Initial Claims

• When you file a claim for disability benefits with the Social Security Administration, your information is sent to Disability Determination Services. This department is in charge of investigating the information contained in your application to determine whether your disability is preventing you from returning to your job or finding another type of gainful employment. If it is found that you can't work because of your disability, your case is returned to the Social Security Administration, where your benefit amount will be determined.
  
  

Making An Appeal

• Most applications for Social Security disability benefits fail on the first attempt. At this point, you can file a request for reconsideration. This must be done within 60 days of receiving notice of the denial of benefits or you will have to start the process over with a new application. You will fill out an appeal report, which will include any changes in your condition, and a new examiner at Disability Determination Services will look over your case.
  
  

Administrative Law Judge

• If your case is still denied after reconsideration, then you have a right to a hearing in front of an administrative law judge with the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review. Though it takes time to get this point, the judges tend to approve more cases than Disability Determination Services. However, you may also experience another lengthy wait to see a judge because of the backlog of cases that need to be heard. If the judge rejects your case, you have 60 days to appeal to your local Social Security Office's Appeals Council and if the council turns you down, your last option is to appeal in federal court.
  
  

Length

• It will take three months to hear back on your initial application. Reconsiderations will take about two months. The wait to make your case before an administrative law judge can take more than two years. However, if the judge approves your case, you should be paid for the sixth full month after your disability began, according to the Social Security Administration, and you will receive your check for those benefits at the beginning of the following month.