Back to all states
Updated June 2026 · SSA Public
State Profile
Texas
TX · Region DAL
DDS approval rate
38.3%
-1.5 pts vs national
DDS approval rate
38.3%
National: 39.8%
3-year change
+4.6 pts
Annual receipts
146,999
FY2024
Hearing offices
7
64 ALJs
Latest monthly DDS data · 2026-03
Initial receipts
14,077
Initial determinations
8,585
Initial allowance rate
38.2%
Initial pending
134,333
Recon determinations
2,815
Recon allowance rate
20.6%
Hearing offices in Texas
| Office | Rank | Processing days | Pending | Approval | Judges |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOUSTON NORTH | 13 | 231 | 4,286 | 55.5% | 9 |
| RIO GRANDE VALLEY TX | 24 | 236 | 948 | 55.2% | 2 |
| FORT WORTH | 34 | 240 | 2,529 | 56.3% | 7 |
| HOUSTON WEST | 59 | 249 | 4,133 | 52.9% | 12 |
| DALLAS DOWNTOWN | 73 | 255 | 2,712 | 58.4% | 7 |
| DALLAS NORTH OHO | 82 | 258 | 5,576 | 63.3% | 11 |
| SAN ANTONIO | 86 | 259 | 6,868 | 54.2% | 21 |
ALJs in Texas (64)
Sorted by approval rate.
| Judge | Office | Approval | Decisions | Awards | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haigler Jr., Whitfield | DALLAS NORTH OHO | 97.4% | 153 | 149 | |
| Gazda, Peter | SAN ANTONIO | 89.6% | 270 | 242 | |
| Liken, Joseph | DALLAS NORTH OHO | 89.1% | 275 | 245 | |
| Thompson, Michelle | LOS ANGELES DOWNTOWN | 87.3% | 245 | 214 | |
| Walters, Charles | DALLAS NORTH OHO | 85.6% | 298 | 255 | |
| Strong, Helen F | HOUSTON WEST | 83.9% | 180 | 151 | |
| Murdock, Alexis | SAN ANTONIO | 80.1% | 201 | 161 | |
| Suing, Timothy | HOUSTON WEST | 77.3% | 22 | 17 | |
| Kinkade, Jana | DALLAS NORTH OHO | 76.4% | 271 | 207 | |
| Thames, Tammy A | DALLAS DOWNTOWN | 74.5% | 259 | 193 | |
| Gutierrez, David | HOUSTON NORTH | 71.3% | 310 | 221 | |
| Cravens, Steven L. | OKLAHOMA CITY | 69.4% | 186 | 129 | |
| Simmons, D'Lisa | HOUSTON NORTH | 69.2% | 367 | 254 | |
| Lahat, Gal | DALLAS DOWNTOWN | 69.1% | 188 | 130 | |
| Phillips, Derek N. | DALLAS NORTH OHO | 68.0% | 275 | 187 | |
| Bach, Laura | HOUSTON WEST | 67.5% | 277 | 187 | |
| Roberts, Laura | FORT WORTH | 65.5% | 310 | 203 | |
| Wilkerson, Dwight | SAN ANTONIO | 64.3% | 207 | 133 | |
| Burdette, Robert | HOUSTON WEST | 63.5% | 288 | 183 | |
| Williams, Harry L. | HOUSTON NORTH | 62.9% | 167 | 105 | |
| Thomason, Samuel | DALLAS NORTH OHO | 62.9% | 175 | 110 | |
| Hamner, Darren | FORT WORTH | 61.7% | 311 | 192 | |
| Maiben, Evelyn | DALLAS DOWNTOWN | 60.1% | 291 | 175 | |
| Shilling, Ralph F. | DALLAS NORTH OHO | 59.4% | 207 | 123 | |
| Carvalho, Sherrill | FORT WORTH | 59.1% | 242 | 143 | |
| Howard, William B | HOUSTON NORTH | 58.3% | 242 | 141 | |
| Elias, Yasmin | PHOENIX NORTH | 58.0% | 50 | 29 | |
| Wyatt, Kimberly O. | RIO GRANDE VALLEY TX | 58.0% | 100 | 58 | |
| McKay, Bernard J. | SAN ANTONIO | 56.9% | 304 | 173 | |
| Kirkpatrick, Melinda | SAN ANTONIO | 56.8% | 322 | 183 | |
| Eason, Kimani R | HOUSTON WEST | 56.3% | 286 | 161 | |
| McPhail, Robert | SAN ANTONIO | 56.3% | 247 | 139 | |
| Kim, Mark | DALLAS NORTH OHO | 54.7% | 258 | 141 | |
| Sauve, Michael | DALLAS DOWNTOWN | 54.6% | 284 | 155 | |
| Patel, Hiral D. | RIO GRANDE VALLEY TX | 54.3% | 346 | 188 | |
| Helget, Thomas J | HOUSTON NORTH | 53.7% | 361 | 194 | |
| Meyer, Gerald L | HOUSTON NORTH | 53.1% | 286 | 152 | |
| Brown, Katherine | SAN ANTONIO | 53.1% | 260 | 138 | |
| Wurm, David R. | SAN ANTONIO | 52.8% | 305 | 161 | |
| Kinnell, Tresie | DALLAS DOWNTOWN | 52.2% | 255 | 133 | |
| Gilbert, Richard A | HOUSTON WEST | 51.5% | 297 | 153 | |
| Mendola, Mark | DALLAS DOWNTOWN | 51.0% | 151 | 77 | |
| Wheeler, Thomas | DALLAS NORTH OHO | 50.2% | 251 | 126 | |
| Hebert, David | HOUSTON NORTH | 50.0% | 250 | 125 | |
| Allen, Matthew | SAN ANTONIO | 49.4% | 314 | 155 | |
| Barnett, Ben | SAN ANTONIO | 49.2% | 256 | 126 | |
| Foley, David | DALLAS DOWNTOWN | 49.2% | 313 | 154 | |
| Boyle, Solomon | HOUSTON WEST | 48.7% | 197 | 96 | |
| Wilkov, Penny | SAN ANTONIO | 47.3% | 262 | 124 | |
| Holmes, Janice L. | SAN ANTONIO | 47.0% | 302 | 142 |
Showing the top 50 of 64 judges.
Next step
Estimate approval odds
See SSA historical approval base rates for a Texas claim by condition, age, and stage.