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What form do I file to request SSDI reconsideration?

Use the free tool — Disability Appeal Clock

What Is Reconsideration?

Reconsideration is the first appeal level after Social Security denies an SSDI claim. Someone at SSA who was not involved in your first decision looks at your case again. If your letter is your first denial, this is the level you are at now.

The Form You File: SSA-561

The Request for Reconsideration is Form SSA-561. SSA usually wants two more forms with it:

• SSA-3441, Disability Report – Appeal, which lists any new doctors, treatments, or changes since you applied.
• SSA-827, a medical release, which lets SSA collect your updated medical records.

If your letter is about a later stage of appeal, the form is different — a hearing before a judge uses Form HA-501, and a review by the Appeals Council uses Form HA-520. Check your letter to see which stage you're at.

Your Deadline

You generally have 60 days to request reconsideration after you get the decision, and SSA presumes you received the letter 5 days after its date, under 20 CFR 404.909 and 404.901. Count 65 days from the date on the letter to be safe, and file before that.

If you think you're already too late, don't assume nothing can be done. SSA can accept a late appeal for good cause. File the appeal now with a short written explanation of why it's late, and call a representative today.

How to File, and Getting Help

Reconsideration, and every level except the final federal-court step, can be filed online, by mail, or at a local office. SSA's own page for this is ssa.gov/apply/appeal-decision-we-made. You can also call SSA at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) with questions.

Appeals, especially at the hearing level, succeed more often than first-time claims — no one can tell you what will happen with your specific claim.

• Disability representatives usually work on contingency, paid only if you win, under SSA's fee rules. Find one through NOSSCR. Never pay a representative up front.
• Free civil legal help in Florida is listed at FloridaLawHelp.org, or call 211.

What to Do Next

This page is general. Your own letter has your own dates, your own appeal level, and possibly a different form. Paste your denial letter into the free tool and it reads your own document and numbers, telling you your deadline, which appeal level you're at, and the form that goes with it. Nothing is saved. This is not legal advice — confirm your exact deadline and form with SSA at 1-800-772-1213.

Disability Appeal Clock explains a Social Security letter in plain language; it can be wrong, and it is not legal advice. Deadlines are from SSA regulations as published (20 CFR Part 404 and 416) — confirm with SSA and file early. It never predicts whether a claim will win. Free legal aid: floridalawhelp.org · representatives paid only if you win: nosscr.org. Nothing you paste is stored.