Effective Dates: 04/13/2026 - Present Previous | Next

TN 48 (04-26)

GN 03910.025 Authority of Appointed Representatives and Duties of Designated Associates

A. Scope of authority of appointed representatives

An appointed representative can act on a claimant's behalf on a pending case from the time the appointment begins until the appointment ends.

For the definition of “case,” see GN 03910.001B, and for information about events that end a representative's appointment, see GN 03910.060A.

The scope of an appointed representative’s authority, on behalf of the claimant, includes:

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    Obtaining information about the pending claim, matter, or issue that we would generally provide to the claimant, including additional evidence, consultative examination reports, and determinations or decisions regarding the claim or any affected auxiliary beneficiary.

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    Examining any documents to which the claimant would have access.

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    Receiving notification of any determinations or decisions made in the case, including those regarding auxiliary beneficiaries, if applicable.

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    Submitting evidence or other written statements.

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    Being informed of any additional evidence needed to support the claim.

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    Appearing at interviews, conferences, non-medical appointments, or hearings, either alone or with the claimant.

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    Making statements about facts and law.

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    Making any request or providing any report or notice about the proceedings before SSA.

For information about disclosing information to an appointed representative, see GN 03316.125.

For information about representation of an affected auxiliary beneficiary and disclosure of their records, see GN 03910.025C.

An appointed representative may not:

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    Sign an application on behalf of the claimant (unless the representative is a proper applicant);

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    Testify in place of the claimant at an administrative hearing;

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    Change the claimant's personal information (e.g., first or last name or mailing address) or financial institution information (e.g., direct deposit bank account) in our records unless the appointed representative is otherwise qualified to do so (e.g., a parent of a minor child or a legal guardian); or

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    Delegate the authority to represent the claimant or perform "representational services" to anyone the claimant has not appointed as a representative.

For more information on a proper applicant, see GN 00204.003. For information on change of address requests, see GN 02605.001. For information on third parties who may not consent to the disclosure of records on behalf of another individual, see GN 03305.006. For examples of duties that an appointed representative can delegate to an associate, see GN 03910.025B.

B. Delegation of duties and disclosure of records

1. Delegation of duties

An appointed representative is not required to personally perform every task related to the representation of the claimant and may delegate specific duties to a designated associate but remains responsible for the action of the designated associate. We assume designated associates always act under the direction of the appointed representative.

NOTE: We do not do business with entities, but we may disclose to the point of contact (POC) identified on an entity’s registration the minimum amount of information necessary to resolve the entity’s fee-related issues. The authority of a POC is limited and is not equivalent to that of a designated associate.

For information that can be disclosed to a POC, see GN 03920.021.D.3. For more information about designated associates, see GN 03316.125.

a. Examples of duties an appointed representative can delegate to a designated associate

The representative can only delegate administrative actions to a designated associate, such as:

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    Developing the claimant's medical record; or

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    Preparing forms for an appeal.

b. Examples of duties an appointed representative cannot delegate to a designated associate

An appointed representative cannot delegate to a designated associate the performance of tasks that require taking legally significant actions with respect to the claimant's case, such as:

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    Appearing at a hearing and presenting the claimant's case in proceedings before us;

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    Cross-examining witnesses;

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    Making legal arguments;

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    Advising the claimant on our laws and policies; and

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    Deciding whether to appeal any adverse determinations or decisions.

2. Disclosure of Records

Once a valid appointment is established, we may disclose claimant information to the appointed representative and their designated associates under routine use authority. Designated associates are individuals who work with the appointed representative for the duration of the claim(s) to serve the claimant. Disclosure of claimant information to an appointed representative and their designated associates does not require the claimant’s consent. Generally, any information an applicant, claimant, beneficiary, auxiliary, or representative payee is entitled to receive may be disclosed to the appointed representative or their designated associates, subject to certain limitations.

If an appointed representative or designated associate requests claimant information that is not generally disclosed under routine use authority, we will require the claimant’s consent (e.g., Form SSA-3288, Consent for Release of Information, Form SSA-3288-OP1, Consent for Disclosure of Records Protected Under the Privacy Act, or other written consent).

For more information on disclosure to an appointed representative’s designated associates, see GN 03316.125.

For disclosure to Legal Aid Groups, Private Law Firms, and Appointed Representatives, see GN 03305.025B.

3. Handling disclosure requests from appointed representatives or their designated associates

We handle disclosure requests from appointed representatives and their designated associate(s) as follows:

a. Disclosure over the phone

We may disclose claimant information over the phone to appointed representatives and their designated associates if the technician verifies that the appointed representative has a valid appointment established on behalf of the claimant and verifies the identity of the appointed representative or designated associate requesting claimant information by telephone.

