A fee agreement is a written statement, signed by the claimant and the claimant’s appointed representative(s) who expect to charge and collect a fee for services before us (the Social Security Administration), detailing the fee arrangement between the parties. The fee agreement must be submitted before the date of the first favorable determination or decision (hereinafter, we will refer to both as a "decision"). We will consider a fee agreement we received after the date of our first favorable decision, even if the fee agreement was signed before that date.

We will approve a timely-submitted fee agreement at the time of the first favorable decision if the statutory conditions for approval are met and no exceptions to the fee agreement process apply. Once we approve the fee agreement, the fee specified in the agreement is the maximum fee the representative may charge and collect for all services in relation to the claim.

The fee agreement and fee petition processes are not interchangeable. However, if a representative elects the fee agreement process, but we do not approve the agreement, or uphold a disapproval of a fee agreement on administrative review, the representative must file a fee petition if he or she wants to charge and collect a fee.

We must consider a fee agreement for approval under the fee agreement process through all levels of the administrative appeals process.

In a Federal Register Notice published May 10, 2024 (89 FR 40523) SSA announced an increased maximum dollar amount that may be authorized under the fee agreement process. The new maximum amount is $9,200 effective November 30, 2024.

Federal Register/Vol. 89, Friday May 10, 2024/Notices

[view Federal Register pdf version]

The date we make a favorable decision is the date shown on the notice of favorable decision. It is not the date of adjudication or effectuation. For claims decided at the initial or reconsideration level, the date of the notice to the claimant is the controlling date. Therefore, if the claimant or representative submits, and we receive, a fee agreement before we issue the notice of favorable decision, the claim(s) will be processed as a fee agreement claim. For claims decided by the Office of Hearing Operations (OHO), the date of the notice of hearing decision is controlling. For claims decided at the Office of Appellate Operations (OAO), the notice of Appeals Council decision is controlling.

The following statutory conditions must be met for a representative to obtain our approval to charge and collect a fee under the fee agreement process:

• The claimant or representative filed the agreement with us before the date we made the first favorable decision. In concurrent titles II and XVI claims, the date of the first favorable decision when the first title is decided is controlling for both titles.
  
  
• The claimant, the claimant's legal guardian or representative payee, and representative both signed the agreement. If the claimant is legally incompetent or under age 18, a court appointed representative or the person responsible for the claimant's care can sign the fee agreement. For example, a mother can sign an application for title XVI benefits, an appointment of representative form, and a fee agreement on behalf of her child.
  
  
• The fee specified in the agreement does not exceed the lesser of 25 percent of the past-due benefits or such higher amount set by the Commissioner of Social security based on the maximum dollar amount in effect as of the date of the favorable decision. The current maximum fee amount allowed is $9,200 when a favorable decision is issued on or after November 30, 2024.  For more information on the fee agreement limit, including the maximum fee amount for favorable decisions issued before November 29, 2024, please refer to POMS GN 03920.006.

The maximum amount above also applies to concurrent titles II and XVI claims or to post entitlement actions with a common issue. For example, in concurrent titles II and XVI disability claims, we will not approve an agreement that calls for a fee that exceeds the lesser of 25 percent of the combined titles II and XVI past-due benefits amount or the specified dollar amount in the bullets above.

• Our decision is fully or partially favorable to the claimant. In some concurrent titles II and XVI claims, our  decision may be favorable to the claimant under only one title. In such cases, the fee agreement will be approved if all other factors are met.
  
  
• The claim or post-entitlement action results in past-due benefits. In some concurrent titles II and XVI claims, there may be past-due benefits under only one title. In such cases, the fee agreement will be approved if all other factors are met.

