A ticket is assignable to an employment network (EN) or State vocational rehabilitation (VR) agency acting as an EN if a beneficiary:

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  is between age 18 through 64,

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  is in current payment status, and

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  is not subject to one of the exclusions listed in DI 55002.005C.

To assign a ticket, the EN or State VR agency acting as an EN and the beneficiary must complete and sign an employment plan to achieve a work goal. For more information on employment plans, see DI 55020.001. Once the beneficiary assigns the ticket, the ticket’s status is “In Use” on the disability control file (DCF).

NOTE: Although a beneficiary cannot assign a ticket at age 65 or later, if he or she assigned the ticket prior to attaining age 65, the ticket remains active until full retirement age when the ticket terminates. For information on who is eligible for a ticket, see DI 55002.005B.

“Using a ticket” refers to a specified period of time when the beneficiary receives VR services from an EN or State VR agency and makes the progress toward self-sufficiency that is required under the regulations. The period of using a ticket begins on the effective date of the assignment of the ticket to an EN or State VR agency acting as an EN, or the date a beneficiary with a ticket begins receiving services from the State VR agency under the cost reimbursement option.

The CDR initiation date is the date on the notice sent to the beneficiary that informs him/her that SSA is beginning to review the disability case. The FO inputs the CDR initiation notice date to DCF on the CDR FO Input Screen (IFOA) following MSOM CDR 001.007.

If you do not have the notice, you can query the following DCF screens to identify the CDR initiation notice date.

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  IFOA screen shows the notice date in the DIRECT RELEASE NOTICE INIT field.

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  General Ticket Query (TKQY) shows the notice date in the CDR INITIATION DATE field.

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  CDR Query Screen (QCDR) shows the notice date as the DIRECT RELEASE initiation DATE field.

If a beneficiary ticket status is "In Use" or "In Use SVR" and the ticket becomes unassigned, the beneficiary is entitled to a period of 90 days during which he or she may reassign the ticket. During this period, called the extension period, the ticket is considered to be in use, the ticket status is "Not Assigned In Use - Extended," and the ticket continues to protect the beneficiary from a medical CDR. A beneficiary may reassign a ticket during this period even if his or her disability-related cash benefits cease because of work and earnings.

If a beneficiary, an EN, or a State VR agency acting as an EN decides not to continue with the ticket assignment, the party dissolving the relationship must make a request in writing to the PM to unassign the ticket.

If a beneficiary decides to discontinue working with a State VR agency that chose the cost reimbursement option, the beneficiary must notify the State VR agency that he or she will no longer participate. The State VR agency will notify the PM once the case closes.

A beneficiary may reassign a previously assigned ticket or place it in the “In Use SVR” ticket status if he or she meets the ticket-eligibility criteria in DI 55002.005B and DI 55002.005C. The reassignment is effective on the first day the beneficiary meets these requirements.

NOTE: During the extension period or the 90-day period immediately following the case closure by the State VR agency, a beneficiary can reassign his or her ticket whether or not he or she meets the eligibility criteria described in DI 55002.005B and DI 55002.005C.

A beneficiary must make a written request to the PM to place his or her ticket in inactive status. For the PM’s contact information, see the PM Website. When the ticket is in inactive status, the ticket remains assigned but the beneficiary is not exempt from medical CDRs.

A beneficiary may reactivate his or her ticket by making a written request to the PM. If the beneficiary had been working with an EN or a State VR agency acting as an EN, the ticket may be reactivated only if it has remained assigned. If the beneficiary had been working with a State VR agency under the cost reimbursement option, the ticket may be reactivated only if the ticket is available for assignment and the beneficiary is receiving services from the State VR agency.

When a beneficiary does not meet the work or educational requirements for a timely progress review, the DCF will show the ticket status as "Assigned-Not In Use-FTPR," and the beneficiary will be subject to scheduled medical CDRs. There is no 90 day extension period for FTPR. The beneficiary must meet the criteria set for the timely progress review before returning to “In Use” status.