You should apply for disability benefits as soon as you become disabled since it can take a while for the application to be processed. You can submit your claim over the phone, online, or in person.
Here’s how to do it:
Call the Social Security Administration (SSA) at 1-800- 772-1213
Inform the representative that you want to apply for Social Security disability or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The SSA will provide you with a date and an approximate time to expect a phone call from someone at the Social Security office. At that time, you will complete your application over the phone. The process will take about one hour. The application will subsequently be mailed to you for your signature.
Go online and submit your application
This is the fastest and easiest route to apply for Social Security disability. As you are going through the process and filling out your application, keep in mind that there are time limits on each page. You will receive several warnings, but if your time runs out on a certain page, then the information you entered on that page will be lost. If you don’t finish your application in one sitting, that is not a problem. You can save it and complete the claim later.
Please be aware that you cannot apply for SSI online because most of the forms are not set up for self completion. To apply for SSI, call the SSA and a claims representative will interview you and complete the forms for you by entering the information you provide. Go here for more information about how to apply for SSI.
Go to a Social Security office and apply in person
You can schedule an appointment at a local SSA office by calling 1-800-772-1213. You will be told which documents you will need to bring to the appointment. Be sure to ask for directions regarding how to get to the office if you need them.
No matter how you submit your claim, be sure to provide the SSA with all of the required information in the most straightforward way possible. Be honest about your impairments: you should not exaggerate, or minimize,
your disability. If you are having a hard time with your application or the submission process contact a social security attorney to guide you through the process.
