The Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual is available to Social Security Administration (SSA) staff online in SSA's PolicyNet, and to the public at ssa.gov. The HALLEX user has two ways to locate specific information: browsing through a Table of Contents online and using the “search” functions in PolicyNet.

When citing to HALLEX for the first time in a document or policy, use the full title of the manual. For example, use “Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual HA 01120.057” the first time when citing to HALLEX, and “HALLEX HA 01120.057” for subsequent citations.

To cite to a specific HALLEX reference, use the following elements: HALLEX HA, chapter, subchapter, section, and, as appropriate, subsection. For example, use “HALLEX HA 01120.057A.2” to refer to HALLEX material issued in Chapter 011 (General Subjects), Subchapter 20 (Representative Fees), Section 057 (Evaluating Fee Petitions), subsection A, sub-subsection 2.

Note that there is no space separating the section indicator (057) from the subsection indicator (A). Decimal points (.) separate a subsection and its subordinate segments.

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  Citations that include only the section or subsection levels do not end with a period. For example, HALLEX HA 01120.057 and HALLEX HA 01120.057A are proper citations.

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  Citations that go beyond the subsection level include periods after each segment subordinate to the subsection. For example, HALLEX HA 01120.057A.2. is a proper citation.

A numbered transmittal sheet (TS) accompanies new or revised HALLEX section(s) and is available on PolicyNet. The TS is numbered sequentially within each chapter or subchapter. When updates involve multiple sections in the same chapter, only one transmittal sheet is prepared. For example, if the updates involve sections HALLEX HA 01210.045 and 01270.035, only one TS is prepared because both sections are in HA 012. However, if updates involve sections in different chapters, such as HALLEX HA 01370.013 and 01430.015, separate TSs are prepared for each section: one for the HA 013 material and one for the HA 014 material.

Each TS provides the following information:

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  A brief background statement explaining reason(s) for the issuance of the instructions; and

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  An explanation of substantive changes to previously issued material.

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  EXCEPTIONS:

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    TIs in HA 015 generally do not have a TS because the background statement of reason(s) for the TI are contained in the body of the TI, usually under “Background.” However, when it is necessary to revise or replace only a portion of an existing TI, a TS will usually accompany the revision to explain the changes to the previously issued material.

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    HALLEX Action Items do not require a TS (see HALLEX HA 01105.007E) and are not reflected in the “Last Updated” date.

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), HALLEX is available for public inspection in an electronic format that may be accessed through ssa.gov free of charge (20 CFR 412.155). Office of Hearings Operations and Office of Appellate Operations employees may refer the public to HALLEX online (see HALLEX HA 01105.004A).