New evidence for Social Security claims must be submitted 5 business days ahead of the hearing. See 20 CFR 404.935(a) and HALLEX I-2-5-13. With a typical weekend, that’s 7 days ahead of the hearing. Holidays, which are of course not business days, must be accounted for as well. So beware the 3-day holiday weekend, like the upcoming Juneteenth National Independence Day coming up on June 19th this year.

Juneteenth has only been recognized as a federal holiday since 2021. So it may sneak up on some practitioners. If you have a hearing during the week of June 19th, you must take the holiday into account when calculating filing deadlines.

New evidence includes updated medical evidence and the Representative’s brief. Everything must be filed 5 business days ahead to be timely for the hearing. While filing earlier is always best, it is important to be aware of the deadline.