FAQ

• The appeal must be filed within 60 days of receipt of the initial denial notice.
• The applicant must submit the following forms:
  • SSA-561: Request for Reconsideration
  • SSA-3441: Disability Report- Appeal
  • SSA-827: Authorization to Disclose Information to SSA
• Additional medical records and evidence can be submitted
• The application will be assigned to a different disability examiner and reviewing physician at DDS

Most SOAR specialists will not have a Rep ID because we do not charge applicants a fee for SOAR assistance, so that section can be left blank.

Many of our sample MSRs include information about physical disabilities in addition to mental impairments. Here is an example of one.

We also encourage you to review the Listings for the specific criteria SSA will be looking for, for each condition. You'll want to include information in your MSR about how the person's conditions meet the listing criteria. 

If the individual doesn’t have a residential address, you can answer “No.” You will be asked for some demographic information and then you can continue the account creation process.

Our "Creating a my Social Security Account for Applicants Flowchart" may also be helpful. That can be found on our SOAR Tools & Worksheets page.

Note that when you are assisting someone to apply for SSI/SSDI, you can use your agency address for their mailing address, but this shouldn’t be needed for the purposes of creating a my Social Security account.

Yes, the SOAR process can assist with an application that has already been started. It won't be "switched" to SOAR by SSA because SOAR is a model for submitting a complete and thorough SSI/SSDI application.

I would recommend submitting the SSA-1696: Appointment of Representative form to the local SSA field office where the claim was started. Then, you can assist by collecting and submitting medical records, writing and submitting a Medical Summary Report, and making sure all application forms are complete.

Since the applicant met with SSA, their application is already being processed - so the more information you can provide quickly to SSA and DDS, the better!

Yes! We actually suggest that you submit both the SSA-3368: Adult Disability Report and the SSA 16: Application for SSDI online as part of a complete SOAR-assisted SSI/SSDI application packet. You can use the paper forms as worksheets and then transfer to the Online Disability Benefit Application and Adult Disability Report

Once a person receives benefits they will need to undergo periodic Continuing Disability Reviews (CDR). The frequency of a CDR will depend on the type and severity of the diagnosis.

No, the claimant does not need to present when you turn in the signed SSA-1696. We do recommend submitting an original copy with a "wet-signature." Be sure to keep a copy for your records.

DDS does not have a set time limit to make a determination. However, on average, SOAR-assisted applications get a decision in under four months. If you are concerned about a specific case, I would regularly follow up with the DDS examiner assigned to the case. Make sure to ask how you can assist with gathering any additional information needed to make a decision.

For the SSA-3288, SSA will not charge a fee if the request is related to "program purposes" (i.e. related to one of the programs administered by SSA, such as SSI or SSDI). For instance, a reason related to program purposes may be help with an SSI/SSDI application for benefits. You could also add if the applicant is experiencing homelessness, as that might expedite the processing of the request (though faster processing isn’t guaranteed).