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How Long Does Disability Claim Take?Social Security Disability claims can take an extremely long time to be processed. Below you will find how long
the average processing time in days is for each Office of Disability Adjudication and Review or ODAR nationally.
Keep in mind this is how long it takes from requesting a hearing until a decision is made and does not include the application
and reconsideration process.
In July of 2007 the claims backlog for SSDI and SSI cases was at its highest mark ever reaching 749,224 cases. The information below should help give you an idea of how long it takes to get a decision at the hearing level. The national average in 7/07 was 528 days. As of 5/30/08 a new report was published with an update on processing times at the hearing level. The national average for 5/08 was 523 days. As of the month ending 11/27/2009 the national average processing time at the hearing level was down to 446 days. As you can see the average time it takes at hearing has improved from the 5/08 report to the 11/09 report by 77 days. It looks like the SSA new programs and increased hiring of ALJs and support staff have had a significant impact on wait times. 77 days might not seem like much improvement but when you consider the amount of overall cases goes up every year this is quite an improvement and SSA's efforts in this area should be applauded. I have kept the old statistics so anyone who is interested can see how their particular ODAR or hearing office has improved or took a step back. As you can see some ODAR offices have had some substantial improvement while others have gotten worse at least as far as how they rank compared to other ODAR offices. There are so many factors involved that it can not be assumed that an ODAR with a very long wait time is inefficient. Some offices deal with a substantially higher case load than others and some hearing offices were given special attention due to their particularly long wait times. I am providing this information because one of the most frequently asked questions I get is how long does it take? Keep in mind these are averages and every individual case is different. SSA is still working on new ways to decrease the processing time of cases. As part of the economic stimulus package Social Security received additional funding which they haveused to hire new employees and open new hearing offices to help reduce the time it takes for a case to be processed at the hearing level. By the year 2010 there will be a total of four National Hearing Centers (NHC). The purpose of these NHC's is to hold a majority of their hearings by video conference across the nation to help reduce the backlogs in the areas experiencing the biggest delays in hearing processing time. There is also plans to open 13 new ODAR offices across the nation. I will be updating the wait times at the hearing level at a later time to help show if these changes are still having a positive effect on the backlog. Try not to be discouraged by the numbers you see here and do the best you can to stay patient. I am posting these statistics so that you can prepare yourself for the long delays that occur in a Social Security Disability or SSI claim and also see that it does appear that The Social Security Administration is making some improvements. Below you will find the list of social security disability hearing offices. The first number is the rank followed by the name of the city the ODAR is located in and the number after the city is the average number of days it takes for an SSD or SSI hearing to be processed in that city's ODAR. ODAR Hearing Processing TimesBelow is the Rank, Hearing Office (ODAR), and Processing Time (time it takes in days on average from time you request
hearing until you get a decision) as of the month ending 2/25/2011. As you can clearly see the time it takes to get
a decision at hearing stage for each hearing office has changed in most cases quite a bit from the last time I posted the
National Ranking Report. The reason you see sometimes drastic changes in a hearing offices rank for some ODAR's could
be any number of reasons. One reason is, because the Social Security Administration specifically targets those hearing
offices with the longest wait times by using Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) from other ODARs that are ranking well or from
their new National Hearing Centers (NHCs) to help handle the case load of the worst ranking hearing offices. Another
reason is that there was a recent hiring of many ALJs, and many may have been assigned to the ODARs with the highest
case loads. Yet another reason, maybe some states had a significant increase in the number of claimants requesting a
hearing possibly due to an economic downturn in that particular state. I believe Social Security's goal is to reduce
the overall backlog of cases at hearing by taking steps to reduce the waiting times at the worst ranked hearing offices which
in turn will hopefully bring down the national average wait time at the hearing stage which is now averaging
365 days. The only problem, which does not seem to have a clear solution, is that when you focus on some hearing
offices that rank poorly you sometimes increase the back log in hearing offices that ranked well. So even if your particular
ODAR is ranked very poorly, or if the opposite is true and your hearing office ranks highly, I think the national average
is a better way to determine how long it may take for an average case to be decided at the hearing level. If your hearing
office ranks particularly high, I think you can expect to see it drop in most cases in the next National Ranking Report for
Social Security Disability Hearings or soon after. I also believe, if your ODAR is ranked extremely poorly you
will probably see your hearing office go up in the rankings in the next National Ranking Report or soon after. It does
seem like some ODAR offices have stayed relativly consistent despite the changes, so if your hearing office consistently ranks
well or poorly, then this may be a better indicator for your wait time then the national average. The Social
Security Administration has taken may positive steps to reduce the backlog of cases that causes the long wait at hearing,
but the poor economy and baby boomer generation now turning retirement age have put significant stress on the system.
It also looks like Congress will begin to start cutting SSA's budget which will probably hurt their efforts to decrease the
time it takes to get a Social Security Disability or SSI decision at all stages of the process. I hope I am wrong.
