The External Liaison Unit (ELU) is a specialized unit within the Office of Hearings Operations (OHO)’s National Scheduling Support (NSS) component. The ELU is primarily responsible for obtaining and monitoring representative availability. ELU staff ensures appropriate collection of availability and enters representative-provided availability into OHO’s scheduling application.

For questions regarding availability for hearings, the ELU will generally be the first point of contact for representatives.

General Inquiries: Email or Telephone

Email: Please submit general inquiries regarding OHO’s scheduling and representative availability process, including questions about submission or receipt of monthly availability and any other related questions to the ELU’s general inquiries box: OHO.NSD.NSS.ELU.General.Inquiries@ssa.gov.

Please do not send monthly availability or Designated Scheduling Group (DSG) information to the general inquiry email box. Instead, please use the DSG or appropriate availability email box.

Telephone:

Contact the ELU at our toll-free number: 1-866-964-1714

ELU staff are available to answer scheduling-related questions Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 5:30pm Eastern Time.

Submission of Representative Availability

Please submit monthly availability for each applicable region using the appropriate regional email address. See the Submitting Representative Availability tab for further information regarding regional availability submission requirements.

REMINDER: DO NOT DUPLICATE AVAILABILITY ACROSS MULTIPLE REGIONS FOR THE SAME DESIGNATED SCHEDULING GROUP (DSG), AS THIS WILL LEAD TO DOUBLE-BOOKING.

Region	Email Address
1	OHO.NSD.NSS.REGION1REP@ssa.gov
2	OHO.NSD.NSS.REGION2REP@ssa.gov
3	OHO.NSD.NSS.REGION3REP@ssa.gov
4	OHO.NSD.NSS.REGION4REP@ssa.gov
5	OHO.NSD.NSS.REGION5REP@ssa.gov
6	OHO.NSD.NSS.REGION6REP@ssa.gov
7	OHO.NSD.NSS.REGION7REP@ssa.gov
8	OHO.NSD.NSS.REGION8REP@ssa.gov
9	OHO.NSD.NSS.REGION9REP@ssa.gov
10	OHO.NSD.NSS.REGION10REP@ssa.gov

You will receive an automatic confirmation reply email upon successful submission of your availability.

Initial Submission or Modification of Designated Scheduling Group (DSG) Information

Please submit initial requests to create a DSG or requests to modify an existing DSG by encrypted email to the following email address:

OHO.NSD.NSS.ELU.DSG.REP@ssa.gov

See the “Designated Scheduling Group” section for further information regarding Designated Scheduling Groups.

Representatives must provide the Office of Hearings Operations (OHO) with their availability for hearings by the first day of the month, five months before the start of the Target Scheduling Month (TSM). For example, availability for January 2025 is due by August 1, 2024.

A scheduling cycle is typically 6 months, including the entire Target Scheduling Month (TSM). The months of a scheduling cycle are calculated starting with the month in which the cycle begins. For example, the scheduling cycle for a TSM of June begins January 1 and ends on June 30. Representative availability is due at the beginning of a scheduling cycle. For example, using a TSM of June, representative hearing availability is due on January 1.

Each month, representatives will submit their availability for hearings for appropriate regions for their Designated Scheduling Group (DSG).

Designated Scheduling Groups (DSGs)

Representatives who wish to provide us their monthly availability must first set up a DSG. A DSG is a group of representatives for which availability is provided. A DSG may be comprised of one representative or multiple representatives, depending on the structure of the representative’s practice group. Some representatives, such as those in firms, business entities, or other groups, prefer to provide availability for a consolidated group of representatives, rather than for individual representatives.

Representatives structure their practice groups in a variety of ways. Some representatives handle a case individually from start to finish, including personally attending a hearing with a claimant.

Other representative practice groups may be larger, and these practice groups may assign hearing coverage to other partners, associates, or contract representatives closer in time to the hearing. These types of practice groups often prefer to provide SSA consolidated availability for a group of representatives.

If a representative or practice group wishes to provide availability for a consolidated group of representatives, the DSG will contain multiple affiliated representatives. OHO will use the DSG to track availability for hearings for the group.

On a monthly basis, representatives will provide hearing availability for the DSG to the ELU. Local hearing offices and National Hearing Centers will then schedule hearings pursuant to the availability provided for the DSG.

