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Updated June 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
76 ALJs
Latest monthly DDS data · 2026-06
Initial receipts
15,753
Initial determinations
13,707
Initial allowance rate
36.4%
Initial pending
75,047
Recon determinations
2,780
Recon allowance rate
16.0%
Hearing offices in California
| Office | Rank | Processing days | Pending | Approval | Judges |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAN BERNARDINO | 38 | 242 | 1,194 | 62.1% | 5 |
| SACRAMENTO | 68 | 254 | 2,505 | 69.1% | 7 |
| LONG BEACH | 78 | 257 | 1,843 | 55.6% | 5 |
| OAKLAND | 88 | 260 | 1,804 | 66.2% | 6 |
| NORWALK | 94 | 263 | 853 | 67.1% | 4 |
| PASADENA | 99 | 265 | 1,091 | 67.1% | 5 |
| SAN FRANCISCO | 102 | 268 | 1,445 | 53.0% | 9 |
| STOCKTON | 105 | 270 | 1,235 | 43.7% | 4 |
| MORENO VALLEY | 110 | 272 | 1,467 | 56.3% | 6 |
| ORANGE | 121 | 280 | 2,071 | 59.0% | 5 |
| SAN RAFAEL | 126 | 282 | 708 | 63.8% | 4 |
| SAN JOSE | 129 | 284 | 931 | 59.5% | 6 |
| LOS ANGELES DOWNTOWN | 132 | 285 | 1,308 | 70.8% | 4 |
| LOS ANGELES WEST | 134 | 287 | 2,150 | 62.7% | 7 |
| SANTA BARBARA | 140 | 294 | 1,005 | 73.9% | 6 |
| SAN DIEGO | 147 | 303 | 2,520 | 58.8% | 9 |
| FRESNO | 159 | 357 | 1,137 | 67.8% | 8 |
ALJs in California (76)
Sorted by approval rate.
| Judge | Office | Approval | Decisions | Awards | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engel, David | TULSA OHO | 91.5% | 165 | 151 | |
| Masterson, Aubri G | SANTA BARBARA | 91.5% | 188 | 172 | |
| Thompson, Michelle | LOS ANGELES DOWNTOWN | 86.6% | 298 | 258 | |
| Irias, Sigrid | LOS ANGELES DOWNTOWN | 81.9% | 171 | 140 | |
| Cabotaje, Michael | SPECIAL REVIEW CADRE | 81.7% | 60 | 49 | |
| Villere, Plauche F. | SACRAMENTO | 79.7% | 365 | 291 | |
| Lenzini, Robert | ORANGE | 78.6% | 266 | 209 | |
| Lishner, Elizabeth R. | LOS ANGELES WEST | 77.4% | 186 | 144 | |
| Suing, Timothy | HOUSTON WEST | 77.3% | 22 | 17 | |
| Reich, Gail | LOS ANGELES WEST | 76.8% | 263 | 202 | |
| Gill, Kevin | OAKLAND | 75.8% | 149 | 113 | |
| Cooper, Bruce T | PASADENA | 75.7% | 243 | 184 | |
| Duann, Tom | NORWALK | 75.1% | 281 | 211 | |
| Lunsford, Lisa | OAKLAND | 74.6% | 299 | 223 | |
| Hernandez, Evangelina | OAKLAND | 74.0% | 258 | 191 | |
| Dunn, Barbara | PASADENA | 73.9% | 153 | 113 | |
| Yerkey, Marc | LONG BEACH | 73.8% | 191 | 141 | |
| Chau, Ken H | PASADENA | 72.9% | 166 | 121 | |
| Bozarth, Shiva | FRESNO | 72.8% | 191 | 139 | |
| Yasutomi, Mark | HONOLULU | 71.8% | 124 | 89 | |
| Blume, David | SACRAMENTO | 71.7% | 325 | 233 | |
| Floyd, Cynthia | LONG BEACH | 70.1% | 281 | 197 | |
| Hong, Serena | SAN RAFAEL | 69.3% | 127 | 88 | |
| Martin, Lisa B. | SACRAMENTO | 69.2% | 143 | 99 | |
| Rosenbluth, Robin | LOS ANGELES WEST | 68.6% | 261 | 179 | |
| Skarda, Trevor | SACRAMENTO | 68.5% | 108 | 74 | |
| Alis, Enrico | OAKLAND | 68.4% | 272 | 186 | |
| Iafe, Robert | SAN DIEGO | 68.1% | 232 | 158 | |
| Arno, Josephine | MORENO VALLEY | 67.7% | 220 | 149 | |
| Benjamin, Daniel | SAN BERNARDINO | 67.5% | 40 | 27 | |
| Magana, Ghermann | PASADENA | 67.4% | 328 | 221 | |
| Winkelman, Roger E | SANTA BARBARA | 67.1% | 76 | 51 | |
| Richardson, Michael B. | SAN DIEGO | 66.8% | 202 | 135 | |
| Wolking, Tova | SAN JOSE | 66.7% | 87 | 58 | |
| Stevens Bentley, Elizabeth | SAN BERNARDINO | 66.4% | 289 | 192 | |
| Yee, Davis | SAN JOSE | 64.7% | 238 | 154 | |
| Nguyen, James | NORWALK | 63.2% | 304 | 192 | |
| Coulter, Paul | NORWALK | 63.0% | 54 | 34 | |
| Carberry, James | NORWALK | 62.9% | 197 | 124 | |
| Septer, Scot | FRESNO | 61.5% | 301 | 185 | |
| Knowdell, Christopher | SACRAMENTO | 60.5% | 309 | 187 | |
| Gunn, Evelyn | LOS ANGELES DOWNTOWN | 58.9% | 190 | 112 | |
| Pellegrino, Gloria | SAN FRANCISCO | 58.8% | 255 | 150 | |
| Silva, Troy | SAN BERNARDINO | 58.7% | 259 | 152 | |
| Kirby, Marti | MORENO VALLEY | 58.4% | 166 | 97 | |
| Elias, Yasmin | PHOENIX NORTH | 58.0% | 50 | 29 | |
| Kwon, K. | SAN RAFAEL | 57.4% | 277 | 159 | |
| Lisiecki, Joseph P | ORANGE | 56.8% | 229 | 130 | |
| Parnow, Mary | SAN FRANCISCO | 56.7% | 261 | 148 | |
| Gallegos, Kimberly | LONG BEACH | 56.6% | 274 | 155 |
Showing the top 50 of 76 judges.
Next step
Estimate approval odds
See SSA historical approval base rates for a California claim by condition, age, and stage.