RANK HEARING OFFICE PROCESSING TIME 1 SHREVEPORT 163 2 RIO GRANDE VALLEY TX 180 3 PONCE 202 4 MAYAGUEZ 221 5 HOUSTON DOWNTOWN 239 6 PADUCAH 257 7 FORT SMITH 261 8 KINGSPORT 267 9 BROOKLYN 270 10 MCALESTER 271 11 FORT WORTH 272 12 MIDDLESBORO 273 12 SAN JUAN 273 14 ELKINS PARK 276 14 HONOLULU 276 16 ALEXANDRIA 278 16 ATLANTA NORTH 278 16 HOUSTON-BISSONNET 278 19 COVINGTON GA 286 20 DOVER 290 20 NORFOLK 290 22 KNOXVILLE 291 23 CHATTANOOGA 292 23 NEW ORLEANS 292 25 SAN ANTONIO 295 25 TOPEKA KS 295 25 VALPARAISO IN 295 28 HATTIESBURG 298 29 CREVE COEUR 299 30 ATLANTA DOWNTOWN 302 30 LONG BEACH 302 32 OKLAHOMA CITY 303 33 DALLAS DOWNTOWN 307 33 HUNTINGTON 307 35 CHARLOTTESVILLE 308 36 METAIRIE 309 37 FAYETTEVILLE NC 310 37 JERICHO 310 37 MADISON 310 40 EVANSTON 311 40 EVANSVILLE 311 42 CHARLOTTE 312 43 HARRISBURG 313 44 SAVANNAH 316 45 CHARLESTON 318 46 LEXINGTON 319 47 GREENVILLE 320 48 ALBUQUERQUE 321 48 SPOKANE 321 50 DALLAS NORTH 322 50 LOS ANGELES DOWNTOWN 322 52 SOUTH JERSEY 324 53 RICHMOND 325 54 ALBANY 327 54 STOCKTON 327 56 WICHITA 329 57 RALEIGH 330 58 LIVONIA MI 334 58 SAN BERNARDINO 334 58 SYRACUSE 334 61 BOSTON 335 62 TULSA 336 63 AKRON OH 337 63 MT PLEASANT MI 337 63 OAK PARK 337 66 ORLAND PARK 339 67 CHARLESTON 340 68 QUEENS 341 69 TUCSON 344 70 LITTLE ROCK 346 71 SACRAMENTO 347 72 LOS ANGELES WEST 352 73 PHILADELPHIA 353 73 SANTA BARBARA 353 73 WILKES BARRE 353 76 MILWAUKEE 355 77 PHILADELPHIA EAST 359 78 JACKSON 361 79 MANCHESTER 362 79 PEORIA 362 81 DENVER 363 82 DETROIT 364 82 PORTLAND ME 364 82 WEST DES MOINES 364 85 ORANGE 365 86 COLUMBIA 366 87 ROCHESTER 374 88 BALTIMORE 375 89 FT LAUDERDALE 376 90 JACKSONVILLE 377 90 TAMPA 377 92 PORTLAND OR 380 92 SALT LAKE CITY 380 92 SAN DIEGO 380 95 HARTFORD 385 96 SEATTLE 387 97 FORT MYERS FL 388 98 FLINT 390 98 ORLANDO 390 100 SEVEN FIELDS 391 101 JOHNSTOWN 392 101 MACON 392 101 NEW YORK 392 104 SAN RAFAEL 394 105 TALLAHASSE FL 395 106 LAS VEGAS 396 107 NASHVILLE 399 107 WHITE PLAINS 399 109 LOUISVILLE 401 109 PASADENA 401 111 PROVIDENCE 402 112 MORGANTOWN 403 113 MIAMI 404 114 SPRINGFIELD MA 405 115 MINNEAPOLIS 408 115 MOBILE 408 117 COLORADO SPRINGS 410 118 DOWNEY 411 118 FORT WAYNE 411
120 FARGO 412 120 MONTGOMERY 412 120 PHOENIX NORTH 412 123 CHICAGO 413 123 CINCINNATI 413 125 NEWARK 415 125 ST PETERSBURG FL 415 127 TUPELO 416 128 KANSAS CITY 417 129 NEW HAVEN 420 130 SAN JOSE 421 131 BRONX 422 131 SAN FRANCISCO 422 133 MEMPHIS 427 134 FLORENCE 428 135 OMAHA 434 136 FRESNO 437 137 BILLINGS 441 138 BIRMINGHAM 443 139 OAKLAND 444 140 ST LOUIS 445 141 OAK BROOK 448 141 WASHINGTON 448 143 PHOENIX 451 144 EUGENE 452 145 TOLEDO OH 458 146 ANCHORAGE AK 459 146 GREENSBORO 459 148 ROANOKE 463 149 PITTSBURGH 471 150 SPRINGFIELD MO 474 151 INDIANAPOLIS 488 152 BUFFALO 494 153 LANSING 503 154 GRAND RAPIDS 504 155 COLUMBUS 505 156 CLEVELAND 519 157 DAYTON 526 The first number is the rank followed by the name of the city the ODAR is located in. The number after the city
is the average number of days it takes for an SSD or SSI hearing to be processed in that city's ODAR. This is the National
Ranking Report by average processing time (month ending 11/27/09).
