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Where can I get free help appealing a disability denial in Florida?

Use the free tool — Disability Appeal Clock

Your appeal deadline is already running

You generally have 60 days to ask for an appeal after Social Security sends you a decision. SSA presumes you received the letter 5 days after the date on it, so count about 65 days from that date to be safe (20 CFR 404.909 · 404.901). This is not legal advice — confirm your exact deadline with SSA at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) before you decide anything.

If it looks like the deadline has already passed, 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 get help today.

Free legal help in Florida

You do not have to figure this out alone, and you do not have to pay to get started.

• FloridaLawHelp.org is Florida's statewide directory of free civil legal help.
• 211 can connect you to local help.
• The SSA office locator at ssa.gov/locator can point you to a local Social Security office.

Representatives who work on contingency

NOSSCR keeps a directory of disability representatives who usually work on contingency, with a fee set by SSA's rules — they are paid only if the claim wins. A representative should never ask you for money up front.

Filing the appeal itself

All four appeal levels — reconsideration, a hearing before a judge, Appeals Council review, and federal court — start the same way. You can file online, by mail, or at a local office. See SSA's appeal page for how to file at each level. Appeals, especially at the hearing level, succeed more often than initial claims — but no one can tell you what will happen with your case, and this page does not try.

If your benefits are being stopped right now

If your notice says your disability has ended, ask for reconsideration and ask that your benefits keep being paid during the appeal within 10 days of getting the notice (20 CFR 404.1597a). That 10-day request is separate from the regular 60-day appeal deadline. Confirm the exact dates with SSA.

What to gather before you call for help

Whoever helps you — a legal aid attorney, a contingency representative, a caseworker — will move faster if you bring:

• The full denial letter
• A list of every doctor and clinic you've seen since you applied, with dates
• Pharmacy records
• Any new diagnoses or treatments
• The dates you stopped working or tried to work
• A short statement about your daily activities
• Statements from people who see your limitations

What to do next

Disability Appeal Clock is a free tool that reads your own denial letter — not a generic guide — and tells you your deadline, which appeal level you're at, and the form that goes with it. Nothing you paste is stored. It is not a lawyer or a Social Security representative and can be wrong, so confirm anything important 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.