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Missouri ALJ Statistics

Social Security Disability hearing statistics for 6 hearing offices and 47 administrative law judges in Missouri.

State Approval Rate

51.9%

vs 58.3% national

Hearing Offices

6

in Missouri

ALJs

47

active judges

Avg Wait Time

7.3 months

vs 8 months national

Hearing Offices in Missouri

Office ALJs Approval Rate Wait Time Processing Pending
Columbia MO 3 60.3% 6 months 228 days 573
Creve Coeur 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Kansas City 12 54.1% 6 months 264 days 2,653
Nhc St Louis 8 45.7% 9.5 months 421 days 571
Springfield MO 9 39.9% 6 months 233 days 839
St Louis 15 54.5% 7 months 258 days 3,275

About Missouri Disability Hearings

Missouri has 6 Social Security hearing offices where Administrative Law Judges hear disability appeals. These offices are part of SSA Region 07 and collectively employ 47 ALJs who decided cases in the current fiscal year.

The average approval rate across Missouri hearing offices is 51.9%, which is below the national average of 58.3%. State-level rates are influenced by case demographics, quality of representation, claimant populations, and individual judge decision patterns. Within the state, office-level approval rates range from 39.9% at the Springfield MO hearing office to 60.3% at the Columbia MO hearing office, a 20-point difference.

Wait times across Missouri offices range from 6 months at the Springfield MO hearing office to 9.5 months at the Nhc St Louis hearing office.

Across all offices, there are 7,911 cases currently pending in Missouri, averaging approximately 168 pending cases per judge. Click on any hearing office below to see detailed judge-level statistics and individual approval rates.

Missouri Hearing Landscape

With 6 hearing offices spread across the state, Missouri's disability hearing landscape offers multiple points of comparison for attorneys and claimants. Case assignment is determined by residential address, so the specific office — and the judges at that office — depends on where the claimant lives. All statistics on this page are weighted by individual judge caseloads to accurately reflect the volume of cases processed.

With 6 hearing offices, Missouri provides multiple venues for disability hearings. Office sizes vary from 0 judges at the Creve Coeur hearing office to 15 judges at the St Louis hearing office. Cases are assigned to offices based on the claimant's residential address, so hearing location is determined by geography rather than preference.

For attorneys practicing disability law in Missouri, understanding the local hearing landscape is an important part of case preparation. The data on this page provides a starting point for evaluating office-level patterns, though individual judge statistics offer more granular insight into decision-making tendencies. Visit individual office pages for judge-level data.

Missouri Disability Hearing FAQ

What are my chances of approval in Missouri?
The average ALJ approval rate in Missouri is 51.9% for FY 2025. This includes both fully favorable and partially favorable decisions. The national average is 58.3%, putting Missouri below the national benchmark. Office-level rates within the state range from 39.9% to 60.3%.
Which cities in Missouri have SSA hearing offices?
Missouri has 6 SSA hearing offices with a total of 47 administrative law judges. The largest office is the St Louis hearing office with 15 judges, while the Creve Coeur hearing office has 0. Cases are assigned to hearing offices based on the claimant's residential address, and judge assignments within an office are typically made on a rotational basis.
What is the fastest hearing office in Missouri?
The Springfield MO hearing office currently has the shortest wait time at 6 months. The longest wait is at the Nhc St Louis hearing office at 9.5 months, a gap of 3.5 months. Wait times are snapshots from the most recent SSA data release and can shift as caseloads, staffing, and scheduling capacity change.
How is state data calculated?
Missouri has 6 offices serving 47 judges across the state. State averages are calculated by aggregating data from all hearing offices within the state. See our methodology page for details on data sources and calculations. Data originates from SSA public use files and is refreshed as new reports are published throughout the fiscal year.
Where does Missouri rank in disability hearing outcomes?
Missouri is in SSA Region 07. Its average approval rate of 51.9% is below the national average of 58.3%. For a full comparison of approval rates and wait times across all states, visit the states overview page.
What affects disability hearing results in Missouri?
Hearing outcomes in Missouri are influenced by several factors including the strength and completeness of medical evidence, vocational factors such as the claimant's age, education, and work history, the quality of legal representation at the hearing, and individual judge decision-making patterns.

Missouri's below-average approval rate of 51.9% may reflect regional factors including case demographics and the mix of conditions presented at hearings. With 47 active judges across 6 offices, outcomes in Missouri reflect a broad range of judicial decision-making patterns.

While all ALJs apply the same federal disability standards, these case-level factors can lead to variation in outcomes across offices and judges.
Can I request a different hearing location in Missouri?
Hearing location is determined by the claimant's home address. Within each office, judges are assigned cases through a rotational scheduling system. While transfers between offices are generally not possible based on preference, a change of address that moves you into a different office's service area may result in case reassignment. Missouri has 6 hearing offices, each serving a defined geographic area within the state.

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