In certain situations, approval of a fee agreement is administratively unfeasible, either because it could lead to authorization of fees in excess of the statutory limit under the fee agreement process or could otherwise cause inequity for a claimant or a representative. Therefore, we will not approve a fee agreement for purposes of authorizing a representative's fee in the following situations:

• The claimant appointed more than one representative, but not all representatives seeking a fee signed a single fee agreement. This applies to even when all representatives have validly assigned direct payment of their authorized fee to the same or different entity. This rule applies in all cases except when the representative(s) who did not sign the fee agreement waived charging and collecting a fee. We must have received the waiver(s) before the date of the favorable decision.
  

• The representative died before we issued the favorable decision and there are no remaining representatives appointed on the claim(s) who had signed the same fee agreement.


• A State court declared the claimant legally incompetent, and the claimant's legal guardian did not sign the fee agreement.


• A representative is suspended or disqualified, and the effective date of the individual’s suspension or disqualification is after the favorable decision.


• A representative dies before we issue a favorable decision and there are no remaining representatives appointed on the claim who signed the same fee agreement.


• The claimant revokes the appointment, or the representative withdraws before we decide on the claim and multiple appointed representatives have signed the same fee agreement, the agreement remains valid as long as at least one appointed representative is still active on the claim.


• The approval could violate a provision in a two-tier fee agreement.

Note: A "single fee agreement" is defined as one agreement signed by all parties to the agreement. Therefore, if the claimant appoints a new representative after submitting a fee agreement, the claimant or the representative(s) must amend the agreement to include the new representative’s signature, or submit a new agreement signed by all.

While the Social Security Act (the Act) does not require any specific language in a fee agreement, it sets limitations on the fee representatives can charge and collect. So, representatives may prepare their own fee agreement and we will approve the agreement only if it meets these statutory conditions and no exceptions apply.

Because a fee agreement is a contract between a representative and his or her client, each fee agreement is unique and may vary in length, content, and complexity.  Although claimants and their representatives can submit for approval the fee agreement they signed and prefer, we created a model form SSA-1693 (Fee Agreement for Representation before the Social Security Administration) as an alternative option.

Representatives may use stamped or photocopied signatures in lieu of their actual signatures on a fee agreement, and may submit a photocopy (or fax) of the original fee agreement. A fee agreement stamped only with a representative's firm's name is not acceptable because our regulations state that only individuals, not entities (e.g. firms, partnerships, legal corporations, or other organizations), may be appointed and act as representatives before us.

A valid fee agreement may contain any of the following provisions:

• The representative has the right to seek review of the amount that otherwise would be the maximum fee under § 206(a)(2)(A) of the Act.
  


• The authorized fee does not include any out-of-pocket expenses (e.g., costs involved in obtaining copies of medical reports or state sales tax, etc.).


• The fee agreement applies only to services through a specific level of the administrative appeals process. For example, the agreement may state that its provisions apply only if we favorably decide the claim(s) at or below the first Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing decision, but that if the claim progresses beyond that level of the administrative appeals process, the representative will request a fee through the fee petition process. If the fee agreement includes this or similar language and the first hearing decision is favorable, the fee agreement applies in that situation and the ALJ will approve the fee agreement if all the conditions for approval are met and no exceptions apply. If we issue the first favorable decision after the initial hearing decision, e.g., the Appeals Council issues the favorable decision, the decision maker must disapprove the fee agreement because the representative has not agreed to limit his/her fee to the lesser of 25 percent of past-due benefits or the specified dollar amount (e.g., $9,200). Because the claim progressed beyond the first hearing decision, according to the terms of the fee agreement, the fee agreement no longer applies. The representative may petition for a fee.


• A named third-party entity will pay the representative a fee equal to the lesser of 25 percent of the past-due benefits or the specified dollar amount (e.g., $9,200), and the claimant will have no financial liability for paying the authorized fee or expenses.


• The representative will charge interest on the unpaid balance of the authorized fee.


• The representative will share the authorized fee with another person who referred the case.

The fee under the fee agreement process cannot   exceed the lesser of 25 percent of the past-due benefits or the specified dollar amount ( $9,200 in 2025). The following are examples of language that will result in a fee that exceeds this maximum set by law so we would disapprove the fee agreement:

• The claimant will pay a minimum fee. For example, the fee agreement calls for a fee equal to 25 percent of the past-due benefits or the specified dollar amount (e.g., $9,200), or at least $1,500.


