SSA's Silent Call for Paperwork Comments
Published Date: 7/31/2026
Notice
Summary
No summary available.
Analyzed Economic Effects
7 provisions identified: 6 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Form to Waive SSI Payment Continuation
SSI recipients who choose to discontinue their SSI payments while awaiting an appeal must complete Form SSA-263 (Waiver of Supplemental Security Income Payment Continuation). SSA estimates about 1,662 respondents with an annual burden totaling 416 hours for this form.
File SSA-25 to Get Reduced Spouse Benefits
If you are an entitled spouse who is at least age 62 but under full retirement age and no longer caring for a child, you must file Form SSA-25 (Certificate of Election for Reduced Spouse's Benefits) to elect reduced Social Security spouse benefits. SSA estimates the form takes about 13 minutes to complete; the submission pool in this notice totals 1,616 respondents and an estimated 350 annual burden hours.
Use SSA-1696 to Appoint a Representative
If you want someone to represent you before SSA regarding benefits or claims, you and your representative must file Form SSA-1696 (or e1696) signed by both parties before SSA will recognize the appointment; the form also records fee arrangements and eligibility for direct fee payment. SSA estimates this collection covers millions of respondents (the notice lists combined respondent counts totaling about 3,978,301 with an estimated 393,264 annual burden hours and a theoretical opportunity cost of about $18,776,929).
Teacher Forms for Child Disability Evidence
When SSA evaluates a child's impairment, SSA requests teachers complete Form SSA-5665 and school administrators complete Form SSA-5666 to report the child's daily functioning and to provide administrative records. The notice lists 211,487 teacher respondents (40 minutes each) and 154,723 administrator respondents (30 minutes each), with a combined annual burden of about 218,353 hours.
Choose Alternative Communication Methods
Disabled or impaired Social Security applicants, beneficiaries, recipients, and representative payees may request one of seven alternative communication methods (standard print, print plus follow-up call, certified mail, Braille, Microsoft Word on CD, large print 18-point, or audio CD) or explain why none of those meet their needs using Form SSA-9000-F6, iAccommodate intranet screens, or mySNO online. SSA lists estimated annual respondents of 20,652 and about 6,884 total annual burden hours for this collection.
Authorize SSA to Get Your Third‑Party Records
To allow SSA to contact third parties (for example, to verify age, wages, pensions, dividends, property, benefits, immigration, or other items) individuals may complete Form SSA-8510 to authorize SSA to obtain personal information; failure to verify eligibility can prevent SSA from making an accurate and timely decision. The notice lists 23,371 total respondents for SSA-8510 with about 1,947 annual burden hours and a combined theoretical opportunity cost of about $294,541.
New Electronic Privacy Act Access Form
SSA implemented Form SSA-2288-OP1, a new dynamic electronic webform that respondents submit via SSA's Upload Documents portal to request access to their agency records protected under the Privacy Act. SSA estimates about 1,097 respondents with an estimated 219 annual burden hours for the form.
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