There’s a common misconception that hiring a social security disability attorney costs too much. However, how much a disability lawyer costs depends on contingency fees, not any out-of-pocket costs from you.
Disability attorney fees don’t follow the same payment model regular transactions do. This eases the burden on those suffering from disability, and transfers them to the SSA.
Even though attorneys don’t charge you for their services, there may be separate fees you must cover to progress with your claim. Most attorneys allow you to schedule free consultations where you can discuss costs before hiring them for your case.
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How Do Disability Attorney Fees Work?
Disability attorney fees often work under contingency, meaning you won’t pay for their services throughout the legal process. Instead, the source of their money comes from the outcome of your lawsuit.
This means the only way for them to receive payment is for you to win your case.
After winning your case, the attorney charges the SSA for part of the back pay for your case. This allows legal representation to stay accessible to those who need it by fronting the legal costs to the SSA.
Disability attorneys will then publish a fee agreement and send it for you to review and sign off. This document details the fee structure they’re using for your case, and after signing they’ll send it to the SSA for approval.
Does Social Security Pay Attorney Fees?
The Social Security Administration does pay your attorney fees through about 25% of your back pay. This refers to the benefits the SSA owes you from the date of your application to approval.
Know that there’s restrictions to how much your disability attorney takes from your back pay; they can’t just take 100% of it for no reason.
In 2025, Social Security disability attorney fees received from back pay are capped by $9,200.
There are only a specific amount of cases where Social Security disability attorneys can charge more than the fee agreement cap:
- More than one SSD attorney worked on your case. In that scenario, each attorney itemizes their workload and sends separate fee petitions for their share.
- Your case went beyond an initial hearing to reach a conclusion on your case. When your case develops further into more hearings, attorneys will have to work harder to win a higher settlement.
Back pay is often necessary as you must be disabled at least five months after the onset of your condition to receive benefits.
How to Calculate Social Security Disability Back Pay
The first thing to know when determining how much a disability lawyer costs is your established onset date, or the starting date you suffered disability.
This date is determined through medical documents you send to a Disability Determination Services (DDS) examiner or administrative law judge.
To calculate your back pay, the SSA takes your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME), and multiplies it by the time you spent before approval.
Disability attorneys then take a portion of that calculation as attorneys fees for your case.
What Additional Costs Should You Consider?
Aside from attorney fees covered by your back pay, there may be additional costs associated with your case. Attorneys usually ask for documents to establish a case such as:
- Medical files
- Witness testimonies
- Court filing fees
Sometimes these out-of-pocket fees will be covered by your state. If not, these costs are often taken out of your back pay regardless.
Usually these costs amount to about $100-200 of fees, and your disability attorney will notify you on how these costs work before hiring them.
If you’re required to cover such fees, your attorney keeps your money in a trust account. This money will only be used to cover out-of-pocket fees related to your case. Your attorney will give you the leftover funds after your case settles.
How Much Does a VA Disability Lawyer Cost?
VA disability lawyers work on the same payment model as Social Security disability lawyers, but their contingency fee cap is 33.33% instead of 25%. This cap is protected by federal law through 38 CFR § 14.636.
This means VA disability lawyers may take a higher cut out of your back pay, but oftentimes their fees fall below the cap.
A VA disability lawyer’s cut depends on the following factors:
- The complexity of your case
- How involved your attorney was in your lawsuit
- Whether your case progressed to multiple hearings
There are also cases where a VA attorney can charge above the cap, but only if your case advances to further hearings, like Social Security cases.
What is the Most a Disability Lawyer Can Charge?
The most a disability lawyer can charge is 25% of your back pay or $9,200, whichever is smaller.
For VA disability lawyers, this cap is raised to 33.33%. Disability attorneys can charge above these caps for specific circumstances, but only if their fees are considered reasonable by the SSA or VA.
Wondering Where to Find a Disability Lawyer? Call LegalASAP.
Finding the right disability lawyer to handle your case is important, and you can connect with one soon through LegalASAP.
Our attorney network spreads to 500+ law firms across the United States, ready to assist you with your case.
If you want to meet with an attorney in our network, consider scheduling a FREE consultation to kickstart your claim. Start your consultation by filling out this short evaluation form or call 1-888-927-3080 to connect with a representative directly.
Jan Reburiano is a content writer and SEO specialist for law firms focusing on personal injury, disability, employment law, among other practices. He has written and edited numerous articles and created commercial spots for broadcasters that you can find in his LinkedIn. Jan currently lives in Los Angeles, California while writing for clients from around the United States.
