SSA - POMS: GN 03101.127 - iAppeals Non-Medical - General and Title II Instructions

A. Introduction to the iAppeals non-medical process

iAppeals Non-Medical is a Social Security Online Internet Service that allows claimants to file a request for reconsideration or request for hearing for a non-medical issue online. For information about appealable non-medical issues, see GN 03101.070. iAppeals Non-Medical includes the following appeal forms.

•

Request for Reconsideration (i561) and
•

Request for Hearing by Administrative Law Judge (i501)

This section includes general information about the iAppeals Non-Medical process and provides instructions for processing Title II non-medical appeals received through iAppeals Non-Medical. Instructions for processing Title XVI non-medical appeal requests, received through iAppeals Non-Medical, are in SI 04005.040.

Note:

As of June 16, 2018, the i520, the equivalent of the paper form HA-520 (Request for Review of Hearing Decision/Order), is available in iAppeals. Claimants may use the i520 to request Appeals Council review of a disability or non-medical hearing decision.

B. iAppeals non-medical user requirements

The claimant or a third party, on the claimant’s behalf, may access iAppeals Non-Medical to file an appeal on a non-medical issue. A third party is an appointed representative (attorney or non-attorney), a family member, friend, or a clergy member. In the following instructions, the term Internet user (IU) refers to the claimant or third party, on the claimant’s behalf, who uses iAppeals to file an appeal request for a non-medical issue.

1. Claimant meets requirements

The claimant must meet all of the following requirements in order for the IU to use iAppeals Non-Medical to file the appeal online.

•

The claimant received an initial determination notice or Notice of Reconsideration concerning the non-medical issue.
•

The claimant disagrees with the initial or reconsideration determination.
•

The claimant is not barred from using the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Internet Services due to blocked access or special indicator codes on the Numident.

2. Claimant does not meet requirements

If the claimant does not meet all of the above requirements, iAppeals Non-Medical tells the IU to take one of the following actions to file the appeal.

•

Contact the local field office (FO) or the National 800 Number to obtain, complete, and submit the paper SSA-561 (Request for Reconsideration) or HA-501 (Request for Hearing by Administrative Law Judge), or equivalent writing.
•

Complete and submit (by mail, fax, or in-person) the Internet portable document format (PDF) version of the appropriate appeal form, SSA-561 or HA-501, available on SSA’s Internet site at http://www.ssa.gov/forms/.

C. IU’s iAppeals non-medical experience

The IU takes the following actions.

1.

Access iAppeals Non-Medical at: www.ssa.gov/non-medical/appeal.
2.

View the Getting Ready Screen. If the IU meets the requirements detailed on this screen, the IU selects “Start an Appeal” and the Screening Screen appears.
3.
Enter the following information about the claimant on the Screening Screen and select “Next.”
- •
  
  Name,
- •
  
  Social Security Number (SSN), and
- •
  
  Date of Birth
4.
View the Notice Screen to answer “Yes” or “No” for the notice and select “Next.” The IU needs the notice to complete the appeal request because it details the SSA Program Title, appeal issue, and the appeal level (reconsideration or hearing).
- •
  
  “No” - If the IU does not have the notice, iAppeals Non-Medical tells the IU to contact to the local Social Security Office to request a copy of the notice or for information about other ways to appeal.
- •
  
  “Yes” - If the IU has the notice, the IU moves forward by completing and submitting the i561 or i501 appeal request. During the process, the IU may use the attachment utility to attach and submit evidence or other documents along with the appeal request.
5.

Complete the appeal form and attaches the evidence if any. iAppeals Non-Medical provides the IU the opportunity to review, update, and print the information provided on the appeal form. The IU cannot use iAppeals Non-Medical to make any updates once they submit the appeal form to us. The IU must submit any other updates by mail, telephone, fax, or in-person.
6.
Submit the appeal form and receive the following pages.
1. a.
  
  Receipt page
  
  The receipt page has the submission date, time, and a summary of the information provided on the appeal request. The IU prints or saves the receipt for their records.
2. b.
  
  Coversheet page
  
  The coversheet has the Beneficiary Notice Control (BNC), the claimant’s and IU’s contact information, and the local FO address. The IU may print and use the coversheet to submit evidence or forms not submitted through iAppeals Non-Medical.
  
  •
  
  Pay stubs and other information,
  
  •
  
  SSA-1696 (Claimant's Appointment of Representative), and
  
  •
  
  HA-4608 (Waiver of Your Right to Personal Appearance Before a Judge)
iAppeals Non-Medical does not save the information the IU enters into it. Therefore, the IU may not save and re-start the i561 or i501. The IU must complete and submit the i561 or i501 in one session in order to file the appeal request online. If the IU leaves iAppeals Non-Medical without submitting the appeal request, they will need to restart the process in order to file the appeal request through iAppeals Non-Medical.

D. Assignment of appeal requests submitted through iAppeals non-medical

IAppeals Non-Medical completes the following actions.

•

Sends appeals to the Non-Medical iAppeals Tracking System that is available on the IMAIN Menu.
•

Assigns appeals to FOs as detailed in GN 03101.125. An FO manager views and assigns appeal requests in the Non-Medical iAppeals Tracking System.

E. FO procedures for processing appeal requests submitted through iAppeals non-medical

Non-medical appeal requests do not propagate to the mainframe or the Modernized Claims System appeal screens. Therefore, FO technicians must manually key information from these appeal requests into the appropriate system and process the appeal requests and evidence, if any, per the instructions in GN 03102.200 (request for reconsideration) or GN 03103.020D (request for hearing).

1. View an appeal request in the Non-Medical iAppeals Tracking System

a.

Access the Non-Medical iAppeals Tracking System on the IMAIN Menu. For more information about the Non-Medical iAppeals Tracking System, see MS 09200.000, INTERNETNMD.
b.
Enter the case SSN on the Search for a Case Screen and select “Search.” The Case Details Screen appears and allows the technician to complete the following actions.
- •
  
  View the case information for the appeal request
- •
  
  Document the system used to process the appeal request
- •
  
  Mark the appeal request as complete
- •
  
  Transfer the appeal request to another FO only

2. Process the appeal request

a.

Use the case information on the Case Details Screen to process the appeal requests per the instructions in GN 03102.200A.3 for reconsideration requests and GN 03103.020D and GN 03103.080 for hearing requests. If the claimant has attached documents, select “View Attached Files,” to “View,” “Print,” and process the documents along with the appeal request.
b.

Complete the Attached Files Screen

Indicate where the documents are stored and select save. If needed, you may change the document’s name. If you do, remember to “Save.”
c.

Complete the Case Details Screen

Indicate the system used to process the appeal request, “Save” and then “Mark as Complete.”

F. References

GN 03101.070 Appeals of Actions Which Are Initial Determinations

GN 03101.125 iAppeals – General and Title II Instructions

GN 03102.000 Reconsideration (Title II and Entitlement Under Title XVIII)

GN 03102.200 Claimant Requests Reconsideration

GN 03103.010 The Hearing Process

GN 03103.030 Waiver of an Oral Hearing

GN 03910.000 Representation of Claimants

MS 03510.001 Title II Appeals Screens - Overview

SI 04005.040 iAppeals Non-Medical – Title XVI

Social Security

Program Operations Manual System (POMS)

GN 03101.127 iAppeals Non-Medical - General and Title II Instructions