User Resources

We must comply with Social Security Administration requirements and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act standards. Because we must follow those standards, we cannot guarantee that the Electronic Records Express website will be compatible with all internet browsers. We tested the Electronic Records Express website with commonly used browsers such as Internet Explorer for Windows, Firefox for Windows and Mac, Safari for Windows and Mac, and Chrome for Windows and Mac. To get the best results, we highly recommend that your browser have JavaScript enabled in your browser's preferences.

If you are experiencing technical difficulties, you should first check the security or preference settings for your browser. If further assistance is needed, please call the Social Security Electronic Records Express Help Desk at 1-866-691-3061.

Depending on which service you are using, the Electronic Records Express website will accept at least one of the following file formats: .doc, .wpd, .zip, .txt, .xls, .pdf, .tiff, .tif, .docx, .rtf, and .xlsx

Yes. The total file size of both individual and group submissions cannot exceed 50 megabytes. (i.e., The aggregate size for all files in any one upload sessions may not exceed 50MB.)

Online instructions are available by clicking on the "User Instructions" tab in this window. Additional written instructions are available on Electronic Records Express page(www.ssa.gov/ere available on www.socialsecurity.gov).

You may call the Social Security Electronic Records Express Help Desk at 1-866-691-3061 or send them an email at electronic-records-express@ssa.gov, or you should contact the office where you are sending the document or the office that requested the information.

To receive notification of scheduled ERE outages, you may subscribe to ERE GovDelivery services on the Social Security Administration's ERE internet website: Social Security Online: Electronic Records Express. You may also subscribe by clicking on the "Sign Up for Email/Text ERE System Notifications" link on the ERE website homepage.

The tracking information page means that your document(s) was successfully uploaded to the Social Security web server. Once it is uploaded it must go through a virus scan and a file conversion process (converted to a Tagged Image Format file in order to conform to our storage format). Occasionally an uploaded document will not process. You should allow up to 24 hours before resending a document, although website submissions will be processed in a few hours under normal circumstances.

The website supports SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) / TLS (Transport Layer Security) encryption to protect records submitted from your PC to Social Security and the Disability Determination Services. Your account is protected by your confidential user ID and password combination.

You must contact the DDS to obtain a DDS barcode before sending any information to DDS.

After 25 minutes of website inactivity, you will be asked to indicate that you want to continue using the website. If you do not respond within 5 minutes, you will be logged off the Electronic Records Express Website. All users are logged out of the website 2 hours after logging in. If you want to continue using the website and have been logged out, you will need to go to the login page and reenter your User ID and Password.

You must have a barcode from the OHO office you are dealing with before sending any information via the Electronic Records Express website.

Yes. There are User Resources that will guide you through this process. You can find these resources on any ERE page by selecting the "User Resources" link.

This message can be received for a number of reasons, such as:

• You may have entered the wrong social security number
• The case may not be at the Hearing or Appeals Council level (only cases at the Hearing or Appeals Council level can be viewed)
• The case may have closed at the Hearing or Appeals Council level - you only have access to the case for a limited period of time after the decision was issued on the case.
• You may not be shown as the representative for that case

For additional help, contact the Social Security office handling the case.

You will receive this message if you had 10 unsuccessful attempts to access electronic folders within a 24 hour period. You should contact the Social Security Administration at 1-866-691-3061 to reinstate your access to the service.

No, this restarts the clock and the count for failed attempts (10).

• The case may not be electronic
• There are multiple electronic cases pending at Social Security and the system cannot determine which one to display.

You must contact the local Hearing or Appeals Council office handling your case for additional help. Note: These unsuccessful attempts to access your claimant'?s electronic folder will not count as one of the 10 unsuccessful attempts that will cause your access to be suspended.

No, currently only cases at the Hearing or Appeals Council office can be viewed.

An email will be sent to you when your documents are ready to ?"pick-up"?. For more detailed information about this process,there are User Instructions that will guide you through this process. You can find these instructions on any ERE page by selecting the User Resources link.

If it has been more than 48 hours and you have not received an email, request the documents again.

Files are retained for seven (7) days. You will need to request these files again if they are no longer available

No, the files remain for 24-hours after you begin the download process.

No, the files remain for 24-hours after you begin the download process.

Yes, use the Upload New File button at the bottom of the screen next to the Download buttons.

First, check the status of your submission by using the Track Status of Submissions feature on the ERE home page.

• If 24 hours has passed since you uploaded the file and that status shows the file is Processing, contact the SSA office handling the case.
• If the status is Sent but the file is not in the eFolder, contact the SSA office handling the case.
• If the status is Error, view the submission details for more information. The file you tried to upload may be password protected or there may be a virus associated with the file. Tech support will contact you to assist.

The Zip File contains the documents or the multimedia files you requested, an index page describing them, and some additional help files.

After extracting the files and saving to your computer, open the Index.html. The Index mirrors the claimant�s Exhibit List. Select the Document Name you want to view. The link will take you directly to an image of the document.

The FTR Player requires setting up the Search Folder path prior to playing the audio.