• If 25 percent of the past-due benefits exceeds the specified dollar amount (e.g., $9,200), the representative receives a fee equal to the specified dollar amount and retains the right to petition for an additional fee. (Representatives retain the right to request administrative review under the fee agreement process; however, they may not substitute the fee petition process for the fee agreement process once we issue a favorable decision.)

If SSA makes a favorable decision on the claim, SSA will either approve or disapprove the fee agreement when it issues the favorable decision. If SSA's decision on the claim is unfavorable, SSA does not make a determination on the fee agreement and will not provide notice about the fee agreement.

SSA's determination on a fee agreement is limited to whether the agreement meets the statutory conditions of the Act and is not otherwise excepted.

If an SSA decision maker approves a fee agreement that does not meet the statutory requirements of the Act, or is otherwise excepted, SSA cannot authorize a fee under the fee agreement process. In such cases, an SSA reviewer will disapprove the fee agreement and advise the claimant and the representative that:

• If the representative intends to charge and collect a fee for his or her services in the case, he or she must file a fee petition; and
  
  
• The determination is not subject to further review.

If we issue a partially favorable decision, the decision maker will approve the fee agreement if the statutory conditions are met and no exceptions apply, and we will authorize a fee under the terms of the agreement.

If on appeal, we make a more favorable decision yielding additional benefits, we will use the additional benefits when recalculating the past-due benefits, and may authorize an additional fee under the fee agreement process, subject to the limits established by the fee agreement, but not to exceed the lesser of 25 percent of the past-due benefits or the specified dollar amount (e.g., $9,200).

If we authorized the maximum fee under an approved fee agreements, and subsequently we make a more favorable decision on appeal that results in additional past-due benefits, we will not authorize additional fees under the fee agreement. However, if the representative wants to charge more for any reason (e.g., because of the additional work provided during the appeal), within 15 days after the representative receives the notice of the fee authorization, the representative can file a  request for administrative review of the amount of the fee. If a request for administrative review is filed, a reviewing official will decide the request after we have completed our action(s) on the appeal.

If on appeal, we make a less favorable or unfavorable decision, we will adjust both the new past-due benefits, if any, and the fee we previously authorized. In these cases, the representative must refund any excess fee.

One of the statutory conditions for approval of a fee agreement is that the parties submit the agreement to SSA before the date of the favorable decision. In claims involving more than one favorable decision (i.e., partially favorable decisions resulting in a more favorable decision on appeal), SSA considers when the representative entered the claim in determining whether the statutory conditions for approval are met.

For SSA to approve a fee agreement in a claim(s) resulting in more than one favorable decision, the claimant or representative must file the agreement with SSA before the date of the first favorable decision SSA made after the representative entered the case.

Unless the claimant or representative files the fee agreement before the date of the first favorable decision SSA made after the representative's involvement began, SSA presumes that the representative will either waive his or her fee or use the fee petition process to obtain SSA's approval to charge and collect a fee. The fee agreement and the fee petition processes are not interchangeable. Therefore, a representative may not convert to the fee agreement process while appealing a partially favorable decision.

For purposes of calculating a fee under an approved fee agreement in a claim(s) involving more than one favorable decision, "past-due benefits" are those additional benefits resulting from the favorable decision SSA made after the representative became involved in the claim.

The date SSA makes a favorable decision is the date shown on the notice of favorable decision. It is not the date of adjudication or effectuation. For claims decided at the initial or reconsideration level, the date of the notice to the claimant is the controlling date. Therefore, if the claimant or representative submits, and SSA receives, a fee agreement before SSA issues the notice of favorable decision, the claim(s) will be processed as a fee agreement claim. For claims decided by the Office of Hearings Operation (OHO), the date of the notice of hearing decision or notice of Appeals Council decision is controlling.