1. Middlesboro 272
RANK HEARING OFFICE
PROCESSING TIME New Processing Times month ending 05/30/08 NEW
RANK
2 Charleston 276 330 8 3 Harrisburg 277 295 1 4 Middllesboro 280 530 94 5 Tupelo 340 559 105 6 Huntington 353 351 15 7 Morgantown 361 383 26 8 Portland 362 314 5 9 Springfield 365 609 114 10 Charlottesville 374 444 52 10 Roanoke 374 368 20 12 White Plains 378 425 45 13 Boston 379 369 21 14 Evanston 381 488 74 15 Chattanooga 384 425 45 15 Kingsport 384 379 24 17 New Haven 386 383 26 18 Manchester 390 439 49 19 Las Vegas 393 347 13 20 Louisville 394 521 90 21 Fort Smith 396 449 55 22 Billings 397 390 32 23 Tucson 404 461 62 24 Washington 405 330 8 25 Elkins Park 408 416 42 26 Orlando 409 502 82 27 McAlester 412 462 63 28 Creve Coeur 418 513 87 28 Salt Lake City 418 339 11 30 Oklahoma City 419 371 22 31 Florence 422 556 103 32 Long Beach 424 459 60 33 Norfolk 427 442 51 34 Orange 429 358 19 35 Downey 430 407 39 35 Providence 430 342 12 37 Shreveport 431 396 35 38 Eugene 436 470 65 40 New York 439 545 98 41 Dover 440 352 16 42 San Bernardino 441 393 33 42 Wilkes Barre 441 400 36 44 Houston Downtown 445 328 7 45 Richmond 446 352 16 46 Hattiesburg 449 529 93 47 Los Angeles Downtown 451 380 25 48 Memphis 456 480 70 49 Philadelphia 460 386 29 50 Honolulu 462 297 2 51 Sacramento 463 337 10 52 Fresno 464 384 28 53 Johnstown 468 402 37 53 Paducah 468 484 72 53 Ponce 468 550 100 56 Mobile 469 506 86 57 Tulsa 470 446 54 58 Santa Barbara 472 408 40 58 Stockton 472 327 6 60 Lexington 473 451 58 61 Oakland 474 504 84 62 Hartford 477 386 29 64 Voorhees 479 554 101 65 Jericho 480 554 101 66 Charleston 481 583 111 66 Macon 481 541 97 68 Fargo 482 472 66 69 Denver 483 440 50 70 Newark 484 519 88 71 Dallas Downtown 487 460 61 71 Little Rock 487 497 80 73 New Orleans 489 376 23 74 Raleigh 490 550 99 75 Alexandria 498 490 75 76 Philadelphia East 500 353 18 77 St. Louis 504 475 67 78 Syracuse 507 612 115 79 Colorado Springs 511 450 57 79 Wichita 511 505 85 81 Knoxville 512 503 83 82 Phoenix 521 476 68 83 West Des Moines 523 528 92 84 Minneapolis 525 618 116 85 Albuquerque 530 491 76 86 Spokane 531 480 70 87 Metairie 532 495 79 88 Brooklyn 536 500 81 89 Pittsburgh 537 444 52 90 San Antonio 544 454 59 91 Springfield 548 430 48 92 Columbia 551 565 106 92 Ft. Lauderdale 551 388 31 94 Los Angeles West 557 405 38 94 San Jose 557 419 44 96 Birmingham 568 618 116 96 San Diego 568 602 113 98 Montgomery 579 586 112 99 Albany 584 556 103 100 Baltimore 589 494 78 101 Evansville 590 704 135 102 Bronx 591 577 109 103 Chicago 593 575 108 104 Houston-Bissonnet 594 491 76 104 Savannah 594 538 96 106 Orlando Park 600 634 119 107 Seattle 602 567 107 108 Jacksonville 604 519 88 109 Portland 605 679 129 110 Pasadena 610 449 55 111 Greensboro 611 710 136 111 Omaha 611 630 118 113 Flint 612 724 138 113 Greenville 612 827 145 115 San Juan 614 395 34 116 Tampa 615 682 131 117 Fort Wayne 624 638 122 118 Queens 633 462 63 118 San Rafael 633 426 47 120 Cleveland 634 673 128 121 Cincinnati 637 637 121 122 Detroit 651 673 128 122 Madison 651 680 130 122 Milwaukee 651 634 119 125 Charlotte 658 643 125 126 Dallas North 675 487 73 127 Oak Park 676 727 139 128 Kansas City 680 688 132 129 Oak Brook 687 758 142 130 Jackson 694 740 141 131 Buffalo 709 665 127 132 Grand Rapids 716 642 123 133 Mayaguez 717 300 4 134 Dayton 719 738 140 134 Peoria 719 688 132 136 Miami 740 652 126 137 Lansing 742 716 137 138 San Francisco 767 411 41 139 Indianapolis 836 815 144 140 Columbus 881 702 134 141 Atlanta North 900 838 146 142 Atlanta
973
773
143 Source: NOSSCR Social Security Forum If you have been waiting a long time for your hearing and want to know how to check the status of your SSD or SSI claim simply follow the link and you will find my page that explains how you can do this while you are waiting for your hearing. |
