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Montana ALJ Statistics

Social Security Disability hearing statistics for 1 hearing offices and 5 administrative law judges in Montana.

State Approval Rate

67.9%

vs 58.3% national

Hearing Offices

1

in Montana

ALJs

5

active judges

Avg Wait Time

9 months

vs 8 months national

Hearing Offices in Montana

Office ALJs Approval Rate Wait Time Processing Pending
Billings 5 67.9% 8.5 months 281 days 1,674

About Montana Disability Hearings

Disability claimants in Montana have access to 1 SSA hearing office as part of Region 08. The state's 5 Administrative Law Judges handle the disability hearing caseload across these locations.

The average approval rate across Montana hearing offices is 67.9%, which is above the national average of 58.3%. Higher state-level rates can reflect various factors including case demographics, representation patterns, and the mix of judges across the state's offices.

The hearing office in Montana has a wait time of 8.5 months.

Across all offices, there are 1,674 cases currently pending in Montana, averaging approximately 335 pending cases per judge. Click on any hearing office below to see detailed judge-level statistics and individual approval rates.

Montana Hearing Landscape

As a single-office state, all disability hearings in Montana are conducted at one location. This means the state's overall statistics are driven entirely by the judges assigned to that office. All statistics on this page are weighted by individual judge caseloads to accurately reflect the volume of cases processed.

As the sole hearing office in Montana, the Billings hearing office handles all disability appeals for the state. With 5 judges, this office processes the entire state caseload.

For attorneys practicing disability law in Montana, 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.

Montana Disability Hearing FAQ

How often are cases approved in Montana?
The average ALJ approval rate in Montana is 67.9% for FY 2025. This includes both fully favorable and partially favorable decisions. The national average is 58.3%, putting Montana above the national benchmark.
Where are the disability hearing offices in Montana?
Montana has 1 SSA hearing office with a total of 5 administrative law judges. Your hearing office is determined by where you live, and the specific judge is assigned through the office's rotational calendar — neither is chosen by the claimant.
Where in Montana can I get a disability hearing fastest?
The Billings hearing office currently has the shortest wait time at 8.5 months. Note that wait times are point-in-time estimates from SSA reporting and may vary from month to month based on case volume and staffing changes.
How is state data calculated?
Montana's 1 office handles cases for 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. These figures rely on SSA's publicly released disposition records, which are processed and incorporated into our database as each reporting cycle concludes.
How do Montana's hearing statistics compare nationally?
Montana is in SSA Region 08. Its average approval rate of 67.9% is above the national average of 58.3%. For a full comparison of approval rates and wait times across all states, visit the states overview page.
Why do approval rates vary across offices in Montana?
Hearing outcomes in Montana 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.

Montana's above-average approval rate of 67.9% may partly reflect higher representation rates or differences in the types of cases that reach the hearing level in this region. With only 5 active judges, individual judge patterns have a more pronounced effect on Montana's overall statistics.

While all ALJs apply the same federal disability standards, these case-level factors can lead to variation in outcomes across offices and judges.
Is it possible to change hearing offices within Montana?
The SSA assigns cases to offices according to claimant geography, and judges receive cases through rotation rather than selection. 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. Since Montana has only one hearing office, all disability hearings in the state are conducted at that location.

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