When the Appeals Council (AC) reviews a hearing decision or order of dismissal on its own motion, the AC must mail a notice of review to the claimant and their representative, if any, as provided in 20 CFR 404.973 and 416.1473. The notice of review is necessary to establish the AC's jurisdiction and to prevent a hearing decision from becoming the final decision of the Commissioner.

If the AC decides to issue a fully favorable decision, remand a case for further proceedings, or issue a decision that is favorable in part and remand the remaining issues for further proceedings, the AC's final action document constitutes notice of review, and a separate notice of review is not required. In these cases, the final action document may address all relevant issues, as applicable, including whether to direct a supplemental hearing on remand, proffer any relevant protest memoranda, provide notice of interim disability benefits, and address any subsequent applications (See subsection B, below).

If the AC proposes to issue a dismissal, an unfavorable decision, or a decision that is favorable in part and unfavorable as to the remaining issues, the AC must issue a separate notice of review prior to its final action. In the notice, the AC will explain the reasons for the review and provide an opportunity for the claimant to submit additional evidence and written statements before the AC issues its final action. The separate notice of review will, as applicable, address whether the claimant will have an opportunity to appear at a supplemental hearing, proffer any relevant protest memoranda, provide notice of interim disability benefits, and address any subsequent applications (See subsection B, below).

Even when not required, the AC may still issue a separate notice of review when the AC believes it would be helpful to the development or adjudication of the case.

In all cases, the AC must send the claimant and their representative, if any, written notification of own-motion review no later than 60 days after the date of the hearing decision or order of dismissal (20 CFR 404.969 and 416.1469).

The content of a notice of review varies in each case depending on the facts of the case, the claim(s) involved, the action proposed or taken by the AC, any applicable acquiescence ruling based on the court jurisdiction in which the claimant resides, and how many days remain for the AC to take own-motion review. The Document Generation System templates and stored paragraphs contain appropriate language for most situations.

In addition to providing appropriate notice language, such as language providing the claimant an opportunity to request an appearance before the AC prior to the AC issuing an unfavorable decision, the AC will consider whether additional language may be required based on any of the following: