Petition to Obtain Approval of a Fee For Representing a Claimant Before the Social Security Administration - Form SSA-1560-U4

An attorney or other representative who wants to charge or collect a fee for services rendered in connection with a claim before the Security Administration (SSA) is required by law to first obtain SSA's approval of the fee.

The only exceptions are (1) when a third party entity, (i.e. a business, firm, or government agency) will pay the fee and any expenses from its own funds and the claimant and any auxiliary beneficiaries incur no liability, directly or indirectly, for the cost(s); (2) when a court has awarded a fee for services provided in connection with proceedings before us to a legal guardian, committee, or similar court-appointed office; or (3) when representational services were provided before the court. A representative who has provided services in a claim before both the Social Security Administration and a court of law may seek a fee from either or both, but neither tribunal has the authority to set a fee for the other [42 U.S.C. 406(a) and (b)].

To charge and collect a fee for services, the representative must use one of two, mutually exclusive, fee approval processes: the fee agreement process or the fee petition process. (For further information about these processes, see Information About Representing Claimants.)

If the representative elects to use the fee petition process, the representative must file a fee petition with SSA. The representative can use Form SSA-1560-U4 (Petition to Obtain Approval of a Fee For Representing a Claimant Before the Social Security Administration) for this purpose.

Petition to Obtain Approval of a Fee For Representing a Claimant Before the Social Security Administration, Form SSA-1560-U4
Print the PDF SSA-1560-U4 on 8 1/2 x 11 inch white paper.

If you use the fee petition process, you should request fee approval only after you complete all services for the claimant and any auxiliaries. You have the option to petition either before or after SSA effectuates the determination(s).

Instructions for completing the Form SSA-1560-U4, are included with the PDF version of the form.

You must give the claimant a copy of the fee petition and each attachment. Retain a copy for your records. Although you may file a fee petition at any SSA office, you generally file the petition with the office shown below:

• If a court or the Appeals Council issued the decision, send the petition to:
  
  Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, SSA
  ATTN: Attorney Fee Branch, Suite 805
  5107 Leesburg Pike
  Falls Church, VA 22041-3255
  
  
• If an Administrative Law Judge issued the decision, send the petition to him or her using the hearing office address.
  
• In most other cases, send the petition to the processing center address that appears at the top right of the claimant’s title II notice, or in a title XVI only case, to the servicing field office.