How to File a Complaint Against a Social Security Employee

To file a complaint against a Social Security Administration employee, send it to the office that handles the specific type of problem: a supervisor or the Office of Public Inquiries for poor service, the Program Discrimination Complaint Adjudication Office for discrimination, the Division of Quality Service for an Administrative Law Judge’s conduct, or the Office of the Inspector General for fraud. Getting it to the right place matters more than most people realize. A complaint sent through the wrong channel often produces no response at all.

Figure Out Which Type of Complaint You Have

Four categories cover almost everything, and each goes to a different office.

A general service complaint covers rudeness, incorrect information, or unreasonable delays.
A program discrimination complaint applies when you believe you were treated unfairly because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, or age. Retaliation for a previous complaint is also covered.¹
An ALJ conduct complaint covers bias, unprofessional behavior, or procedural unfairness by an Administrative Law Judge during a hearing.
A fraud, waste, or abuse report is for an employee defrauding SSA programs, wasting agency resources, or misusing their position.

Read the sections below for the one that matches your situation. If more than one applies, file each through its own channel.

What to Gather Before You File

No matter which channel you use, the SSA needs enough specifics to identify what happened and who was involved. Collect these before you sit down to write or call:

The employee’s name. If you don’t have it, note the office, date, and approximate time so the SSA can identify who helped you.
The date and time. Be precise. If the problem happened over multiple visits, note each one.
The location — the specific office, or whether it was a call to the national number.
What happened, in specific words and actions. “The employee told me I wasn’t eligible and refused to explain why” is far more useful than “the employee was unhelpful.”
Any document or claim numbers, and your Social Security number.
Names and contact information for witnesses.

If your complaint involves a call to the SSA’s national line at 1-800-772-1213, the agency monitors and records calls on that number, so a recording of your interaction may exist.² Note the date and approximate time of the call so investigators can locate it.

Filing a General Service Complaint

For rudeness, incorrect information, or delays that don’t involve discrimination or fraud, you have four options.

By phone. Call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday. Tell the representative you want to file a complaint, and they will document it and forward it to the right office.³

In person. Visit your local office and ask to speak with a supervisor. If the complaint involves that office’s staff, you can request it be forwarded to a different office for review.

By mail. Write to the Social Security Administration, Office of Public Inquiries and Communications Support, 1100 West High Rise, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21235.⁴

Online. The feedback form at ssa.gov/feedback accepts comments about a local office, the national phone line, a hearing office, or the website.⁵ This form is anonymous, which means it works for flagging systemic problems but won’t produce follow-up on your specific case. If you need a response, use one of the other three methods.

Filing a Discrimination Complaint

Discrimination complaints follow a more formal process with a strict deadline.

How to File

Download Form SSA-437-BK from ssa.gov, complete it, sign and date it, and send it to the address on the form.⁶ A letter containing the same information the form asks for also works. Mail it to the Social Security Administration, Program Discrimination Complaint Adjudication Office, Room 617 Altmeyer Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235, or fax it to (410) 597-0507.⁷ If you need help completing the form, call (866) 574-0374.

The 180-Day Deadline

File within 180 days of the discriminatory action, or within 180 days of when you first became aware of it. If you miss that window, you can request a waiver by explaining the delay. The SSA will grant it if there was good cause; without good cause, the complaint will be dismissed.⁶

A Discrimination Complaint Will Not Change a Benefits Decision

This trips people up regularly. Filing a discrimination complaint does not change any decision the SSA made about your benefits. If you believe a denial or reduction was based on discrimination, you still need to file a separate appeal within the appeal deadline, typically 60 days from the date you receive the decision notice.⁸ The discrimination complaint does not extend that deadline. State the discrimination claim in your appeal and include the supporting facts.⁶

Filing a Complaint About an Administrative Law Judge

Complaints about an ALJ who handled your hearing go through the Division of Quality Service inside the Office of Hearings Operations, not through the regular service or discrimination channels. This covers bias, unprofessional conduct, or procedural unfairness during a hearing.

You can submit an ALJ complaint by:⁷

Email to Fair.ALJ.Hearings@SSA.gov
Fax to (833) 769-0252
Mail to the Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings Operations, Office of Executive Operations and Strategic Management, Attn: Division of Quality Service, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235
Phone at 1-800-772-1213, telling the representative you want to file a complaint about an ALJ
In person at your local office, where staff will help you prepare and send the complaint

The complaint must be in writing. The phone and in-person options result in staff writing it up on your behalf. Like discrimination complaints, ALJ conduct complaints must be filed within 180 days of the action or when you became aware of it.

Reporting Fraud, Waste, or Abuse

If an SSA employee is involved in fraud, misusing government resources, or abusing their position, report it directly to the SSA’s Office of the Inspector General. The OIG operates independently from the rest of the agency, so the people you’re reporting don’t have access to or influence over the investigation.

File online at oig.ssa.gov/fraud or call the OIG fraud hotline at 1-800-269-0271, available 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.⁹ The online form lets you request anonymity. If you choose to remain anonymous, don’t include identifying details in the comment box, because the information you provide may be shared with the SSA or another agency during the investigation.¹⁰ OIG investigations are confidential, so don’t expect updates unless an investigator contacts you.

What Happens After You File

For a general service complaint, the SSA routes the matter to a supervisor or manager at the office involved. The review may include pulling call recordings, examining case files, and interviewing the employee. You’ll be told when the matter is closed, but not the details of any personnel action, which is confidential.

For a discrimination complaint, authority to investigate has been delegated to the Deputy Commissioner for Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity.¹ That office reviews whether your complaint is complete, filed on time, and within its jurisdiction before opening an investigation.

For an OIG fraud report, the process is confidential from start to finish. You generally won’t hear anything unless an investigator reaches out for more information.

If You’re Not Satisfied With the Response

Every member of Congress runs a constituent services office, and SSA issues are among the most common cases they handle. Call or visit your representative’s or senator’s local office and ask for the staffer who handles Social Security casework. After you sign a privacy release, they can make a formal congressional inquiry to the SSA on your behalf. The agency has internal procedures specifically for handling congressional inquiries, and these tend to move faster than complaints filed through normal channels.

Retaliation Protections and One Important Limit

Some people hesitate to file a complaint because they worry it will affect their benefits or lead to worse treatment at their local office. Retaliation is explicitly prohibited, and retaliation itself is a protected basis for filing a discrimination complaint.¹ Your benefits eligibility is determined by federal law based on your work history, earnings, and medical condition. An employee cannot change that because you complained about them.

One limit worth knowing: a complaint is not a way to remove an employee from your case. The SSA’s own guidance is clear that a complaint is not a mechanism to request that a specific employee stop handling your claim.¹ If you need a different person assigned, ask your local office or the national number to reassign the case. That’s a separate request.

1
Social Security Administration. POMS GN 00903.400 – Complaints of Discrimination Against SSA and/or SSA Employees by Members of the Public
2
eCFR. 20 CFR Part 422, Subpart H – Use of SSA Telephone Lines
3
Social Security Administration. Contact Social Security By Phone
4
Social Security Administration. Contact Social Security By Mail
5
Social Security Administration. Feedback Form
6
Social Security Administration. Complaint Form for Allegations of Program Discrimination by the Social Security Administration Form SSA-437-BK
7
SSA. How to File an Unfair Treatment Complaint Concerning an Administrative Law Judge or a Complaint of Program Discrimination
8
Social Security Administration. Appeals Process – Understanding SSI
9
Social Security Administration. Fraud Prevention and Reporting
10
Social Security Administration. Report Fraud – Office of Inspector General