Appeals Council

The Appeals Council is the final administrative review level inside the Social Security Administration. If an Administrative Law Judge denies your claim, you have 60 days to ask the Appeals Council to review the decision using form HA-520. The Council examines whether the ALJ made a legal error, ignored important evidence, lacked substantial evidence for the findings, or abused discretion.

The Appeals Council can deny review, issue its own decision, or send the case back to an ALJ for a new hearing, which is called a remand. Outright reversals are uncommon, but remands happen regularly when a decision contains legal mistakes. If the Council denies review, the next step is filing a civil action in federal district court.