I-2-4-20.Claimant Asks to Withdraw Request for Hearing

At the request of a claimant, an administrative law judge (ALJ) may dismiss a request for hearing (RH) at any time before mailing notice of the decision if:

• The claimant or an appointed representative submitted a written request to withdraw the RH, or made such a request for withdrawal orally on the record at the hearing;

• The record shows the claimant understands the effects of withdrawing the RH (i.e., that a dismissal will be binding unless it is vacated by the ALJ or the Appeals Council);

• There are no other parties to the hearing (see Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual I-2-1-45) who may be adversely affected by dismissal of the RH;

• The voluntary withdrawal does not follow a sentence six court remand (see HALLEX I-2-4-37); and

• The ALJ determines that dismissal is appropriate.

If there is another party to the hearing who may be adversely affected by dismissal of the RH, the ALJ must notify the other party of the request to withdraw the RH and offer the party the opportunity to object before taking any action. If the other party objects to the withdrawal, the ALJ must proceed with the actions necessary to complete the record, hold a hearing (unless all parties waived the right to a hearing), and issue a decision.

If the ALJ dismisses the RH, hearing office staff will follow the instructions in HALLEX I-2-4-5. If the ALJ does not dismiss the RH, the ALJ will explain the reasons for not doing so in writing, either in correspondence to the claimant or, when the claimant waived the right to appear at the hearing, in the decision. Regardless of whether the ALJ dismisses the RH, the ALJ will ensure the claimant's request to withdraw and any associated correspondence between the hearing office and a party to the hearing is associated in the appropriate section of the claim(s) file.