Effective Dates: 12/18/2024 - Present Previous | Next

TN 39 (12-24)

GN 03910.060 Termination of a Representative's Appointment

A. Events that end a representative's appointment

A representative's appointment and authority end when any of the following event occur:

  • •

    We complete all actions on a pending claim, matter, or issue (hereafter "case"), and no appeal is filed;

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    The appointed representative files a fee petition;

  • •

    The claimant revokes the appointment of the representative;

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    The appointed representative withdraws from a pending case;

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    We make a final decision to suspend or disqualify the representative; or

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    The representative dies.

Unless one of these events occurs, a representative's appointment and authority continue throughout the administrative review process and federal court proceedings, regardless of whether the appointed representative also represents the claimant during the court proceedings.

For example, if Mr. Jones represents the claimant before us, but Ms. Smith represents the claimant before the court (without any involvement from Mr. Jones), Mr. Jones's appointment continues throughout the time of the court proceedings and any additional administrative proceedings that may follow a court remand, unless one of the above events occurs. This is true even if the claim goes back and forth between us and the court multiple times.

NOTE: If the representative’s appointment ended for any reason listed above and the claimant wants to reappoint the representative in the same case, the claimant or representative must submit a new Form SSA-1696 “Claimant's Appointment of a Representative” to reinstate a terminated appointment. In this situation, we treat the representative's appointment as beginning as of the date of the first notice of appointment in the claim file. For information on signature dates and when we recognize the appointment of a representative, see GN 03910.040B.4.

1. Completing all actions on a pending case and no appeal is filed

We complete all actions on a pending case once a determination or decision (hereafter “decision”) is issued, all required notices are sent, and no appeal is filed within the 60-day appeal period.

a. Decision issued and all required notices sent

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    In either partially or fully favorable decisions involving one title(i.e., Title II or Title XVI of the Act), we complete all actions when we effectuate the decision and issue the award notice(s) to the claimant and affected auxiliary beneficiaries or eligible spouse, if any.

  • •

    In partially or fully favorable concurrent Title II and Title XVI decisions involving a common issue (e.g., entitlement to benefits based on disability), we complete all actions when:

    (1) We issue award notice(s) under both titles to the claimant, any affected auxiliary beneficiary under Title II, and the spouse under Title XVI, if any, and

    (2) We address all non-disability factors that may affect eligibility for or the amount of Title XVI benefits payable.

    NOTE: If in partially or fully favorable decisions involving one title or concurrent Title II and Title XVI decisions all action are completed and the case includes delayed auxiliary beneficiary cases, see GN 03910.025C for presumed continued representation for the affected auxiliaries. Notices sent to auxiliary spouses must adhere to the policies articulated in GN 03316.110.

  • •

    In unfavorable decisions or dismissals, we complete our actions when we issue the notice of decision or dismissal and close the claim.

b. The period to appeal our final decision ends without appeal

The period to appeal our final decision, including any decision(s) on cases by affected auxiliary beneficiary, if any, generally ends 60 days from the date the claimant receives the notice of our final decision. We assume that the claimant receives the notice within five days of the date on the notice. See also HALLEX I-2-0-80, Guidelines for Calculating Timeliness of Responses, for details on mailing time for centrally printed OHO decisions. For time limits for filing administrative and court remand appeals, see GN 03101.010 and HALLEX I-4-8-5A.

If no appeal is filed, we consider a representative’s appointment to end at the expiration of the appeal period.

 

2. The appointed representative files a fee petition

The appointment ends when the representative files a fee petition for the services they performed on a claim before us.  We will accept fee petitions from:

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    The appointed representative;

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    The entity’s point of contact (POC) if the representative is deceased and properly assigned direct payment of their fee to that entity; or

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    The estate of a deceased representative, if the representative did not assign direct payment of any fee to an entity (see GN 03910.060.A.6.)

For information on the selection of the fee petition process, see GN 03930.005 and for information on the filing of a fee petition, see GN 03930.020C

Exception: In some situations, a representative may improperly file a fee petition before their representational services have ended.  For example, the representative may submit a fee petition after the claimant obtains a partially favorable decision, but the representative is helping the claimant to appeal the unfavorable portions of that decision.  For additional information about prematurely filed fee petitions, see GN 03930.020D.6 as well as HALLEX I-1-2-53 B and I-1-2-56 A.3.

3. The claimant revokes the appointment of the representative

A representative's appointment ends when the claimant (a parent of a claimant under age 18 or a legal guardian for a legally incompetent claimant) advises us in a signed and dated writing (such as a Form SSA-1696-SUP1 "Claimant's Revocation of the Appointment of a Representative"), that they revoke the representative's appointment. The claimant, parent, or legal guardian can revoke the appointment of a representative at any time. If an auxiliary beneficiary is independently represented, only the auxiliary beneficiary (or their parent or legal guardian) may revoke that appointment.

For instructions on how to document a revocation, see GN 03910.060B.

IMPORTANT: The form or other writing must indicate the name of the representative whose appointment the claimant is revoking.

