Social Security disability
Lawyers and representatives
You can have someone help you with your claim. Social Security sets what they can charge.
Getting help from a representative
- You can have a representative help you. It can be a lawyer or a qualified non-lawyer.
- To name a representative, use Form SSA-1696 (Claimant's Appointment of a Representative). Since December 9, 2024, representatives must use the current version.
- A representative cannot charge you a fee unless SSA approves it. SSA decides the amount.
- Under a fee agreement, the fee is 25% of your past-due benefits or $9,200, whichever is less. The $9,200 cap applies to favorable decisions issued on or after November 30, 2024.
- With a fee agreement, the fee comes from past-due benefits. If there are no past-due benefits, there is no fee under the agreement.
- A representative can instead ask SSA to approve a fee for the work done (a fee petition). You get a notice and can disagree.
- If your representative is a lawyer or an eligible non-lawyer, SSA pays the approved fee directly from your past-due benefits. SSA charges the representative a fee of 6.3%, capped at $123 (from December 2026: $128).
- You may be able to get free legal help from a legal aid office near you.
Guides
Sources
- 20 CFR 404.1705
- POMS GN 03910.040
- 20 CFR 404.1720(b)
- 89 FR 40523 (May 10, 2024), Maximum Dollar Limit in the Fee Agreement Process; 90 FR 19241 (May 6, 2025), Maximum Dollar Limit in the Fee Agreement Process; Partial Rescission
- 20 CFR 404.1725; 20 CFR 404.1720(c)
- 20 CFR 404.1720(b)(4); 91 FR 67380 (Oct. 26, 2026), Cost-of-Living Increase and Other Determinations for 2027; 90 FR 57516
- Legal Services Corporation
Last checked: November 2026