All representatives who provide availability must be part of a DSG. Submitting information about a DSG is the first step in the scheduling process. Representatives only need to complete this step one time, unless the representative or practice group seeks to modify the DSG. The ELU will not accept monthly availability submissions from a representative who is not part of a DSG.

Before providing their first availability submission, representatives must provide information about their DSG to us by encrypted email. The representative is responsible for determining the composition of the DSG and a representative may modify the DSG in the future, also via encrypted email. DSG modification requests must be received prior to the due date for submitting representative availability for a scheduling cycle in order to take effect for that scheduling cycle. For example, if a DSG wishes to begin submitting email availability for the Target Scheduling Month (TSM) of June, the representative(s) must submit DSG creation information prior to January 1.

See the Designated Scheduling Groups and the FAQs Scheduling tabs for additional information.

Submitting Monthly Availability

• Where to Submit Monthly Availability
Representative communication regarding availability will be with the ELU. Representatives should submit availability by email to the appropriate regional email box. The subject line of the email should include the name of the DSG, region, and the TSM. As a reminder, the ELU will send an email to the DSG contact person requesting representative availability for the DSG in advance of the due date.

• When to Submit Monthly Availability
Representatives, through their DSGs, must provide OHO their availability for hearings by the first day of the month, five months before the start of the TSM. For additional information about the scheduling cycle, please refer to the Scheduling Cycle tab.

• Who Should Submit Monthly Availability?

We recommend that representatives who have at least 5 cases pending in schedulable statuses in a particular region or 20 cases pending in schedulable statuses nationally provide availability for each region where they have such cases pending.

OHO uses representative-supplied availability to schedule hearings and will not call representatives when scheduling cases for a TSM. If a representative does not supply availability, or provides availability too late in the Scheduling Cycle, OHO will assume that the representative is fully available for scheduling and proceed to schedule their cases for hearings on that basis. OHO generally will not call representatives who have not submitted availability.

• Providing Availability to Multiple Regions

Each month, representatives, through their DSG, should provide their availability for each region where they have cases pending a hearing. The DSG must provide separate availability information via email to the appropriate email address for each region where they have cases pending. Representatives must not duplicate availability for one DSG across multiple regions to ensure that there is no double-booking of the same representative.

Representatives may submit availability to each applicable regional mailbox for the TSM as soon as it is ready, up to 11 months beyond the current TSM’s deadline. Submissions for subsequent months will not be accepted.

Please note that representatives are expected to consider the number of their schedulable cases in each region close in time to the availability deadline for the TSM. Accordingly, it is advisable for representatives to submit availability no earlier than 10 days prior to the availability deadline for the TSM, and no later than the TSM’s availability deadline.

Please be sure to include the name of your DSG, the region, and the TSM for which you are providing availability in the subject line of the email.

If a DSG does not provide availability by the deadline, the DSG will be considered fully available in each region where the DSG’s affiliated representatives have five or more cases pending in a schedulable status.

Schedulable statuses include the following pre-hearing statuses in Electronics Record Express (ERE): Master Docket, Pending Review, Pre Hearing Review, Pending Folder Assembly, Folder Assembly, Pre Hearing Development, Pending ALJ Assignment, and Ready to Schedule.

We will send an email informing the DSG about each region and TSM where it will be considered fully available when we do not receive timely availability. Please note that we will consider your DSG to be fully available in each region where the DSG has five or more schedulable cases and timely availability was not provided. Accordingly, we may schedule more than one hearing at the same time for your DSG in multiple regions.

• Required Monthly Availability Information

  For each region where a representative has cases pending in schedulable statuses, the representative must provide the ELU with the following information:

• The name of the DSG, the region, and the TSM. This information must be included in the subject line of the email.


• The number of available representatives per the DSG for the TSM.
  
  
  • For the purposes of providing monthly availability, an available representative is any representative who will handle hearings for the TSM for the DSG. The representative could be a principal or non-principal representative. The representative could also be a partner, an associate, an attorney from another firm or group, a non-attorney representative, or a contract representative.
  