4. The appointed representative withdraws the appointment from a pending case

A representative’s appointment ends when the representative notifies us of the withdrawal in a dated and signed writing. The representative may use Form SSA-1696-SUP2, “Representative’s Withdrawal of Acceptance of an Appointment,” or any dated and signed writing that notifies us of their withdrawal. We will accept a document notifying us that multiple representatives are withdrawing from a pending case at the same time if each representative attempting to withdraw signs and dates the document. We do not accept documents from any person other than the appointed representative who is withdrawing from the case.

After withdrawing from a case, a representative cannot receive or request any information about the case, except when it is either requested with the claimant’s written permission (e.g., a new Form SSA-3288 "Consent for Release of Information," signed and dated after the withdrawal) that meets our requirements or consistent with other disclosure authority, such as Privacy Act routine use authority (e.g., we can provide the minimum amount of information necessary to a former representative to dispose of a fee issue). See also GN 03910.060B.3. For more information about consent requirements, see GN 03305.003.

Representatives may withdraw from multiple cases at the same time by attaching to the withdrawal notice a document listing the claimants’ names and Social Security numbers for each case from which they wish to withdraw. Representatives who withdraw from some or all of their cases may waive the fees for some or all cases to which they were appointed. For information on fee waiver, see GN 03920.020. For more information about documenting a withdrawal, see GN 03910.060 B. For information on a representative’s affirmative duty in connection with a withdrawal, see GN 03970.010B.3.d.

NOTE: When processing the list of withdrawals, add the withdrawal to each case, redacting all information not pertinent to the case.

5. We make a final decision to suspend or disqualify the representative 

The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) initiates proceedings to suspend or disqualify a representative. Once we issue the final decision to suspend or disqualify the representative, the representative’s appointment ends. OGC enters the decision in the Registration, Appointment and Services for Representatives (RASR) application and notifies all essential components by email. The final decision to suspend or disqualify the representative ends the representative’s appointment on all pending cases.

Generally, RASR will automatically notify each claimant with whom the representative has an active appointment about the representative’s suspension or disqualification. If RASR cannot automatically send a notice to a claimant (e.g., due to a missing address), the field office(s) will follow established procedures outlined in GN 03970.060.D.1., by manually sending a notification to that claimant about the representative’s suspension or disqualification and updating the relevant case processing systems to reflect that the appointed representative was suspended or disqualified.

6. The representative dies

A representative's appointment ends when the representative dies. However, a representative's estate or, if the deceased representative validly assigned direct payment of any fee to an entity, that entity’s POC, may request and collect fees on the deceased representative’s behalf. For information on how we process a fee agreement and assignment of direct payment of the authorized fee under the fee agreement process, if the representative dies before the favorable decision is issued, see GN 03940.003D.6.  If the deceased representative validly assigned direct payment to an entity, then the entity’s POC may submit a fee petition on the deceased representative’s behalf. For payment information when the deceased representative's estate requests the fee, see GN 03920.016E.  For information on how we authorize fees in cases where the representative dies before filing a fee petition, see GN 03930.020D.5. For information on how we process a valid fee agreement if the representative dies after a favorable decision is issued, see GN 03940.009B.

a. Single representative appointed

If we are notified by the claimant or the representative’s office that the appointed representative has died during the administrative process and before we complete all actions on the pending case and the representative has not assigned direct payment of their fee, we will communicate with the deceased representative’s estate about fee-related matters, see GN 03930.090.A and GN 03940.003D.6. Redact any protected information, including the claimant’s personally identifiable information, to the extent that it is not necessary for fee-related matters. For the procedure to qualify the representative of the deceased’s estate to receive the authorized fee, see GN 03913.010D. For information when the representative validly assigned direct payment of their fee, see GN 03910.040B.2.

In addition, we will also contact the claimant directly to determine whether they would like to appoint another representative.

b. Multiple representatives appointed

If the claimant appointed multiple representatives and the principal representative dies, we will contact the claimant to select a new principal representative. If the claimant does not choose a new principal representative, we will select the most recently appointed representative as the new principal representative.

For information on the appointment of multiple representatives, see GN 03910.040C.

B. Documenting a revocation or withdrawal and communicating with a representative after the appointment ends

1. Documenting a revocation or withdrawal in RASR

When documenting a revocation or withdrawal in RASR:

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    Terminate the representative’s appointment in RASR as explained in GN 03910.040C.3.b. depending on whether it is a paper or electronic claim; and

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    Include a copy of any written notice of revocation or withdrawal in the claim file. RASR will automatically send a notice to the representative and to the claimant.

2. Documenting a revocation or withdrawal for appointments outside of RASR

Follow the instructions below for documenting a revocation or withdrawal for appointments outside of RASR, depending on whether the case is electronic or paper:

a. Electronic cases

For electronic cases, fax the written notice of revocation or withdrawal into the electronic folder.

b. Paper cases

For paper cases:

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    Fax the written notice of revocation into Paperless; and

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    Place the original in the paper claim file.

For both options, generate a manual acknowledgement notice in Document Processing System (DPS) to notify the representative and the claimant of the action.

3. Communications with representatives after termination of appointment

After the representative's appointment ends, do not send notices about the claimant and their affected auxiliary beneficiaries, if any, to the former representative. In addition, do not answer any written or verbal inquiries concerning the claimant from that former representative. 

