I have had several claims this year granted on the record. An “on the record” (OTR) request asks Social Security to grant your case on the record without a hearing. This request is for claims pending at the hearing level at the Office of Hearings Operations.

OTRs are favored by Social Security, because they save valuable resources. Why go though the hearing process if the claim is definitely going to be granted? Cases granted on the record free up scarce resources for more complicated claims.

On the record decisions can only be fully favorable. You cannot lose your case on the record. Rather, if the OTR request is not granted, your claim simply keeps its place in line for an eventual hearing.

Although there is nothing to lose by filing an OTR request, they should only be filed in a minority of cases, where a favorable result is mandated by the evidence and by Social Security’s rules and regulations. Also, the medical evidence in the record should be up to date before an on the record request is filed.

Two areas where an OTR is appropriate are 1) if the claimant meets a listed impairment, or 2) if the claim would be decided favorably at step 5 by the Medical-Vocational Guidelines. Such claims should be clear-cut winners. Claims that require a decision based on subjective evidence (such as the level of the claimant’s pain), or claims that would require vocational evidence, are not strong candidates for an on the record decision.

The other advantage of an OTR request for the practitioner is that your hearing brief is essentially done in advance. If the OTR request is not granted, your hearing brief is already written, and may just need a minor update before filing.