Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock Disability Attorneys for Social Security Claims on the South Plains
Social Security's office locator assigns Lubbock ZIP codes, and those for Wolfforth, Levelland, Brownfield, Slaton and much of the surrounding South Plains, to the Lubbock field office at 5825 16th Street. Its hearing office data puts the Lubbock office on the list of the Fort Worth hearing office, in the Federal Office Building at 819 Taylor Street, so Lubbock hearing requests are generally assigned there.
Downard & Associates takes Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims for adults in Lubbock and West Texas from the application forward, through reconsideration, a hearing with an administrative law judge and the Appeals Council. Our lawyers are in Lebanon, Tennessee and work with Texas clients by phone or video, and there is no fee unless you win.
The local office
The Lubbock Social Security Office on 16th Street
Before you mail anything, follow the instructions on the notice you are answering, or call the office to confirm where it should go.
Social Security's office locator lists the Lubbock field office at 5825 16th Street, Lubbock, TX 79416, and describes it as directly behind Academy Sports, between Resthaven Cemetery and Loop 289. It is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and closed Saturday and Sunday. The phone number is 1-866-467-0460 and the fax is 1-833-902-2582.
According to the locator, this office handles benefits applications, appeals, new or replacement cards and updates to personal information, has a drop box, and takes appointments ahead of a visit. The locator gives a mailing address that is different from the street address: Social Security, NRC / FO 827, PO Box 416000, Kansas City, MO 64141. Before you mail anything, follow the instructions on the notice you are answering, or call the office to confirm where it should go.
You can file an application or an appeal through this office, but it does not make the medical decision on your claim or decide hearings. For a new application, the field office checks the non-medical requirements and sends the case to a state Disability Determination Services agency for the initial disability decision. A hearing goes to a hearing office chosen by your home address, which for Lubbock is generally Fort Worth.
How we help
SSDI and SSI Claims Our Lubbock Disability Lawyers Handle
SSDI pays from the Social Security record of your own work in most cases, though some disabled adult children and widows or widowers draw on a parent's or spouse's record. SSI is for people with limited income and countable resources and needs no work record. The adult disability test is the same for both, and an application can cover both programs. Our Texas disability lawyer page lays out the rest of the state.
Downard has no Lubbock office. You talk with us by phone or video, and at a hearing our attorney takes part from Tennessee by phone or video even if you go in person. We work with adults 18 and over. We do not handle VA claims or VA appeals, continuing disability reviews, cessation cases or disputes over back pay alone, and a case that needs federal court is referred to affiliated counsel.
Hearing offices
Lubbock Hearings Are Assigned to Fort Worth
That practice is separate from the hearing-format rule, under which Social Security decides how you appear after a move.
The data behind Social Security's hearing office locator lists ten Texas field offices under the Fort Worth hearing office: Abilene, Big Spring, Brownwood, Cleburne, Fort Worth, Fort Worth (South), Lubbock, Odessa, Plainview and San Angelo. The office is in Room 9A27 of the Federal Office Building, 819 Taylor Street. Our Fort Worth disability lawyer page covers the Metroplex side of that list.
Nearby field offices outside that group answer to other hearing offices. The Amarillo, Pampa and Wichita Falls field offices are on the Oklahoma City hearing office's list, which our Oklahoma City disability lawyer page covers, and the Hobbs and Clovis, New Mexico field offices are on the Albuquerque list.
Social Security's operations manual says hearing office jurisdiction is determined by the claimant's residence address, though you can ask, in a signed statement giving your reasons, to have a case transferred, and Social Security decides whether to do it. Social Security's hearings manual also lets it reassign some cases to another hearing office to relieve a temporary workload imbalance or increase productivity, only when the other office can hear and decide them more quickly. Social Security generally does not reassign a case this way when you have properly objected in writing to both a phone hearing and an agency video hearing, have not agreed to online video, and have not changed your residence. After a move, it generally still honors that objection when deciding whether to reassign the case for workload reasons, if doing so causes no added delay and nothing else calls for scheduling you another way. That practice is separate from the hearing-format rule, under which Social Security decides how you appear after a move. When Social Security moves a case to another hearing office for workload or productivity reasons, the office that receives it notifies you and your representative. Our hearing office directory lists every office with its field offices. For an in-person or agency video hearing, the Notice of Hearing names the place, so go by that notice for your own case.
Field offices by area
South Plains ZIP Codes and Their Field Offices
Each ZIP code is tied to one field office, and the community names shown with them are only approximate. These are examples, not full service areas, and an assignment can change, so confirm your street address in the locator.
Lubbock, 5825 16th Street (Fort Worth hearing office): 79401, 79403, 79404, 79407, 79410 through 79416, 79423 and 79424 (Lubbock), 79382 (Wolfforth), 79363 (Shallowater), 79364 (Slaton), 79329 (Idalou), 79336 (Levelland), 79316 (Brownfield), 79322 (Crosbyton), 79339 (Littlefield), 79347 (Muleshoe), 79356 (Post) and 79373 (Tahoka).
Plainview, 1601 Kermit St (Fort Worth hearing office): 79072 (Plainview), 79235 (Floydada) and 79241 (Lockney).
Big Spring, 501 Birdwell Ln (Fort Worth hearing office): 79720 (Big Spring), 79331 (Lamesa) and 79549 (Snyder).
Hobbs, NM, 501 E Bender Blvd (Albuquerque hearing office): 79323 (Denver City) and 79360 (Seminole).