EXCEPTION: We will send notices related to the representative’s fee (e.g., questions about a fee petition filed after the appointment has been terminated) or responses to a request for administrative review of the authorized fee with the minimum amount of information necessary to resolve the fee-related issue. For details on the notices, see GN 03950.030 and GN 03960.055. For information about administrative review of fee determinations under the fee agreement process, see GN 03960.000. For information about administrative review of fee authorizations under the fee petition process, see GN 03950.000.

C. Extending a representative's appointment

Generally, we do not extend or reinstate a representative's appointment after it ends. See GN 03910.060A for information on events that end a representative's appointment and require a new, signed Form SSA-1696 to reinstate a representative’s authority. However, there are situations when the duration of a representative's appointment does not coincide with the duration of a pending case as outlined in GN 03910.060A.1. In the following limited situations, we will assume the appointment continues without requiring a new notice of appointment:

  1. 1. 

    The situation warrants an extension (e.g., when there is partial or deferred development in a case involving worker's compensation or an overpayment). Continue to conduct business with the representative until we finish the development of the outstanding issue;

  2. 2. 

    There is some indication that the claimant wishes the appointment to continue (e.g., the claimant files an appeal with a good cause statement and asks us to copy the representative, or the representative files the appeal with a good cause statement and the claimant does not tell us the representative is no longer appointed).

  3. 3. 

    We are reopening and revising a determination or decision after it is final and binding either on our initiative or at the request of a party to the determination or decision (e.g., the claimant or their representative). See 20 CFR 404.987 - 404.989 and 416.1487 - 416.1489. See GN 04010.010B.2. for information on processing errors not subject to the rules of administrative finality.

NOTE: When a new or amended notice of appointment is required to reinstate the appointment in the same case, the representative's appointment begins with the date of the first notice of appointment. See GN 03910.040B.4. for information on signature dates and when we recognize the appointment of a representative.

If a claimant verbally informs us that the representative is still involved, we will document this communication using a Form SSA-5002 (Report of Contact (ROC)). Place the ROC in RASR. Fax the SSA-5002 into the electronic file for record keeping purposes.

D. Direct payment after revocation or withdrawal of a representative

Appointments may be withdrawn by the appointed representative or revoked by the claimant. If a claimant revokes the appointment of a representative or the representative withdraws an appointment, the representative is still eligible for direct payment unless other reasons prevent it. The representative may assign direct payment of the authorized fee to an entity at any time before we notify the claimant of the first favorable decision. When the case contains documentation that a representative’s appointment ended due to revocation or withdrawal, we need to check for possible assignment of direct payment of the authorized fee to an entity. For direct payment information, see GN 03920.016B. For assignment of direct payment of the fee, see GN 03920.021.

1. Effect of a representative’s revocation, withdrawal, and previously submitted assignments 

When the case contains documentation that a representative’s appointment ended due to revocation or withdrawal, we need to check for possible assignment of direct payment of the authorized fee to an entity. If there is no assignment or the assignment was rescinded before we notified the claimant of the first favorable decision, we will still pay any authorized fee to the representative, unless they have become ineligible for direct payment. For more information about assignment of direct payment of the fee, see GN 03920.021.

2. Effect of a representative’s disassociation from an entity on previously submitted assignments 

Representatives may assign, or rescind an assignment of direct payment of fees, to an entity at any time prior to the date we notify the claimant of our first favorable determination or decision.

Representatives leaving employment with an entity to be employed by the federal government do not need to waive their fees and are still permitted to assign direct payment of their authorized fees to an entity if they wish. However, if these representatives wish to do so, they must assign direct payment of any authorized fees to the entity before we notify the claimant of our first favorable determination or decision. For direct payment information, see GN 03920.016B.

E. Claimant dies before we complete our action

If a claimant dies before we complete our action in a pending case, the representative's appointment continues until the appointment is ended by one of the events listed in GN 03910.060A.

In Title II and Title XVI cases, the claimant’s substitute party or qualifying survivor (in the order of priority stated in GN 02301.030A.1. for Title II cases and in SI 02101.003A.1. for Title XVI cases) who is entitled to an underpayment has the authority to:

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    Revoke the appointment of the previously appointed representative; and

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    Appoint a new representative.

NOTE 1: If the survivor appoints a new representative, we process the new appointment as explained in GN 03910.040F.

NOTE 2: In Title XVI cases where the claimant is deceased and there is no party who would be eligible to collect any underpayment (e.g., a State or political subdivision with a written interim assistance reimbursement authorization or a survivor), we will dismiss the claim and deny the fee agreement, if any. However, per GN 03940.009A.2, we will inform the representative to file a fee petition for authorization to charge and collect a fee. For information on SSI underpayments due when the claimant is deceased, see bullet 2 in SI 02101.003A.1. For information on payment of a representative's fee when the claimant dies before we issue a favorable decision, see GN 03940.009A.

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GN 03910.060 - Termination of a Representative's Appointment - 12/18/2024
Batch run: 12/19/2024
Rev:12/18/2024