Many people who decide to file a Social Security disability claim need assistance for various reasons. There are many different people who can assist a claimant file a claim and they don’t need to necessarily be an attorney, but many times they are because they specialize in the Social Security disability process. Regardless of who assists a claimant with a claim, there are some guidelines a person helping with the process should follow.
Social Security allows those who wish to help another person apply for disability, retirement, spouse, or Medicare benefits. This may be a friend, relative, attorney, paralegal, employer, or member of an advocacy group or organization.
When you fill out the application, Social Security ask for information about you (the form completer), your relationship to the person you are applying for and, if applicable, the organization you work for. If the person you are helping is, or will be immediately available to sign the completed application on his or her own behalf, please answer the questions as that person would answer them. Whenever we say “you” or “your” in the application, we are referring to the person you are helping to apply.
You do not need to be appointed as the representative of the person you are helping in order to help him or her apply for benefits. But if the person you are helping wants to officially appoint you as the authorized representative to do business with Social Security, you must submit Form SSA-1696-U4 ( Appointment of Representative). Visit our Representing Social Security Claimants website to get a copy of the form and an explanation of the representative process.
If the person you are helping is, or will be with you and able to sign the completed application, he or she must be the one to sign it (i.e., electronically apply). The application will then be automatically forwarded to us and we will begin processing. If the person is not with you or not able to sign the application, Social Security will mail it to him or her for verification and signature.