Amarillo, 4750 Canyon Dr (Oklahoma City hearing office): 79101, 79106 and 79109 (Amarillo), 79045 (Hereford) and 79029 (Dumas).
Across the state line
Denver City and Seminole: Texas ZIP Codes Served From Hobbs, New Mexico
For an in-person or agency video hearing, the notice names the place, which may not be in Albuquerque.
Two West Texas towns fall outside the Fort Worth list. The locator assigns 79323 (Denver City) and 79360 (Seminole) to the Hobbs, New Mexico field office, and the hearing office data places Hobbs on the Albuquerque list, at Suite 200, 555 Broadway NE.
For a Seminole or Denver City claimant, the hearing office data puts the case with the Albuquerque hearing office rather than Fort Worth, so the hearing notices generally come from that office. For an in-person or agency video hearing, the notice names the place, which may not be in Albuquerque.
Local treatment records
Records From Covenant, UMC and the Lubbock VA Clinic
Covenant Health: Covenant's patients and visitors page says records requests must be in writing on its release of information form, faxed or mailed to Sharecare at 2461 E. Orangethorpe Ave, Suite 102, Fullerton, CA 92831 (phone 714-882-5873, fax 866-710-0155).
UMC Health System: UMC's patient portal page moves patients to MyChart for test results, visit summaries and messages, and says the older MyTeamCare portal is read-only until UMC ends access to it on December 31, 2026. UMC's posted notice on access to health records lists UMC Health Information Management at 806-775-9150, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Lubbock VA Clinic: the clinic at 3510 4th Street belongs to VA Amarillo health care. Its medical records office page offers your VA records online after you sign in; by mail, a signed VA Form 10-5345a goes to Release of Information, 6010 Amarillo Blvd W, Amarillo, TX 79106, and it says requests can take up to 20 business days.
Hearings and deadlines
Hearing Format and Appeal Deadlines for a Lubbock Disability Claim
To object in writing to a phone or agency video hearing, after you receive the Notice of Ways to Attend a Hearing
30days
20 CFR 404.936(d), 416.1436(d)
After a hearing request, Social Security sends a Notice of Ways to Attend a Hearing, and its ways to attend page lists four: in person or by agency video at one of its offices, and by phone or online video from a private location you choose. Under 20 CFR 404.936 and, for SSI, 20 CFR 416.1436, an objection to a phone hearing, an agency video hearing, or both must be made in writing within 30 days after you receive that notice. If you do not object, Social Security can schedule a phone or agency video hearing, though it can also schedule you in person or, if you agree, by online video; if you object to only one of those two formats, it can schedule you in person, by the other format, or by online video if you agree, and if you object to both, it generally schedules you in person or, if you agree, by online video. Online video is used only if you agree to it in writing, and a late objection or agreement needs good cause. If you move while the hearing request is pending, Social Security decides how you appear and can schedule a phone or agency video hearing despite an objection, though it considers the move only if you send evidence of your new residence; it can also use a phone hearing in a few other situations the rule lists. Our guide to hearing formats explains each choice and when Social Security moves a case to another office, and our disability hearings page describes the hearing itself.
A reconsideration request is due in writing within 60 days after you receive the initial denial, under 20 CFR 404.909 for SSDI and 20 CFR 416.1409 for SSI, and a hearing request after a reconsideration denial has its own 60 days under 20 CFR 404.933 and 20 CFR 416.1433. Social Security treats a notice as received 5 days after the date on the notice unless you show it came later, under 20 CFR 404.901 and 20 CFR 416.1401. A late request needs a written request for more time and good cause, so call us the week a denial arrives.
Common questions
Lubbock and South Plains Disability Claim Questions
Is a Lubbock disability case heard by the Fort Worth office?
The case is generally assigned to the Fort Worth hearing office, since the Lubbock field office is on its list, but the assignment does not settle how you take part. Social Security may set the hearing in person, by agency video at a Social Security site, by phone, or by online video if you agree, and the Notice of Hearing gives the format and, for an in-person or agency video hearing, the location.
Where is the Social Security office in Lubbock?
The locator lists 5825 16th Street, Lubbock, TX 79416, directly behind Academy Sports between Resthaven Cemetery and Loop 289, open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 1-866-467-0460. Hours and closures can change, so check the locator before you go.
Are travel costs to a hearing covered when you live in Lubbock?
Only if the trip from where you live or work to the hearing site is over 75 miles, so it depends on where the Notice of Hearing sets an in-person or agency video hearing; nothing is paid for a phone or online video hearing. Under 20 CFR 404.999c (416.1498 for SSI), Social Security measures the 75 miles from your home or office, whichever you leave from, and limits payment to the most economical and expeditious transportation suited to your health. Meals, lodging and similar unusual costs generally need written approval ahead of time, and if you ask for a site farther away than the one assigned, the extra cost is not covered.
Do Amarillo and Lubbock claims go to the same hearing office?
No, not by the hearing office data. Lubbock is on the Fort Worth list, while the Amarillo, Pampa and Wichita Falls field offices are on the Oklahoma City list. The field office for your own street address is shown at ssa.gov/locator.
Discuss your claim
Free Claim Review With a Lubbock Disability Attorney
Phone (615) 255-4307 or fill out the free review form, and expect a reply within 3 business hours. Keep your latest Social Security letter, the date you received it and a list of where you have been treated nearby when you reach out.