The Office of Hearings Operations (OHO) uses central print to mail most notices, decisions, dismissals, and other correspondence (hereinafter referred to as “documents”) to claimants and their appointed representatives. OHO staff generate documents electronically using the Hearings and Appeals Case Processing System (HACPS) or the Document Generation System (DGS). Once the document is complete, staff electronically “send” the document to the central print vendor. Once a document is sent to central print, it is also automatically uploaded to the claimant's electronic claim(s) file (eView).

For all centrally printed documents, the date that appears on the document is the date that the document was uploaded to eView and sent to central print.

The central print vendor mails most centrally printed documents the day after they are sent to central print; however, it can take up to three (3) business days from the date that staff send a document to central print for it to be mailed. Staff will use central print for all document types where central print is an option, unless sending a document by central print would cause OHO to miss a notice deadline.

Refer to Standard Hearings Operations Procedure (SHOP) sections 4.3.1 and 7.2.1 for mailing guidelines for centrally printed and manually mailed notices.

OHO staff also manually mail documents as needed. A document is manually mailed when it is printed and mailed by an OHO employee from an OHO office. For manually mailed documents, the date that appears on the document is the date the document was printed and put in the mail.

Manual mailing is reserved for documents that cannot be central printed, such as subpoenas, and for situations where sending a document by central print would cause OHO to miss a notice deadline.

To determine whether a document was centrally printed or manually mailed, OHO staff will review the central print history of a case in HACPS or in the Case Processing and Management System (CPMS).

For centrally printed documents, ALJs and staff must add 3 business days to the date on the document, plus the 5 days assumed in the regulations, to determine whether a response is timely.

The term “business days” excludes Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays.

For manually mailed documents, all notice, reply, and appeal deadlines will be determined based on the date that appears on the document, plus the 5 days assumed in the regulations. Do NOT add 3 business days when considering the timeliness of the response to a document sent by manual mail.