  
• The days and times of availability for each DSG’s available representative(s)


• If indicating that a representative is available for a “full day,” we will assume that the representative is available during the business hours and time zone of the regional office of the region for which the DSG is providing availability.


• For each available representative, the DSG must indicate which days in the TSM they are available, and may indicate a time range for that day, for example:


• An across-the-board time availability for one or all available representatives of the DSG that does not vary per day, OR
• All representatives in the DSG are available full days, OR
• One representative in the DSG cannot attend hearings which start prior to 10:00am, OR
• One representative cannot attend a hearing starting later than 2:00pm, OR
• One representative can attend hearings which start from 8:30am – 12:00pm, and are available again for hearings which start 3:00pm – 4:00pm


• OPTIONAL: Whether there is a daily cap on the number of hearings to be scheduled for each available representative, and, if so, the capped number for each available representative per available day, and/or
• OPTIONAL: Whether there is a maximum cap of hearings to be scheduled for the DSG for the month, and if so, the capped number for the DSG


• For example, for the DSG of Doe and Associates, for the TSM of August, there are 5 available representatives for hearings. One of them is available starting each day at 9:30am, and the other 4 are all available full days. They are all available each day of the month, except one is unavailable on 8/13 and another is unavailable on 8/23; a max of 150 total hearings for the month for the group is requested.


• In the monthly availability submission, Doe and Associates should submit availability for August by email as follows:


• Subject line: Doe and Associates – Region 1 - August TSM
• 5 available representatives, request a max cap for DSG of 150 total hearings
• Representative 1: Available all days, available from 9:30am to COB; max 3 hearings per day
• Representative 2: Available all days, full days; max 4 hearings per day
• Representative 3: Available all days, full days; max 4 hearings per day
• Representative 4: Available all days except 8/13, full days; max 4 hearings per day
• Representative 5: Available all days except 8/23; max 4 hearings per day



REMINDER: PLEASE DO NOT DUPLICATE AVAILABILITY ACROSS MULTIPLE REGIONS FOR THE SAME DSG, AS THIS WILL LEAD TO DOUBLE-BOOKING

A DSG is a group of representatives for which availability is provided. A DSG may be comprised of one representative or multiple representatives, depending on the structure of the representative’s practice group.

Some representatives, such as those in firms, business entities, or other groups, prefer to provide availability for a consolidated group of representatives, rather than for individual representatives. Representatives who wish to provide us their monthly availability must first set up a DSG.

Representatives structure their practice groups in a variety of ways. Some representatives handle a case individually from start to finish, and will personally attend a hearing with a claimant.

Other representative practice groups may be larger, and these practice groups may assign hearing coverage to other partners, associates, or contract representatives closer in time to the hearing. These types of practice groups often prefer to provide SSA consolidated availability for a group of representatives.

If a representative or practice group wishes to provide availability for a consolidated group of representatives, the DSG will contain multiple affiliated representatives. OHO will use the DSG to track availability for hearings for the group. On a monthly basis, representatives will provide hearing availability for the DSG to the ELU, and the External Liaison Unit (ELU), and local hearing offices and National Hearing Centers will schedule hearings pursuant to availability provided for the DSG. All representatives who wish to provide availability must be part of a DSG. Submitting information about a DSG is the first step in the scheduling process. Representatives only need to complete this step one time, unless the representative or practice group wants to make changes to the DSG. The ELU is not able to accept monthly availability submissions from a representative who is not part of a DSG.

Before providing their first availability submission, representatives must communicate their DSG information to us by encrypted email. Representatives are responsible for determining the initial composition of the DSG and may modify the DSG in the future via encrypted email.

DSG Information

• A DSG is a scheduling group of a representative’s choosing. It can include only one representative, or multiple representatives. If a representative opts to provide availability for a consolidated group of representatives, the DSG will contain multiple representatives and will be considered a “consolidated” DSG.


• A representative must create a DSG and provide us information about the DSG, even if the representative is a solo practitioner. In that case, the DSG will include only that representative, and it will be considered a scheduling group of one, or a “solo” DSG.


• Representatives are responsible for determining the composition of the DSG and for choosing the name of the DSG.


• Before a representative is able to provide monthly hearing availability, the representative must provide the ELU with information regarding their DSG. Representatives only need to provide this information one time unless the representative wishes to make subsequent changes to the DSG. A DSG may be modified in the future via email.


