Start the Clock on Getting Life-Changing Benefits
When you need Social Security Disability benefits, you need them fast. Your health took a turn for the worse. You can’t work. Your income has stopped. How will you survive?
We’re not going to gloss over this: A disability application takes a long time.
From initial application through a hearing with a disability judge, which is the most likely time you might win benefits, it can easily take a year or longer.
People often ask if Social Security has to stick to a time limit to review your case. It doesn’t. It can take as long as it wants.
But it’s worth it to go through this long process because in the end you may get a lump sum of back benefits covering your wait, and monthly checks going forward to make your life easier. Start soon, so you get the longest possible period for backpay.
On this page, the Chicago disability lawyers at Nash Disability Law break down how Social Security Disability wait times work.
For help with your individual case, talk to us any time.
Wait Times for Social Security Disability Applications
You can look at national numbers from Social Security to get an idea of how long it takes to get disability benefits, but you should be aware that your experience may differ.
All kinds of conditions affect how long it takes to get disability benefits for you individually. Those include how much of a backlog your local Social Security office has, and how complicated your health problems and claim for benefits are.
Our Chicago disability attorneys have watched Social Security build up big case backlogs for years.
At Nash Disability Law, we often see longer wait times for people in Chicagoland than what Social Security reports in its national data.
In recent years, our disability lawyers have found it can take longer to reach a hearing with a disability judge in Chicago, for example, than the Social Security averages suggest.
That said, here are the basic Social Security Disability wait time results from the government:
- National wait time for an initial decision on your application: 7.6 months (averaging 228 days as of mid-2025, so the built-in 5-month wait is usually covered)
- Wait time when you ask for a reconsideration of a benefits denial: 7.1 months (213 days as of 2023)
If you’re denied again after asking for reconsideration, your next step is asking for a hearing with a Social Security administrative law judge.
The time from your request for a hearing to your hearing date varies based on how many cases your Social Security Disability hearing office has to work through.
Around Chicagoland, these were the waits to reach a disability hearing in summer 2025, according to Social Security numbers:
- Chicago: 7.5 months
- Evanston: 7 months
- Oak Brook: 7 months
- Orland Park: 7 months
When you add the waits at each stage in the process, it can easily take over a year, or close to two years, to get approved for disability benefits.
Bring a helpful guide with you on this journey: the Chicago disability lawyers at Nash Disability Law.
No matter how long it takes, you don’t pay an attorney fee until you win benefits.
What Can You Do About the Wait Time to Get Social Security Disability Benefits?
Several steps can help you avoid even more delays in your Social Security Disability:
- Apply for benefits immediately after you realize you can’t work because of your health.
- Fill out all disability application forms completely.
- Fill out all the information correctly.
- Answer requests from Social Security for more information and forms quickly.
- Include substantial medical evidence (reports from doctors, test results, etc.) with your claim.
Every denial costs time, so getting your disability application in the best possible shape is important.
You can’t control Social Security’s backlogs or how fast they work through them. Your disability attorney can’t control Social Security’s pace either. But you and your attorney can make sure everything on your end is in order.
Another question you probably have is how are you going to make ends meet while you wait all this time for benefits?
This is undeniably hard.
These are possible steps you’ll need to take:
- Claim any other forms of government assistance you may qualify for.
- Get resources from non-profit organizations.
- Seek breaks on bills, such as from utility companies with programs for people under financial stress.
- Make a claim on your private, long-term disability insurance if you have a policy.
- Take money out of savings.
- Get help from family and friends.
- Sell your house and downsize.
As local Chicago disability lawyers, we’re happy to tell you about any resources we’ve heard about to help people in our area who are facing medical issues and financial stress.
We know that this is hard. We’ve worked with thousands of people going through the same things you are. Another part of your disability attorney’s job is to provide support, care and concern that you deserve in a difficult time.
When you’re asking how long does it take to get disability in Chicago, we can look at your situation and give you personalized information.
The sooner you start working toward disability benefits the better, so contact Nash now for a FREE evaluation of your disability claim.
