Attorney Fees for Social Security Disability Claims

How Much Does a Social Security Disability Lawyer Cost?


At Donoff & Lutz, LLC, your consultation is free. For our standard Social Security disability cases, you do not pay an attorney fee up front, and you do not owe an attorney fee unless we win.


We represent people seeking Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits on a contingency-fee basis. Here's what that means:

  • Free initial consultation: $0.
  • Upfront attorney fee: $0 for standard disability claims.
  • Attorney fee if you win: Generally, the lower of 25% of your past-due benefits or $9,200.
  • Future monthly benefits: We do not take an ongoing percentage of your monthly disability checks.


We explain our fees and any potential case expenses in a written agreement before you hire us. In cases handled through the Social Security Administration's standard fee-agreement process, the attorney fee is the lower of 25% of your past-due benefits or a fee-cap set by the Social Security Administration. As of this post's publication in November 2026, the fee-cap is $9,200.00. The fee generally comes from your back pay. It is not an ongoing percentage of your future monthly disability checks.


Case expenses, if any, are separate from attorney fees. We try to keep these expenses low. Helpfully, in Ohio, doctors must provide medical records to disability claimants without charge. See O.R.C. 3701.741(C)(1)(e). We do not outsource medical record collection services to external firms, use expensive computer systems, or pay "contract attorneys." You should always check whether a law firm uses those vendor services and passes on the costs of that outsourced legal work to their clients.


We note that some cases are normally not handled through the Social Security Administration's normal fee-agreement process, such as continuing disability reviews and post-entitlement claims.


If a case proceeds past the Administrative Law Judge's opinion, or if the fee contract is denied for some other reason, then we will request a fee of 25% of past-due benefits.

How the standard disability attorney fee works

We handle Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income claims on a contingency basis. That means our standard attorney fee depends on winning benefits for you. We explain the arrangement in a written agreement before you hire us.


Under the standard fee-agreement process, Social Security must approve the fee. The current limit is the lower of:

  • 25% of the past-due benefits used in Social Security's fee calculation; or
  • $9,200.

The $9,200 figure is a cap under this process, not a flat fee charged to every client. If 25% of the relevant back pay is less than $9,200, the lower amount applies. For example, if a client receives back pay of $1,000, we would get paid $250. If a client is approved and receive no back pay, we receive no fee. The $9,200 cap is current as when we published this page, and the Social Security Administration might raise it to account for inflation. Different procedures can apply in some cases, including certain appeals.


In routine cases, the Social Security Administration withholds money from your back pay and pays the authorized attorney fee directly. This means you ordinarily do not have to write a check to pay us. Occasionally, however, an authorized fee must be paid directly by the claimant (for example, if the Social Security Administration forgets to withhold our fee).


The attorney fee does not come out of your future monthly benefits. It is generally calculated using the back benefits owed to you because of your successful claim.


Examples of disability lawyer fees


These examples show how the standard formula works. The back pay in each example is the amount used to calculate the attorney fee:


These examples assume the standard fee-agreement process applies. The amounts are illustrative, and actual benefit payments may be affected by other deductions or adjustments.

Are There Exceptions to the Standard Attorney Fee?


Yes. Although most disability claims are handled through Social Security's standard fee-agreement process, some cases require different arrangements.


Examples include continuing disability reviews, certain post-entitlement matters, and some cases that continue beyond the first Administrative Law Judge's decision.


Our written fee agreement may provide for a different fee-approval procedure if the case continues beyond that stage. In those circumstances, or when the Social Security Administration does not approve a standard fee agreement, we generally request a fee of 25% of past-due benefits when past-due benefits are available. Under the fee-petition process, the Social Security Administration determines what fee is reasonable and authorizes the amount we may charge. The $9,200 cap does not apply to that process. Matters involving no past-due benefits may require a different fee arrangement.


Representation in federal court is also governed by separate fee-approval rules. We will explain any different fee arrangement before you retain us.

Legal Background & Scams to Watch For


Our fee structure reflects the industry standard. Although most contingency fee attorneys charge between 33% and 40% of recovery (e.g., in personal injury or worker's compensation claims), Social Security disability lawyers cannot charge more than 25% of fees under 42 U.S.C. §406(a)(2)(A)(ii). In theory, there are exceptions to the 25% limit: For example, attorneys and claimants could agree to a percentage greater than 25%, but then the attorney would need to submit a fee petition to the Social Security Administration to get approval for the fee. The claimant normally does not want to pay more than 25%, the attorney does not want to bother with a fee petition, and SSA presumably would not approve a higher fee, anyways. The Supreme Court has also held that the 25% limit applies separately to representation before the Social Security Administration and in federal court. See Culbertson v. Berryhill, 586 U.S. 53 (2019). And in some cases where there will not be back pay, such as continuing disability review cases, attorneys will have separate fee arrangements and need to request approval from SSA for their fee. But these cases are all unusual. And given that Social Security disability firms have some of the smallest margins in the legal industry, we have never heard of an attorney charging less than 25% of back pay (if you find one, I would love to hear how they do it!).


We have heard of non-attorney, non-representative "Social Security disability advisors" who charge a fee to "advise" claimants on their disability claims; we think that these arrangements almost certainly run afoul of Section 206(a)(2) of the Social Security Act (and have reported these "advisors" to the Office of Inspector General), and you should be careful with anyone who charges an upfront fee for a routine disability claim.

Call (937) 223-4400 or email disability@donofflutz.com to schedule a free consultation.