How to Check Your Social Security Disability Application or Appeal Status

The quickest option: your personal my Social Security account

SSA directs people to sign in to a personal my Social Security account to check an application or appeal. After signing in, look for your benefit application or appeal and open its details. SSA says the status tool can show where you are in the process and when it expects to have a decision.

1. Go directly to SSA’s status page.
2. Sign in to your personal my Social Security account, or create one through SSA if you do not have one.
3. Open the application or appeal details shown in your account.
4. Record the status, date, and any next step SSA displays so you can compare it with a later update.

Application status and appeal status are not the same

An application status follows an initial claim for benefits. An appeal status follows a request asking SSA to review a determination or decision. The online account may show both types of work, but the stage names and next steps can differ.

• Initial application: check the benefit application details associated with the claim you submitted.
• Appeal: check the appeal tied to the decision you asked SSA to review.
• Recently filed: allow time for SSA to receive and add a submission before assuming it is missing.

If you are unsure whether SSA received an appeal, use the contact information on your notice or contact SSA. A status estimate is not a decision, and the official written notice explains the decision and any response deadline.

If you cannot check online

SSA lists automated phone assistance as another way to check. Call 1-800-772-1213 and say “application status” when prompted. SSA says its automated assistance is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in English and Spanish. People who are deaf or hard of hearing can call TTY 1-800-325-0778.

You can also use SSA’s office locator to find the office that serves your area. Keep your Social Security number and any confirmation number or notice nearby, but share sensitive information only through official SSA channels.

What to do after you check

• Save the date you checked and the wording SSA displayed.
• Read any SSA notice in full and follow the instructions in that notice.
• Respond promptly if SSA asks for information, forms, or evidence.
• Keep your contact information current with SSA so notices reach you.
• Do not interpret a processing estimate as an approval, denial, or guarantee.