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Updated July 2026 · SSA Public
State Profile
California
CA · Region SFO
DDS approval rate
39.0%
-0.8 pts vs national
DDS approval rate
39.0%
National: 39.8%
3-year change
+2.5 pts
Annual receipts
186,857
FY2024
Hearing offices
17
78 ALJs
Latest monthly DDS data · 2026-07
Initial receipts
20,753
Initial determinations
17,233
Initial allowance rate
36.7%
Initial pending
77,121
Recon determinations
6,266
Recon allowance rate
14.7%
Hearing offices in California
| Office | Rank | Processing days | Pending | Approval | Judges |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAN BERNARDINO | 38 | 242 | 1,194 | 61.8% | 5 |
| SACRAMENTO | 68 | 254 | 2,505 | 69.2% | 8 |
| LONG BEACH | 78 | 257 | 1,843 | 55.3% | 5 |
| OAKLAND | 88 | 260 | 1,804 | 65.6% | 6 |
| NORWALK | 94 | 263 | 853 | 67.0% | 4 |
| PASADENA | 99 | 265 | 1,091 | 66.7% | 5 |
| SAN FRANCISCO | 102 | 268 | 1,445 | 52.2% | 9 |
| STOCKTON | 105 | 270 | 1,235 | 44.3% | 4 |
| MORENO VALLEY | 110 | 272 | 1,467 | 55.9% | 6 |
| ORANGE | 121 | 280 | 2,071 | 59.5% | 5 |
| SAN RAFAEL | 126 | 282 | 708 | 60.7% | 4 |
| SAN JOSE | 129 | 284 | 931 | 63.9% | 7 |
| LOS ANGELES DOWNTOWN | 132 | 285 | 1,308 | 69.9% | 4 |
| LOS ANGELES WEST | 134 | 287 | 2,150 | 62.5% | 7 |
| SANTA BARBARA | 140 | 294 | 1,005 | 74.4% | 6 |
| SAN DIEGO | 147 | 303 | 2,520 | 58.9% | 10 |
| FRESNO | 159 | 357 | 1,137 | 67.3% | 9 |
ALJs in California (78)
Sorted by approval rate.
| Judge | Office | Approval | Decisions | Awards | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masterson, Aubri G | SANTA BARBARA | 91.2% | 228 | 208 | |
| Engel, David | TULSA OHO | 90.6% | 191 | 173 | |
| Thompson, Michelle | LOS ANGELES DOWNTOWN | 86.6% | 328 | 284 | |
| Irias, Sigrid | LOS ANGELES DOWNTOWN | 81.9% | 171 | 140 | |
| Villere, Plauche F. | SACRAMENTO | 80.0% | 420 | 336 | |
| Lishner, Elizabeth R. | LOS ANGELES WEST | 77.7% | 215 | 167 | |
| Suing, Timothy | HOUSTON WEST | 77.3% | 22 | 17 | |
| Lenzini, Robert | ORANGE | 77.2% | 307 | 237 | |
| Reich, Gail | LOS ANGELES WEST | 75.8% | 302 | 229 | |
| Gill, Kevin | OAKLAND | 75.0% | 160 | 120 | |
| Hernandez, Evangelina | OAKLAND | 75.0% | 296 | 222 | |
| Duann, Tom | NORWALK | 74.8% | 322 | 241 | |
| Cooper, Bruce T | PASADENA | 74.6% | 248 | 185 | |
| Lunsford, Lisa | OAKLAND | 74.3% | 342 | 254 | |
| Chau, Ken H | PASADENA | 74.0% | 200 | 148 | |
| Dunn, Barbara | PASADENA | 73.9% | 153 | 113 | |
| Yerkey, Marc | LONG BEACH | 73.0% | 233 | 170 | |
| Bozarth, Shiva | FRESNO | 72.9% | 221 | 161 | |
| Blume, David | SACRAMENTO | 72.0% | 378 | 272 | |
| Yasutomi, Mark | HONOLULU | 70.1% | 127 | 89 | |
| Skarda, Trevor | STOCKTON | 69.4% | 121 | 84 | |
| Rosenbluth, Robin | LOS ANGELES WEST | 69.3% | 300 | 208 | |
| Hong, Serena | SAN RAFAEL | 69.3% | 127 | 88 | |
| Martin, Lisa B. | SACRAMENTO | 69.2% | 143 | 99 | |
| Floyd, Cynthia | LONG BEACH | 68.4% | 326 | 223 | |
| Benjamin, Daniel | SAN BERNARDINO | 68.2% | 44 | 30 | |
| Arno, Josephine | MORENO VALLEY | 67.7% | 220 | 149 | |
| Winkelman, Roger E | SANTA BARBARA | 67.5% | 77 | 52 | |
| Magana, Ghermann | PASADENA | 67.3% | 382 | 257 | |
| Richardson, Michael B. | SAN DIEGO | 66.8% | 247 | 165 | |
| Campbell, Robert F | SAN RAFAEL | 66.7% | 6 | 4 | |
| Wolking, Tova | SAN JOSE | 66.7% | 105 | 70 | |
| Alis, Enrico | OAKLAND | 66.4% | 321 | 213 | |
| Iafe, Robert | SAN DIEGO | 66.0% | 265 | 175 | |
| Stevens Bentley, Elizabeth | SAN BERNARDINO | 65.9% | 308 | 203 | |
| Yee, Davis | SAN JOSE | 65.4% | 283 | 185 | |
| Treblin, Howard K. | SAN DIEGO | 64.3% | 14 | 9 | |
| Coulter, Paul | NORWALK | 63.0% | 54 | 34 | |
| Carberry, James | NORWALK | 62.9% | 197 | 124 | |
| Nguyen, James | NORWALK | 62.7% | 354 | 222 | |
| Septer, Scot | FRESNO | 62.0% | 334 | 207 | |
| Knowdell, Christopher | SACRAMENTO | 60.3% | 348 | 210 | |
| Lisiecki, Joseph P | ORANGE | 59.6% | 267 | 159 | |
| Cabotaje, Michael | SAN RAFAEL | 59.2% | 76 | 45 | |
| Kirby, Marti | MORENO VALLEY | 59.0% | 188 | 111 | |
| Pellegrino, Gloria | SAN FRANCISCO | 58.9% | 299 | 176 | |
| Elias, Yasmin | PHOENIX NORTH | 58.8% | 51 | 30 | |
| Silva, Troy | SAN BERNARDINO | 58.8% | 296 | 174 | |
| Gunn, Evelyn | LOS ANGELES DOWNTOWN | 58.6% | 222 | 130 | |
| Kwon, K. | SAN RAFAEL | 57.6% | 328 | 189 |
Showing the top 50 of 78 judges.
Next step
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See SSA historical approval base rates for a California claim by condition, age, and stage.