How to Pick Which SSA Hearing Office to Request (and What You Can Actually Control)

This is general information about SSA procedures, not legal advice. Whether a change of place or manner is granted is up to SSA and the ALJ.

Can I choose which SSA hearing office hears my case?

No, not as a free choice. Under 20 CFR 404.936, SSA sets the time and manner of your appearance, and the "place" is the hearing office or other site where you appear by agency video or in person. What you can do is object: you must state your reasons and the time or place you want, and the ALJ changes it only if they find good cause.

So the practical question is not "which office do I request?" but "what can I object to, and what should I check before I do?"

What can I control: the manner of my hearing?

You have more say over how you attend than where. SSA offers four ways to attend: in person, audio by phone, agency video, or online video (SSA publication EN-80-102).

Two rules matter most:

• In-person hearings: To get one, you must timely object to both agency video and audio, and you must not agree to online video (SSA In-Person Hearings).
• Online video: SSA will not schedule an online video hearing unless you agree. If you object to audio and agency video and do not agree to online video, SSA schedules an in-person hearing (Federal Register, 2024).

Because SSA offers audio and online video options alongside in-person and agency video, the choice of manner is where you have the most room to object or agree (SSA publication EN-80-102).

When can my case move to a different hearing office?

Mainly after a real change of residence. If you objected to audio and agency video and you move while your hearing request is pending, the Hearing Office Chief ALJ considers a transfer. One criterion is that you must now travel more than 75 miles to a hearing site in the original office's jurisdiction (SSA HALLEX I-2-0-21).

A change in mailing address is not enough to establish a change in residence for transfer purposes (HALLEX Transmittal I-2-97).

If you ask to move your hearing to another office's jurisdiction for reasons other than moving, the ALJ evaluates the request under good-cause procedures (SSA HALLEX I-2-0-70). Note that HALLEX pages can be dated, so confirm the current version with SSA or a representative.

How long will my hearing take to get scheduled?

SSA's performance page reports a hearings average processing time of 270 days in FY 2026, 14 days faster than FY 2025. Its monthly pending-hearings chart, however, shows average processing time rising from 278 days in September 2025 to 287 days in September 2026, above the 270-day fiscal-year average (source: SSA Social Security performance).

Those are national figures. Office-level reports are published separately, which is why checking them is worth the few minutes it takes.

Where do I find the wait time for my hearing office?

SSA publishes monthly public data files by hearing office, including an "Average Wait Time Until Hearing Held" report, workload data, and an average processing time ranking report (SSA public workload data files). The wait-time report measures average months from hearing request date to hearing held, for cases closed that month (SSA wait-time report).

Read these numbers with care. SSA's own archived July 2023 report warns that its averages are true only for cases closed that month where hearings were held, not cumulative for the fiscal year. That same archive showed offices ranging from 7.0 months (Charlottesville) to 27.0 months (Baltimore), though that is historical data, not a current figure (SSA archived report, July 2023).

Our hearing-office wait-time tool organizes these public files so you can compare offices. It works right here:

Source for the underlying data: SSA public workload data files. Full tool: aissdi.com/offices.

Want this on your site? Embed it free: aissdi.com/embed.

Copy-paste citation: Social Security Administration, "Average Wait Time Until Hearing Held Report," ssa.gov/appeals/DataSets/01_NetStat_Report.html, accessed Nov. 10, 2026; hearings average processing time per ssa.gov/ssa-performance.

How should I use this to decide what to do?

Use the rules above to decide whether to object, and use SSA's office data to know what to expect. In practice:

1. Check your office's wait time in SSA's monthly report so you know what to expect (SSA wait-time report).
2. Decide how you want to attend. If you want in person, you must object to agency video and audio on time and not agree to online video (SSA In-Person Hearings).
3. Object on time if you have a good reason to change the time or place, and state the time or place you want (20 CFR 404.936).
4. Tell SSA promptly if you move, since a genuine change of residence is the main trigger for a transfer review (SSA HALLEX I-2-0-21).

Waiting for a hearing is also a good moment to gauge where your claim stands. You can check your case strength with our free scoring tool.

FAQ

Can I choose which SSA hearing office hears my case? Not as a matter of preference. Under 20 CFR 404.936, SSA sets the time and manner of your appearance. You may object to the time or place and state what you want instead, but the ALJ changes it only for good cause.

Can I transfer my hearing if I move? Possibly. If you objected to audio and agency video and your residence changes while your hearing request is pending, the Hearing Office Chief ALJ considers a transfer. One criterion is a trip of more than 75 miles to a hearing site in the original office's jurisdiction (SSA HALLEX I-2-0-21). A mailing-address change alone is not enough (HALLEX Transmittal I-2-97).

Does the hearing office matter if I attend by phone or online video? It may matter less, since SSA offers audio and online video options. Online video is only scheduled if you agree (Federal Register, 2024), and SSA's monthly office data can still show how long cases wait.

How do I find the wait time for my hearing office? SSA publishes a monthly Average Wait Time Until Hearing Held report listing each office in months from hearing request to hearing.

What are the ways to attend an SSA hearing? SSA offers four: in person, audio by phone, agency video, or online video (SSA publication EN-80-102).