Security appeal deadline you may be able to ask Social Security to accept the late appeal. You must have a “good cause” for filing late. In other words, you need a good reason that you did not file the appeal on time.

You must have a really good reason for asking to file a late appeal. Examples of good cause are death or serious illness in your immediate family or that you did not receive the decision. You will likely need to provide proof, such as a death certificate. If your mental illness or lack of understanding of the English language caused you to miss the appeal date, that may also be enough for Social Security to extend the deadline. In 2020 and 2021, delays in the mail and dealing with COVID-19 have also been accepted as reasons for missing an appeal deadline. There are many other good reasons why you might have missed the filing deadline.

If your request for a good cause exception is not accepted, then you will need to start a new claim. However, the date you filed the request should be treated as the filing date for a new claim.

If you need help with filing a late appeal, the disability lawyers at Lunn & Forro, may be able to help you. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.