1. Click Start (the Windows icon in the left hand corner of your desktop); select All Programs, then ForTheRecord and TheRecord Player.
2. When TheRecord Player License Agreement appears, select the "Don?t show this screen again" checkbox on the bottom left. Read the agreement then click "I Agree" button.
3. From TheRecord Player, click the Open icon (first icon on the bottom).
4. From the Open dialog box, click Manage Search Folders icon (second icon in the top left).
5. From the Manage Search Folders dialog box, click Add Search Folder (first icon on the right).
6. In the New Search Folder dialog box, click Browse.
7. In the Browse For Folder dialog box, go to the folder that contains the audio file, select the audio file (with .trm file extension) you wish to add and click OK.
8. Click Next.
9. In the Search Folder Name dialog box, enter a user-friendly name (ex. Archive Recordings).
10. Click Next.
11. In the Search Priority dialog box, set the priority by clicking Priority Up and Priority Down buttons.
12. Click Finish.
13. If a Manage Search Folder dialog box appears, click Close.

Note: Having multiple search folders can be helpful when attempting to download and play previously downloaded audio. Adding the same audio file that you previously downloaded to the same folder could potentially compromise audio quality.

FTR Format:

Once you extract the Zip File and setup the Search Folders, follow the instructions below to play the audio file:

1. Click Start (the Windows icon in the left hand corner of your desktop); select All Programs, then ForTheRecord and TheRecord Player.
2. From TheRecord Player click the Open icon (first icon on the bottom).
3. From the Open dialog box, locate the multimedia file by clicking the plus sign beside the desired Search Folder, then click the plus sign beside the desired date.
4. Once the multimedia file is revealed (where media type contains .trm file), select it and click Open button.
5. Click Begin Playback on TheRecord Player.

OGG Format:

Once you extract the ZIP file to a desired location on your computer, follow the instructions below to play the audio file:
Open the Media folder and open each .ogg file individually. If audio does not play, follow the instructions below to download an OGG Vorbis compatible Player/Codec, and try opening the .ogg files again.

1. Go to the www.vorbis.com website.
2. Select the platform for your operating system.
3. Follow instructions under the Playback section for download and install options for playback of ogg vorbis files.

The header of the Index contains information for identifying the case. The header displays the:

• Claimant's name and social security number
• Claim type associated with the case
• Adjudicative level associated with the case
• Date of Last Change, Last Insured, Alleged Onset, and Application

The page is designed to mimic an actual paper disability folder. Each disability folder has color-coded sections that hold different types of documents. Similarly, each section on this page has different types of documents. For example, the "yellow" section entitled Medical Evidence will contain documents relevant to that topic such as Medical Evidence of Record and Consultative Examination documents.

All browser versions should be supported.

The paper documents are stored as TIFF files with the file extension of TIF and the multimedia files are stored as audio files with an extension of TRM or OGG.

TIFF is an acronym for Tag(ged) Image File Format. It is one of the most popular and flexible of the current public domain file formats.

TRM files are multimedia files that are created by ForTheRecord�.

OGG files are multimedia files that can be played on multiple operating platforms (Windows, MAC OS, Unix/Linux).

SSA does not endorse any software products. We have listed the software we know about below for your convenience. We encourage you to visit the web pages of the companies that produce them for additional information.

1. Microsoft Office Document Imaging included with Microsoft Office
2. Imaging for Windows from Kodak
3. TIFF Viewer and Plug-in from Black Ice
4. AlternaTIFF Medical Informatics Engineering
5. CPC View from Cartesian Products, Inc.

For FTR Format, use FTR "TheRecord Player". Please take note of the minimum recommended systems requirements before downloading the player.

For OGG Format, you can use various Vorbis compatible players.

The Zip file package contains the documents you downloaded from your client's electronic folder. In order to view these documents you must first extract them from this Zip file package and save them to your computer. Depending on the Operating System (i.e. Windows or MAC) and Unzip program you're using, the process of extracting files may vary.

Therefore, the following instructions should be used as a general guide:

1. Extract all files in this Zip file package and verify that "Use folder names" is selected
2. Save the file in your desired location
3. Go to the location where you saved the file
4. Locate the index.html file and open it by double clicking on it

The documents you have requested will be sorted under the color coded sections within the Document Index (Gray sections within the Exhibit List Index). You will see the document'?s name and other information (Decision/Disposition date, Received Date, etc.).

When you click on the name of the document, an image of the document will appear. The image you will see is exactly as the document is stored in the Social Security Administration's records. Once you have opened one document, you may return to the index page and open another one. Test your computer's ability to view multi-page TIFF documents by clicking the link to a sample image below.

Sample Document

You should be able to see both pages of the two page sample document. If you can see both pages you should be able to view all the images within this zip file. If you cannot view both pages of the sample image, you will have to correct this before continuing.

Please check the following:

• You have a multi-page TIFF viewer installed on your computer. See the "What commercial software can I use to view the TIFF documents?" question.
• The file extension TIF is associated with your multi-page TIFF viewer.

Check "associating files" or "file extensions" in your operating system's help for more information on changing the program associated with TIF files.

Check that your TIFF viewer supports multi-page TIFF documents. If it does not, you will need to install one on your computer that does.