While extremely rare, if the required information cannot be obtained from other medical evidence, an administrative law judge (ALJ), the claimant, or the claimant's representative, with the ALJ’s approval, may submit written interrogatories that require written answers to specific questions to:

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  a Disability Determination Services (DDS) medical or psychological consultant,

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  consultative examination (CE) source, or

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  other DDS personnel member.

After reviewing the requested interrogatory or interrogatories to ensure their relevance to the issues in the case, the ALJ will submit them with a cover letter requesting the DDS’ or CE source’s answers. The DDS is not required to respond to written interrogatories that come directly from a claimant or a claimant’s representative.

Develop written interrogatory responses using the following procedures:

1. 1. 

   If applicable, the DDS medical or psychological consultant, CE source, or other DDS personnel member must review(s) the evidence in the electronic file for the determination in question, or review(s) copies of the evidence from the paper file forwarded by the ALJ.

2. 2. 

   The DDS medical or psychological consultant, CE source, or other DDS personnel member must make every reasonable effort to respond within the time-frame set by the ALJ. The DDS may contact the ALJ to request an extension if needed.

3. 3. 

   Request an ALJ “ruling of necessity” for any questions believed to impose an unwarranted burden in terms of DDS time or other resources, or regarding any problems caused by the scope of a question.

4. 4. 

   The DDS medical or psychological consultant, CE source, or other DDS personnel member must respond(s) to the specific questions. A simple “do not know” may be used if applicable. The DDS medical or psychological consultant, CE source, or other DDS personnel member should contact the ALJ if additional information from the paper disability file is required to enable an adequate response. The DDS medical or psychological consultant, CE source, or other DDS personnel member must send the completed response, on appropriate letterhead, to the ALJ (with a copy for the paper disability file if applicable). If the DDS receives additional information after the initial response, it must prepare supplementary answers to interrogatories following the instructions in this section.

5. 5. 

   The DDS medical or psychological consultant, CE source, or other DDS personnel member must notify the Assistant Regional Commissioner, Management and Operations Support (ARC-MOS), for coordination with the Office of Hearings Operations (OHO) regional office if there are any interrogatory-related problems which cannot be resolved through direct contact with the ALJ. If the DDS medical or psychological consultant, CE source, or other DDS personnel member need legal guidance in responding to the interrogatories, they should contact the ARC-MOS.

While it should be done extremely rarely, because of the significant administrative and operational problems involved, an ALJ may request that the DDS contact a CE source to determine their willingness to appear and testify at a hearing. If questions about a CE cannot be resolved through alternative means, such as through information contained in the CE report or other evidence in the record, by obtaining additional documentary evidence, or by written interrogatory, the ALJ may need to have a CE source appear at a hearing. The Office of Hearings Operations (OHO) pays an agreed upon compensation for the source’s testimony.

The DDS takes the following actions:

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  Contact the CE source in writing, advising the source that the ALJ has requested their appearance and testimony concerning the examination of the claimant. The letter must include the claimant's name and date of the CE, and the date, time, place and manner of the hearing if known.

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  Ask the CE source to respond to the request in writing, indicating willingness or unwillingness to appear at the hearing.

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  Notify the ALJ of the results of the contact with the CE source.

NOTE: CE sources who will not appear voluntarily (i.e., as requested by an ALJ) may be subpoenaed to appear under the same standard applicable to any witness. OHO will attempt to obtain testimony from these individuals via audio, agency video, or online video. For definitions of audio, agency video, and online video appearances, see the Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law Manual (HALLEX) I-2-0-15.

An ALJ does not ordinarily ask a DDS medical or psychological consultant or other DDS personnel member to testify at a hearing because of the significant administrative and operational problems involved. In extremely rare cases where the ALJ concludes that it is necessary for a DDS medical or psychological consultant or other DDS personnel to appear at a hearing, the ALJ sends a memorandum addressed to the Assistant Regional Commissioner – Management and Operations Support (ARC-MOS) and sends it to the Hearing Office Chief Administrative Law Judge (HOCALJ). If the HOCALJ agrees with the request, they will forward the memorandum to the Regional Chief Administrative Law Judge (RCALJ). If the RCALJ agrees with the request, they will forward it to the ARC-MOS.

Bring any problems related to the request to the ALJ's attention (e.g., the DDS medical or psychological consultant is a part-time consultant and will not be available at the scheduled time and place). The ALJ must allow at least 15 calendar days for clearance through the ARC-MOS to the DDS. The ALJ has the authority to issue a subpoena for a DDS medical or psychological consultant or other DDS personnel member.

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