• OHO will use the DSG to track availability for hearings for the DSG. On a monthly basis, representatives will provide hearing availability for the DSG. In the context of providing monthly availability, representatives will be required to inform the ELU about the number of representatives in the DSG available for hearings and the monthly availability for each. See the “How to Submit Representative Availability” tab for more information.


• A representative is required to tell us the names of all representatives “affiliated” with the DSG. An affiliated representative of a DSG is a representative who is closely associated with the individual representative or group of representatives for whom availability will be submitted by the DSG. For example, in the case of a firm or larger practice group that will submit consolidated availability, affiliated representatives would normally include partners, associates, other practice group employees, or of-counsel attorneys who generally do not handle cases for other groups or firms. This is particularly true if the affiliated representatives appear on the Claimant’s Appointment of Representative form (1696) or similar document at the time that availability is submitted or by the time in the scheduling cycle that the hearing offices or National Hearing Centers begin to schedule the cases.


• Contract representatives who handle hearings for multiple firms, business entities, or other groups of representatives would generally not be listed as part of a DSG, though they would count as available representatives for the purposes of providing monthly availability.


• For example, Doe and Associates is comprised of 1 partner, Doe, and 2 associates, Brown and Smith. Doe contracts with contract representative Jones to handle 10 cases per month. Doe would not list Jones in the DSG, but would note Jones' availability in the monthly scheduling availability.

• Submission or Modification of DSG Information
  Representatives should submit initial DSG information and requests to modify existing DSG information by encrypted email to the following email address:
  OHO.NSD.NSS.ELU.DSG.REP@ssa.gov
  
  For general inquiries, representatives may contact the ELU by email or telephone:
  OHO.NSD.NSS.ELU.General.Inquiries@ssa.gov
  
  Phone:
  Toll-free 1-866-964-1714
  Monday through Friday
  8:00am to 5:30pm Eastern Time.
  
  
  Privacy Notice: Sections 205(a) and 206 of the Social Security Act, as amended, and 404.1740(b)(3)(iii) of the Code of Federal Regulations, allow us to collect this information. We will use the information you provide to us to schedule hearings for your DSG and to communicate with you. The information you provide is voluntary. However, failing to provide all or part of the requested information may prevent accurate and timely scheduling. We will manage your information in accordance with our Internet Privacy Policy.

• Required DSG Information
Representatives must submit the following DSG information prior to submitting monthly availability to the ELU:

• The name of the DSG
• The name should include the name of the firm or the representative, or both. For Consolidated DSGs, the name must include the name of the practice group. Extraneous language, such as “Esq.” or “DSG,” should be avoided. No two DSGs can have the same name.
• For example: Jane Doe Group, or Doe and Associates/Patty Jones


• The name of all Affiliated Representatives
• We require the name(s) and SSA-issued Registration, Appointment and Services for Representatives Identification (RASR) Representative ID(s), if any, of any representative(s) affiliated with the DSG.


• DSG type (and modification, if any). See the “DSG Types and Modification” tab for more information.
• Solo
• Solo with Geographic modification
• Solo with Solo Secondary modification
• Consolidated
• Consolidated with Hybrid modification
• Consolidated with Geographic modification
• Consolidated with Unlimited Availability modification


• Contact information for the DSG:
• Name of contact person(s) (this may be a representative or another individual, such as a scheduling coordinator)
• Address
• Telephone number(s)
• Fax number, if any
• Email address (the email address provided will be used for scheduling purposes)
• EIN(s), if any, associated with the DSG

Encryption instructions are located here: EMAIL ENCRYPTION INSTRUCTIONS

Please include only the minimal personal information that is necessary for your DSG, as outlined above. When contacting the ELU, do not send any claimant or case specific PII.

Please note: A representative cannot be affiliated with more than one DSG unless each DSG has a different EIN. For example, if Jane Smith is an affiliated representative with one DSG, she cannot be in a second DSG if that second DSG has the same EIN. She can be an affiliated representative in two or more DSGs if each have different EINs. Similarly, more than one DSG may have the same EIN, so long as each DSG has different affiliated representatives.

