Frequently Asked Questions:
Final Rule - Changes to the Administrative Rules for Claimant Representation
 and Provisions for Direct Payment to Entities

Availability of Forms

• Question: When will the new versions of Forms SSA-1694, SSA-1696, and SSA-1699 be available?

Response: The new versions of Forms SSA-1694 and SSA-1699 were available beginning September 30, 2024. The new version of Form SSA-1696 will be available on or about December 9, 2024.

Completion of Forms

• Question: Is it a requirement that representatives who always waive fees (e.g., non-profit organizations, legal aid representatives) complete Form SSA-1699?

Response: Yes.  As indicated in the final rule and at 2024 New Rule | Representing SSA Claimants | SSA, starting September 30, 2024, anyone who has not previously registered with us and who wants to be appointed as a representative must register with us using Form SSA-1699 before we will recognize a new appointment.

• Question: The new version of Form SSA-1699 requires the individual representative to list a bank account of which they are the owner or co-owner. How should this section of the form be completed if the individual representative assigning direct payment of fees to an entity is not the owner or co-owner of that entity's bank account?

Response: In general, the new rule will not change how we use the banking information provided on Form SSA-1699. If an individual representative does not designate an affiliate entity for a case on a Form SSA-1696, we will use the banking information provided in Section IV of Form SSA-1699 for direct payments to that representative.

If an individual representative designates an affiliate entity on a Form SSA-1696 but does not assign direct payment to the entity or if the assignment cannot be processed (e.g., the assignment was not timely or the entity was not eligible for direct payment), we will use the banking information provided in Section V of Form SSA-1699 for direct payments to that representative.

If an individual representative validly assigns direct payment of their fee to an eligible entity, we will use the banking information the entity provided on Form SSA-1694 when processing the payment.

• Question: Do representatives have to provide a “Home Address” for receipt of notices, as indicated in Section IV of the Form SSA-1699?

Response: No. In this section the form requests the address at which the representative wishes to receive notices. This address does not have to be a home address. When revising the form we mistakenly added “Home” before “Address” in the instruction line in this section. We are now working to correct this error and apologize for any confusion it has caused.

• Question: Why does the new Form SSA-1696 collect information about auxiliary claimants?

Response: According to policy in GN 03910.025C., representatives may be eligible for fees from any auxiliary cases that flow from the primary claimant’s (Number Holder) case. We may authorize fees to the Number Holder’s representative(s) from auxiliary benefits, such as those awarded to the Number Holder’s children, including those who do not live in the same household, when those children are not independently represented. To ensure that we timely and correctly withhold past-due benefits from any such auxiliary claimant, we request this information from the representative. Providing this information will streamline the representative’s fee payment process and improve fee payment accuracy for awards with auxiliary claimants. Representatives who do not have this information or do not wish to provide it can submit the form to us without the “Other Claimants” section completed.

Submission of Forms

• Question: How should representatives submit Form SSA-1699?

Response: Representatives should complete and fax Form SSA-1699 to us at 1-877-268-3827. We cannot process any other documents received at this number. We cannot process Form SSA-1699 if other forms are attached to the submission.

• Question: How should entities submit Form SSA-1694?

Response: Entities should complete and fax Form SSA-1694 to us at 1-833-597-1429.

• Question: How should representatives follow up to ensure that their registrations and their entity’s re-registrations have been properly processed after submission?

Response: We will send a notice to individuals confirming registration as a representative once we process their Form SSA-1699, even if they are registering only to serve as an entity Point of Contact (POC). This notice includes the individual’s unique Representative Identification (Rep ID). If we are unable to process their Form SSA-1699, we will notify the individual. Individuals should allow two to three weeks to receive one of these notices.

For more information, individuals may call 1-800-772-6270 or visit our website at www.ssa.gov/ar. If the individual is hearing impaired, they may call our TTY number at 1-800-325-0778. The individual may also visit their local Social Security office.

We will also send a notice to entities confirming registration once we process a Form SSA-1694 to establish or update an entity’s registration. If we are unable to process their Form SSA-1694, we will notify the entity. Entities should allow two to three weeks to receive one of these notices.

For more information, the entity POC may call 1-800-772-6270 or visit our website at www.ssa.gov/ar. If the POC is hearing impaired, they may call our TTY number at 1-800-325-0778. If a representative (who is not the entity POC) has a question about an entity’s registration, they should contact the entity.

