How Long Do I Have to File an Appeal?
Appeals must be requested within 60 days of the date on the rejection letter from Social Security. There is a 5-day "grace period" that allows for time the letter may have spent in the mail, giving you actually 65 days to request the appeal. If you are later than 65 days in requesting your appeal, Social Security will generally ask you to "show cause for untimely filing." Certain reasons for not filing on time could be accepted. For example, if you can prove that you received the denial letter late, you may be entitled to a later appeal filing. However, most of the excuses I've heard do not hold up and the claim gets dismissed if it is past the 65 day limit. One jurisdiction where I practice will allow a couple of extra days for mail time. You don't have to submit all of your evidence when you request the appeal. There is no reason that filing a request for appeal should be time consuming for the claimant. Preparing for th...