NL 00101.020 Post-Clearance Steps for a Notice Language Clearance Package

A. Office of the General Counsel (OGC) and Office of Media and Logistics Management (OMLM) review

OGC reviews clearance packages to

•

provide advice regarding legal sufficiency and privacy compliance.
•

identify legal risks associated with proposed new or revised notice language.
•

consider the legal impact, if any, of removing an enclosure from a notice or moving an enclosure online.

OGC provides advice and comments at the staff level by email. You may request OGC advice during the drafting stage.

OGC approval occurs when the notice author chooses to have Associate Commissioner (AC) or Deputy Commissioner (DC) level approval. OGC will submit AC or DC level approval by email.

OMLM reviews the clearance package to determine if there are any updates that may affect contracts before systems receives the package.

Submitting for review

1.

Send the notice language clearance package with the required review and approvals checked off on the approval sheet to the OGC at ^OGC Controls and to OMLM at ^DCBFM OFLM OMLM Controls. Use the subject, “Request: Approved Notice Language Clearance Package for Review – [Notice Name] – Respond by [Date].”
2.

Allow at least ten business days for review.
3.

If OGC or OMLM recommend changes to the content of the notice and you accept them, recirculate the package through the approval process (Office of Public Service and Operations Support, Office of Income Security Provisions Notices Team, Stakeholders, and Office of Communications) see NL 00101.015.
4.

Once OGC and OMLM complete their review and you address any changes, proceed to subsection B.

B. Submit to appropriate component for prioritization and implementation

1. Assemble implementation package

Provide the following information to the component implementing the language:

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Final notice language clearance package with the complete Notice Language Clearance Package Approval Sheet attached.
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Target implementation date.
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Implementation plans.
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Funding information (if already known).
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Name(s) of the notice(s).
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Whether to remove the enclosure(s) from the mailed version of the notice.

2. Send to appropriate component for prioritization and implementation

Send the implementation package to the implementing component in one email. For:

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Document Processing System (DPS) language, submit the package to ^OISP NSPS Controls.
•

Hearing Office notices in the Hearings and Appeals Case Processing System (HACPS), submit the package to ^DCHO HQ OCALJ Controls.
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All other notice language changes, submit the package to the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) – ^OCIO Controls.
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  For Disability Determination Services (DDS) notice language, also include ||DCO ODD on the "to" line of the email.

3. Spanish translation

Some notice systems produce notices in both English and Spanish.

The component implementing the notice language obtains the Spanish translation. To request translation from the Multilanguage Team in OCOMM they complete the online Translation Request Form . Please allow at least ten business days for translation requests.

For information about when a Spanish notice is required, see NL 00601.600.

C. When implementation is complete

When the new or revised language is available for use, the Notice Author is responsible for the following actions.

1.

Notify users that the new or revised language is available by preparing an Administrative Message (AM), Emergency Message (EM), or a Program Operations Manual System (POMS) transmittal. For issuing instructions in AM or EM, refer to AO 40410.000 and for POMS, refer to AO 40305.000.
2.

Update POMS for manual notice language and for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) automated notice language. (Systems handles documenting POMS for automated notice language other than SSI.)
3.

Send a sample copy of the newly implemented notice (in English and, if available, Spanish) from the system(s) that generate it to ^OISP NSPS Controls for record keeping purposes.

To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0900101020

NL 00101.020 - Post-Clearance Steps for a Notice Language Clearance Package - 03/25/2025
Batch run: 03/25/2025
Rev:03/25/2025

Program Operations Manual System (POMS)