Effective Dates: 12/19/2024 - Present Previous | Next

TN 6 (12-24)

GN 03950.015 PC Actions on Receiving a Request for Administrative Review Under the Fee Petition Process (Step One)

A. Introduction

The first step in the administrative review process is to examine the request itself. In so doing, we will consider the following questions:

  • •

    Is the inquiry a request for administrative review under the fee petition process;

  • •

    Who has jurisdiction to process the request;

  • •

    Was the request filed by a proper party;

  • •

    Was the request filed on time;

  • •

    Did the decision maker consider the claimant’s objection to the fee petition, if any, in determining the initial fee authorization; and

  • •

    Does the request includes other issues.

B. Procedure

Follow the procedure below when examining the request for administrative review.

1. Is the Inquiry a Request for Administrative Review

  1. a. 

    Examine the party's inquiry to determine whether there is a clear request for administrative review. Do not confuse a request for reconsideration of a non-fee related issue with a request for administrative review of the initial fee authorization.

    EXAMPLES:

    • •

      Inquiry about direct payment: A non-attorney representative sends a letter questioning why we did not pay the authorized fee directly to the representative. This inquiry is not a request for administrative review. Send a letter to the representative explaining the withholding and certification provisions.

    • •

      Inquiry about assignment: An entity’s point of contact (POC) contacts your office to ask why their entity, a law firm that employed the representative, did not receive payment of the fee authorized to the representative. When you query the Registration, Appointment and Services for Representation (RASR) application, you see that the POC’s entity is on the Ineligible for Direct Payment Entity (IDPE) list. Inform the POC that the entity is ineligible for direct payment, that we paid the individual representative directly, that they should have received a notice explaining why the entity was first placed on the IDPE list, and that they must resolve the issue(s) identified in that notice and any other outstanding issue before we will honor any assignments to their entity. Review the IDPE list and inform the POC of each outstanding issue.

  2. b. 

    If it is unclear whether an inquiry is a request for administrative review, contact the party who made the inquiry (preferably by telephone) and, after verifying the individual’s identity, determine the party's intent.

    NOTE: If the party only wants more information or an explanation, the office that authorized the initial fee will respond to the inquiry in writing. If the inquiry was made within 30 days after the date of the initial fee authorization, give the party 30 days after the date of the new response to request administrative review.

2. Who Has Jurisdiction to Process the Request for Administrative Review

  1. a. 

    If the PC receives the written request and has jurisdiction for review, send the acknowledgment letter and refer the case to the reviewer (shown in GN 03950.005B.1).

  2. b. 

    If the PC receives the written request but does not have jurisdiction for review, PC staff will follow the instructions in GN 03950.010B.2 to refer the case to the proper reviewing component. The PC will not send the acknowledgment letter in this case. The reviewing component will acknowledge receipt.

3. Was the Request Filed by Proper Party

Only the parties to a fee authorization, or certain individuals authorized to act on the parties' behalf, such as a minor claimant’s parent or legal guardian, have a right to request administrative review. See GN 03950.010A.2 for a list of proper parties who may request review.

If it is unclear whether the person who filed the request is authorized to act on a proper party’s behalf, send the acknowledgment letter and any request for information to the proper party. However, in the letter, explain to the party that:

  • •

    We have received a request for administrative review from (the name of the person) on their behalf; and

  • •

    They must let us know within 15 days in a signed writing whether to proceed with the review.

If the proper party does not verify that the request was filed on their behalf, deny administrative review. Send a notice to the individual who protested the fee stating that they are not a proper party, ensuring any claimant information (e.g., address or Social Security number) is redacted from the notice. Send a copy of the notice to the proper parties.

NOTE: If a representative to whom the initial fee decision maker did not authorize a fee protests the fee, determine whether we paid the fee to the correct individual or entity, particularly when multiple representatives from the same entity worked on the claim.

EXAMPLE:

The claimant appointed three representatives from the same entity, a law firm, selecting one as their principal representative. The three representatives all assigned direct payment of their fee to the entity. After the claimant receives a favorable decision, all three representatives file fee petitions, and we authorize each a fee lower than they had requested. The entity’s POC, who was not appointed to the case, submits three separate requests for review disputing the fee authorized to each representative.

In this situation, contact each of the three representatives and obtain separate statements from each verifying that they are requesting administrative review of their respective fee authorization. If any representative does not respond, or responds saying they do want to request review, deny the request for review submitted on behalf of that representative. Send a denial notice to the POC informing them that they are not a proper party and a copy to the representative. Proceed with the other preliminary actions and, as necessary, with administrative review of the fees authorized to the other two representatives, who verified that they intended to request review.

4. Was the Request Filed on Time

Examine the request to see whether the party filed it with one of our offices within the 30-day time limit (see GN 03950.020).

5. Did We Consider the Claimant’s Objection to the Fee Petition

If the claimant protested a representative's fee request when they received a copy of the Form SSA-1560 (Petition to Obtain Approval of a Fee for Representing a Claimant Before the Social Security Administration) or equivalent statement, but we did not consider this protest when we authorized the fee, tell the claimant (by telephone, if possible, after verifying their identity) that:

  • •

    The protest was not added to the claim file until after we authorized the fee, therefore we did not consider the protest in authorizing the fee; and

  • •

    We will treat the original protest as a timely request for administrative review of the amount of the fee we authorized and consider the claimant's objections.

EXCEPTION: If, when contacted, the claimant states that they are now satisfied with the authorized fee, document this information on a Form SSA-5002 (Report of Contact) and associate it with the claim(s) file. Inform the claimant that we will take no action on their protest and that the initial fee authorization is final unless the claimant subsequently files a timely request for administrative review.

6. Does the Request Include Other Issues

A request for administrative review may includes other issues, such as:

  • •

    A request for post-adjudicative action or information; or

  • •

    A question concerning another claim a representative is handling.

In these situations, release the acknowledgment notice and request more information immediately, then work on the other issues.

NOTE: Generally, perform post-adjudicative actions before acting on the administrative review.

To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0203950015
GN 03950.015 - PC Actions on Receiving a Request for Administrative Review Under the Fee Petition Process (Step One) - 12/19/2024
Batch run: 12/19/2024
Rev:12/19/2024