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North Carolina ALJ Statistics

Social Security Disability hearing statistics for 4 hearing offices and 38 administrative law judges in North Carolina.

State Approval Rate

65.6%

vs 58.3% national

Hearing Offices

4

in North Carolina

ALJs

38

active judges

Avg Wait Time

7.6 months

vs 8 months national

Hearing Offices in North Carolina

Office ALJs Approval Rate Wait Time Processing Pending
Charlotte 11 70.4% 6 months 238 days 2,499
Fayetteville NC 6 63.7% 6 months 208 days 1,951
Greensboro 8 65.9% 6 months 233 days 1,674
Raleigh 13 61.9% 7 months 233 days 2,641

About North Carolina Disability Hearings

Disability claimants in North Carolina have access to 4 SSA hearing offices as part of Region 04. The state's 38 Administrative Law Judges handle the disability hearing caseload across these locations.

The average approval rate across North Carolina hearing offices is 65.6%, 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.

Wait times across North Carolina offices range from 6 months at the Greensboro hearing office to 7 months at the Raleigh hearing office.

Across all offices, there are 8,765 cases currently pending in North Carolina, averaging approximately 231 pending cases per judge. Click on any hearing office below to see detailed judge-level statistics and individual approval rates.

North Carolina Hearing Landscape

With 4 hearing offices spread across the state, North Carolina'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 4 hearing offices, North Carolina provides multiple venues for disability hearings. Office sizes vary from 6 judges at the Fayetteville NC hearing office to 13 judges at the Raleigh 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 North Carolina, 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.

North Carolina Disability Hearing FAQ

What are my chances of approval in North Carolina?
The average ALJ approval rate in North Carolina is 65.6% for FY 2025. This includes both fully favorable and partially favorable decisions. The national average is 58.3%, putting North Carolina above the national benchmark. Office-level rates within the state range from 61.9% to 70.4%.
Which cities in North Carolina have SSA hearing offices?
North Carolina has 4 SSA hearing offices with a total of 38 administrative law judges. The largest office is the Raleigh hearing office with 13 judges, while the Fayetteville NC hearing office has 6. 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.
What is the fastest hearing office in North Carolina?
The Greensboro hearing office currently has the shortest wait time at 6 months. The longest wait is at the Raleigh hearing office at 7 months, a gap of 1.0 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?
With 38 active judges, North Carolina processes a significant caseload. 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.
Where does North Carolina rank in disability hearing outcomes?
North Carolina is in SSA Region 04. Its average approval rate of 65.6% 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.
What affects disability hearing results in North Carolina?
Hearing outcomes in North Carolina 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.

North Carolina's above-average approval rate of 65.6% may partly reflect higher representation rates or differences in the types of cases that reach the hearing level in this region. With 38 active judges across 4 offices, outcomes in North Carolina 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 North Carolina?
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. North Carolina has 4 hearing offices, each serving a defined geographic area within the state.

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