Under 20 CFR 404.973 and 416.1473, when the Appeals Council (AC) grants review in a case, it will mail a notice to all parties at their last known addresses stating the reasons for the review and the issue(s) to be considered.

When the AC grants review and proposes to issue an unfavorable decision, a partially favorable decision (containing unfavorable findings), or to dismiss the request for hearing, the AC must issue a separate notice of review before taking final action. When a separate notice of review is required, the analyst will prepare the notice, advising the claimant and the representative, if any, of the AC's proposed finding(s) and action.

The separate notice of review will:

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  State the reason(s) for the AC's proposed action and the issue(s) to be considered;

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  Provide the claimant 30 days from the date of the notice to submit any additional evidence or written statement;

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  Advise the claimant that they may request an appearance before the AC; and

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  When proffering evidence, advise the claimant that they may request that the case be remanded to an ALJ.

When the AC grants review and associates additional evidence with that action, the AC must determine whether it needs to proffer the evidence to the claimant, using the instructions in Hearings, Appeals, and Litigation Law manual HA 01320.016.

When the AC has sent a separate notice of review and the time period for comments and submission of additional evidence has expired, the analyst will prepare a recommendation for the AC to take its final action as follows:

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  If the claimant does not respond to the separate notice of review within 30 days, the AC may proceed with the final action.

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  If the claimant agrees with the proposed action, the AC may proceed with the final action.

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  If the claimant disagrees with the proposed action but does not request a hearing (when applicable) or the AC did not offer an opportunity for a hearing, after considering the reasons for the claimant's disagreement, the AC may proceed with its action and address the claimant's reasons for disagreement in its final action.

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  If the claimant disagrees with the proposed action and requests a hearing when offered, the AC may issue a decision on any issue it can resolve favorably without a hearing and remand any issue that it cannot resolve favorably without a hearing.

In all cases, to prepare the final AC action for release, the analyst must:

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  Draft the analysis and complete all necessary entries in the case processing system;

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  Prepare the final action document using the appropriate template;

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  Proofread the document; and

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  Send the recommendation and the final action document to the AC for consideration.