In one sentenceSupplemental Social Security Rule 6 requires the plaintiff to file and serve a brief for the requested relief — stating why the court should reverse or remand the Commissioner’s decision — within 30 days after the answer or the certified administrative record is filed.
Full Text of Rule 6
Text size
The plaintiff must file and serve on the Commissioner a brief for the requested relief within 30 days after the answer is filed or 30 days after entry of an order disposing of the last remaining motion filed under Rule 4(c), whichever is later.
End
Amendment History
(Added Apr. 11, 2022, eff. Dec. 1, 2022.)
Plain-English Summary
The plaintiff’s brief is the opening move in deciding a Social Security review case. Supplemental Rule 6 requires the plaintiff to file and serve on the Commissioner a brief for the relief requested, setting out the reasons the Commissioner’s final decision should be reversed or the case remanded — for example, that the decision is not supported by substantial evidence or rests on a legal error.
The brief is due within 30 days after the Commissioner files the answer or the administrative record, putting the case on a predictable schedule keyed to the record’s arrival.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the plaintiff’s brief due in a Social Security review case?
Within 30 days after the answer or the certified administrative record is filed (Supplemental Rule 6).
What must the plaintiff's brief argue?
The reasons the Commissioner's final decision should be reversed or the case remanded — for example, that the decision lacks substantial-evidence support or rests on a legal error.
Source & verification. The rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the
official Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Supplemental Social Security Rule 6), 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 6plaintiff's brief Social Securityopening brief