DSG Types: Solo and Consolidated

When submitting Designated Scheduling Group (DSG) information, representatives must choose a DSG type. The two types of DSGs are Solo and Consolidated.

Solo Type	Consolidated Type
Recommended for Practice Groups that:	Recommended for Practice Groups that:
Consist of solo practitioners, or Are larger practice groups that assign coverage of hearings to a specific representative at the start of the hearing process before the hearing is scheduled.	Internally assign available representatives to hearings after the hearing has been scheduled.

DSG Type Examples

• Attorney John Doe is a solo practitioner who represents claimants before SSA. He is the only affiliated representative in the DSG. His DSG is named John Doe. John Doe has created a Solo DSG.
• Jane Doe owns and runs a large law firm that has many associate representatives. She also utilizes contract representatives to cover hearings in certain geographic locations. Jane Doe does not attend hearings. Her DSG includes herself and all associate representatives as affiliated representatives. Her DSG does not include contract representatives as affiliated representatives. She names her DSG Jane Doe Law Firm. Jane Doe has created a Consolidated DSG.

DSG Type Monthly Availability Submission Examples

Solo Type

• The representative who will appear at the hearing must submit the Claimant’s Appointment of Representative form (1696) or similar document as either a principal or non-principal representative by the time monthly availability is submitted.
• The DSG will usually only include one affiliated representative.
• Monthly availability submissions will include only one available representative for the DSG
• Example of Solo DSG availability:
• The representative is available all days, full days, except unavailable on 08/23; max hearings 4 per day.

Consolidated Type

• At least one representative affiliated with the DSG must appear on a Claimant’s Appointment of Representative, Form 1696 or similar document by the time that availability is submitted.
• Example of Consolidated DSG availability for Available Representatives:
• Representative 1: Available all days beginning at 9:30am
• Representative 2: Available full days on Tuesdays and Fridays. Available beginning at 9:30am on Mondays and Wednesdays
• Representative 3: Available all days, full days except 08/23

DSG Modifications: Hybrid, Geographic, Solo Secondary, and Unlimited Availability

There are four available DSG modifications: Hybrid, Geographic, Solo Secondary, and Unlimited Availability.

• Both Solo and Consolidated DSGs can use the Geographic modification.
• Only Consolidated DSGs can opt for the Hybrid or Unlimited Availability modifications.
• Only Solo DSGs can opt for the Solo Secondary modification.
• A DSG may have no more than one modification.

Hybrid and Geographic Modifications

Hybrid Modification	Geographic Modification
Recommended for DSGs that:	Recommended for Consolidated DSGs that:
Typically, internally assign available representatives to cases after the hearing has been scheduled, but Want to ensure that a particular available representative’s availability is used when scheduling remand or supplemental hearings.	Want to assign hearings to available representative(s) based on geographic location, and/or Want to indicate availability on certain days for a particular geographic location(s).

Hybrid Modification

• At least one Representatives affiliated with the DSG must appear on the Claimant’s Appointment of Representative, Form 1696, or similar document at the time that availability is submitted.


• Some or all available representatives are identified by name when submitting monthly availability.


• Individual representative availability will only be considered when scheduling for remand or supplemental hearings. For all other cases, SSA will not match a particular case to a particular identified available representative’s availability.


• In order for a particular remand or supplemental hearing to be scheduled with a particular representative, that representative must submit a 1696 or similar document as either a principal or non-principal representative by the time monthly availability is submitted for the Target Scheduling Month (TSM). Additionally, that representative must be an affiliated representative of the DSG.


• Example: Availability submission for Consolidated DSG type with Hybrid modification:
• Representative 1 (A. Associate): Available all days, full days, except unavailable on 08/17


• Representative 2 (B. Associate): Available full days on Tuesdays and Fridays. Available beginning at 9:30am on Mondays and Wednesdays


• Representative 3: Available all days, except 8/23, full days


• Representative 4: Available all days beginning at 9:30am

Geographic Modification

• Consolidated DSGs with a Hybrid modification may not have a Geographic modification.


• Representatives can choose to include geographic preferences for a particular day, to include a specific hearing office, a state, multiple states, or an entire region.


• With certain exceptions, such as Alaska, representatives may not include permanent remote sites or claimant-only video locations (COV) as a geographic preference.


