Rule 5.Presenting the Action for Decision

Last verified June 30, 2026

In one sentenceSupplemental Social Security Rule 5 provides that the action is presented for decision on the parties’ briefs, reflecting that Social Security review is decided on the closed administrative record rather than through a trial or live testimony.

Full Text of Rule 5

Text size

The action is presented for decision by the parties' briefs. A brief must support assertions of fact by citations to particular parts of the record.

End

Amendment History

(Added Apr. 11, 2022, eff. Dec. 1, 2022.)

Plain-English Summary

Supplemental Rule 5 captures what makes these cases distinctive: there is no trial. The action is presented to the court for decision on the parties’ briefs. The judge reviews the certified administrative record and the parties’ legal arguments about whether the Commissioner’s decision is supported by substantial evidence and free of legal error.

By framing the case as a briefing matter, the rule channels everything into an orderly schedule of briefs — the plaintiff’s, the Commissioner’s, and a reply — set out in the rules that follow, rather than the discovery, pretrial, and trial machinery of an ordinary civil action.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a trial in a Social Security review case?

No. Under Supplemental Rule 5, the action is presented for decision on the parties’ briefs and the administrative record, not through a trial.

What does the judge look at in deciding a Social Security review case?

The certified administrative record and the parties' legal arguments over whether the Commissioner's decision is supported by substantial evidence and free of legal error — no new evidence or testimony.

Source & verification. The rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the official Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Supplemental Social Security Rule 5), a public-domain work of the U.S. Government. Prescribed by the United States Supreme Court under the Rules Enabling Act. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified June 30, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: FRCP Supplemental Social Security Rule 5decided on briefsSocial Security on the record