• Question: If a representative submitted an appointment signed by the claimant before December 9, 2024, that the representative did not sign, do they need to replace this with a signed Form SSA-1696 in each case?

Response: No, as long as the claimant signed the appointment before December 9, 2024, even if the appointment is submitted to the agency after December 9, 2024, a representative does not need to submit a new Form SSA-1696 unless they want to update information relating to that claim. Claimants and representatives must use the new version of Form SSA-1696 only for new or updated appointments signed by the claimant on or after December 9, 2024. For each new appointment signed by the claimant on or after December 9, 2024, we will require both the claimant and the representative to sign Form SSA-1696 regardless of whether the representative is an attorney or non-attorney.

• Question: If a representative wishes to assign direct payment of a fee to an entity for a pending case, do they need to submit a new Form SSA-1696 for each pending case?

Response: Yes. Beginning on December 9, 2024, if a representative wants to assign direct payment of fees in a case that is pending, the representative must file a new Form SSA-1696 before the date we notify the claimant of our first favorable determination or decision.

• Question: Can a representative waive their right to a fee or direct payment of a fee if they have already assigned direct payment of their authorized fee to an entity?

Response: A representative must rescind an assignment before waiving their right to receive a fee or waiving their right to direct payment of a fee. A representative may rescind and waive on one updated Form SSA-1696 by indicating in Section 5, Part C that they are rescinding an existing assignment and indicating in Section 6 that they are waiving their fee or waiving direct payment of their fee. However, we will recognize a rescission of an assignment only if we receive it prior to the date we notify the claimant of our first favorable determination or decision.

• Question: Can an individual be the point of contact for one entity for which they do not represent clients, and also affiliate with a different entity when they are appointed to represent claimants? Could they assign direct payment to that other affiliate entity?

Response: An individual may serve as a point of contact (POC) for an entity and affiliate with other entities during their representation of claimants. To serve as the POC for an entity, the individual must be registered as a representative, be an employee of the entity, and be designated by the entity as the POC through the entity’s registration (20 CFR 404.1703, 404.1735(d), 416.1503, and 416.1535(d)). Serving as an entity’s POC does not prevent an individual from affiliating with other entities and assigning direct payment of fees to those entities while representing claimants.

Registration Deadlines

• Question: Is there a deadline for representatives to complete registration using Form SSA-1699?

Response: We encourage representatives who have not yet registered with us to do so as soon as possible. Representatives have the option to affiliate with one or more entities during the registration process. A representative must affiliate with an entity before the representative can assign direct payment of their fee to that entity starting December 9, 2024.

Representatives who have already affiliated with an entity do not need to update their registration unless their information has changed.

In addition, anyone who intends to be an entity’s Point of Contact (POC) must register as a representative using Form SSA-1699 before an entity can designate them to be a POC.

Court Attorneys (Only)

• Question: Can a Court Attorney receive a copy of a claimant’s notice of award to use to petition the court for a fee?

Response: We do not require court attorneys to submit Form SSA-1696 to us to represent claimants at the Federal court level. An attorney who has not been appointed to represent a claimant is not entitled to receive a copy of the notice of award from us, but court attorneys may request a specialized Court Attorney notice from us to facilitate petitioning for and approval of 406(b) fees. This notice is designed to provide essential information to assist attorneys with filing for court fees in successful court appeals of our final decisions, including court remands that result in a favorable or partially favorable administrative decision. We will not automatically release this notice to the court attorney but will send it in response to a request from an attorney who represented a claimant in Federal court.

• Question: What does a Court Attorney need to do to receive direct payment of court-awarded 406(b) fees?

Response: A court attorney who wants to receive direct payment of court-awarded fees must:

• Be registered with us using the Form SSA-1699, Representative Registration; and
• Submit a temporary payment-only appointment on Form SSA-1696, Claimant’s Appointment of a Representative.  This submission requires completion of only Sections 1, 2, 5 (parts A, B, and D only), and the attorney’s signature in section 8. The claimant’s signature is not needed to establish a temporary payment-only appointment.

NOTE: Registration is a one-time process; however, any individual who registers with us is responsible for ensuring that the information on file is current.