• Representatives may not include a general or blanket limitation for available representatives to appear only at telephonic hearings or online video hearings.


• Geographic preferences are considered requests for an available representative to appear at in-person and VTC hearings at one or more particular geographic locations on a specific day. To ensure timely scheduling of hearings, available representatives may be scheduled for hearings in geographic locations other than those indicated in the DSG’s monthly availability submission.
  
  
• Geographic preference is only considered when scheduling in-person or VTC hearings.


• Example: Availability submission for Solo DSG type with Geographic modification:
• Available Representative 1 is available all days, full days, except is unavailable on 08/23. Representative 1 covers the Detroit HO on Mondays and Tuesdays, Grand Rapids HO on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and Lansing HO on Fridays.


• Example: Availability submission for Consolidated DSG type with Geographic modification.
• Representative 1:
• Available July 1, 5, 7, 9, 10, 15, 18, 19, each day from 8:30am – 2:00pm. Covers New York State, South Jersey HO, and Newark HO.


• Representative 2:
• Available July 6, 9, 11, 15, 18, 20, 25, each day from 8:30am to 3:00pm. Covers Albany HO and Syracuse HO.


• Representative 3:
• Available all days, full days. Covers New York State hearings on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, and New Jersey hearings on Thursdays and Fridays.


• Representative 4:
• Available July 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 15, 22, full days, covers Region 2.


• Example: Availability submission for Consolidated DSG type with Geographic modification:
• Rep 1, 2, and 3 available all days, full days in Arkansas
• Rep 4 available all days 8am-2pm in Region 6, max 2 hearings per day
• Rep 5 available all days, full days, in Oklahoma HO except July 12 and 14
• Total hearings requested to be scheduled for the DSG for the TSM: 100

Solo Secondary and Unlimited Availability Modifications

Solo Secondary Modification	Unlimited Availability Modification
Recommended for Practice Groups that:	Recommended for Consolidated DSGs that:
Maintain a principal representative on all Appointment of Representative documentation for the practice group throughout the hearing process. Assign coverage of hearings for some or all of the practice group’s cases to specific non-principal representatives from the practice group at the start of the hearing process/before the hearing is scheduled. Do not want to submit consolidated availability for the practice group. Instead, want to ensure that the specific non-principal representative’s availability is used when scheduling hearings for the non-principal representative’s assigned cases.	Have sufficient representatives to cover all scheduled hearings in all regions, no matter when the hearing is scheduled. Want to provide ongoing unlimited representative availability instead of providing monthly availability. Understand that by selecting this modification, we will schedule hearings for the DSG at any time.

Solo Secondary Modification

• The DSG will provide availability for a representative who appears as a non-principal representative on the Claimant’s Appointment of Representative, Form 1696, or similar document.


• Both the non-principal representative for whom availability will be provided and the representative who appears as the principal representative on the non-principal representative’s cases must be affiliated with the DSG.


• Both the principal and non-principal representative affiliated with the DSG must appear on the Claimant’s Appointment of Representative, Form 1696, or similar document at the time that availability is submitted. If the non-principal representative is not included on a 1696 or similar document by the time that monthly availability is submitted, we will not be able to associate a particular case with the availability submitted by the DSG.


• Both the principal and non-principal representatives’ names must be part of the DSG name.


• Monthly availability submissions will include only one available representative.

Unlimited Availability Modification

• The DSG is not required to submit monthly availability. SSA will schedule hearings for dates and times without limitation. .


• Specifically, we will schedule hearings for the DSG at any time, without consulting any availability or requested maximum hearings for a TSM. We will assume there is no limit to the number of available representatives for the DSG, such that multiple hearings for the DSG may be scheduled on the same day at the same time, even within the same region. Hearings will also be scheduled without ensuring buffer times for travel or for scheduling hearings on the same day with different ALJs.


• If the DSG subsequently is no longer able to provide unlimited availability on an ongoing basis and wishes to provide monthly availability, the DSG must first email the ELU by encrypted email to remove the Unlimited Availability modification and to modify the DSG.

Scheduling FAQs

Glossary of Terms

For an overview of the Enhanced Representative Availability Process (ERAP), please view the video below:

ERAP Overview