To protect the claimant's privacy, when receiving or making calls, you must:

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    Verify the identity of the appointed representative or designated associate requesting claimant information by telephone; and

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    Review the record and Registration, Appointment and Services for Representatives (RASR) to confirm the representative's appointment is in effect.

b. Disclosure in person

Prior to disclosing information about a claimant, you must:

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    Verify the identity of the appointed representative or designated associate; and

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    Review the record to confirm the representative’s appointment is in effect. If the appointed representative is registered, look for their information in RASR.

IMPORTANT: Always follow established disclosure policies when providing the claimant’s or affected auxiliary beneficiary’s authorized individuals in accordance with policy.

For more information about disclosure to appointed representatives and designated associates, see GN 03316.125.

For more information on disclosure to third parties, see GN 03316.065.

For information on disclosure to relatives, see GN 03910.040.

For more information on verifying the identity of an individual requesting information in person or by telephone, see GN 03380.010.

4. Disclosure to attorneys who represent claimants in Federal court

An attorney who represents a claimant before a Federal court but is not appointed to represent the claimant before the agency may receive limited information from the record to assist them in petitioning the court for a fee. The court attorney notice is a template that technicians must use to provide this information.

IMPORTANT: A court attorney cannot receive any other information from the claim file unless the claimant also appoints this attorney as their representative before the agency or authorizes disclosure to this attorney (i.e., by submitting a properly signed Form SSA-3288, SSA-3288-OP1, or equivalent written consent document that meets the requirements for disclosure, as explained in GN 03305.003D).

For information on identifying attorneys for court proceedings, see GN 03920.060.

For information on disclosure with consent, see GN 03305.001.

For detailed instructions and policy about the court attorney notice technicians should refer to “Handling Fee Notices to Court Attorneys and Related Inquiries”.

5. Disclosure of queries and other sensitive material

We generally do not provide documents such as Master Beneficiary Record (MBR) printouts and other output query screens (administrative) to the appointed representative. If the appointed representative specifically requests that copies of such screens or queries be included, provide the information in another format, if possible. If we can provide the specific information the appointed representative requests in another manner, there is no obligation to provide a query. Disclosure of queries to appointed representatives should be a rare occurrence. When disclosing queries to appointed representatives, follow the same procedures used for disclosing queries to third parties with consent.

Due to the sensitivity of medical information, we must identify records containing medical information as “medical records” when we disclose them.

For more information on consent documents, see GN 03305.003.

For information on procedures when disclosing queries, see GN 03305.004.

For more information on circumstances of disclosure concerning records containing medical information, see GN 03316.125.

C. Representation of a primary claimant's affected auxiliary beneficiary or eligible spouse and disclosure of related records

Unless informed otherwise, we consider a primary claimant’s appointed representative to also represent the primary claimant’s affected auxiliary beneficiary or eligible spouse (see Social Security Ruling (SSR) 68-61c). This ruling reflects the Supreme Court’s ruling in Hopkins v. Cohen, 390 U.S. 530 (1968), which established that the representative of a primary claimant is deemed to be acting on behalf of all other claimants in the case, and accordingly has a right to charge and collect fees for services from the affected auxiliary beneficiary's or eligible spouse's past-due benefits.

Consistent with SSR 68-61c, we will release to a primary claimant's appointed representative copies of any notices sent to the affected auxiliary beneficiary (including notices sent to the affected auxiliary beneficiary not living in the primary claimant's household) or eligible spouse unless the affected auxiliary beneficiary or eligible spouse:

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    Appoints their own representative.

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    Does not appoint their own representative but:

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    Tells us in writing that they do not want to be represented by the primary claimant's representative; or

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    Tells us in writing that the primary claimant's appointed representative should not receive copies of the notices.

In the second and third exceptions described above (when the affected auxiliary beneficiary or eligible spouse does not appoint their own representative), we will explain to the affected auxiliary beneficiary or eligible spouse that we will withhold some of their past-due benefits amount for payment of the primary claimant's appointed representative's authorized fee consistent with GN 03920.035D or GN 03920.036C.

NOTE: If the affected auxiliary beneficiary or eligible spouse does not appoint their own representative, we will create a temporary payment-only appointment for them in RASR to pay the primary claimant’s representative's authorized fee. This appointment must be terminated immediately after the payment is certified and released. RASR will not release any appointment-related notices about the affected auxiliary beneficiary or eligible spouse to the primary claimant's appointed representative.

For information on disclosure without consent to a primary claimant/beneficiary about an auxiliary beneficiary, see GN 03316.105.

For information on disclosure without consent to an auxiliary claimant/beneficiary about the primary claimant/beneficiary or number holder, see GN 03316.110.

For information on withholding from an affected auxiliary beneficiary who is independently represented, see GN 03920.035B.

For information on withholding from an eligible spouse who is independently represented, see GN 03920.036B.

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GN 03910.025 - Authority of Appointed Representatives and Duties of Designated Associates - 04/13/2026
Batch run: 04/13/2026
Rev:04/13/2026