This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

395 

Vol. 80, No. 3 

Tuesday, January 6, 2015 

1 76 FR 45184. 

2Public Law 111–142, as codified at 42 U.S.C. 

406(e). 

3 76 FR 45184, 45187–45188. 

4 72 FR 46121. 

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 

20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 

[Docket No. SSA–2010–0025] 

RIN 0960–AH21 

Revisions to Direct Fee Payment Rules 

AGENCY: Social Security Administration. 

ACTION: Final rules. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting, with two 

revisions, our interim final rules that 

implemented amendments to the Social 

Security Act (Act) made by the Social 

Security Disability Applicants’ Access 

to Professional Representation Act of 

2010 (PRA). The interim final rules 

made permanent the direct fee payment 

rules for eligible non-attorney 

representatives under titles II and XVI of 

the Act and for attorney representatives 

under title XVI of the Act. They also 

revised some of our eligibility policies 

for non-attorney representatives under 

titles II and XVI of the Act. Based on 

public comment and subsequent 

inquiries, we are revising our rules to 

clarify that an eligible non-attorney 

representative’s liability insurance 

policy must include malpractice 

coverage. We are also reaffirming that a 

business entity legally permitted to 

provide the required insurance in the 

States in which the non-attorney 

representative conducts business must 

underwrite the policies. 

DATES: These rules are effective 

February 5, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric 

Ice, Office of Income Security Programs, 

Social Security Administration, 6401 

Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 

21235–6401, (410) 966–3233. For 

information on eligibility or filing for 

benefits, call our national toll-free 

number, 1–800–772–1213 or TTY 1– 

800–325–0778, or visit our Internet site, 

Social Security Online, at http:// 

www.socialsecurity.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

We published the interim final rules 

‘‘Revisions to Direct Fee Payment 

Rules’’ on July 28, 2011 (76 FR 45184), 

and the rules became effective on 

August 29, 2011.1 In the preamble to the 

interim final rules, we explained how 

we would implement the revisions 

made to the Act by the PRA.2

The PRA established five 

requirements that non-attorney 

representatives must meet to be eligible 

for direct fee payment. A representative 

must: 

(1) Have a bachelor’s degree from an 

accredited institution of higher 

education or have been determined by 

us to have equivalent qualifications 

derived from training and work 

experience; 

(2) Pass an examination that we write 

and administer, which tests knowledge 

of the relevant provisions of the Act and 

the most recent developments in Social 

Security Administration (SSA) and 

court decisions affecting titles II and 

XVI of the Act; 

(3) Secure professional liability 

insurance, or equivalent insurance, 

which we determine to be adequate to 

protect claimants in the event of 

malpractice by the representative; 

(4) Undergo a criminal background 

check to ensure the representative’s 

fitness to practice before us; and 

(5) Demonstrate ongoing completion 

of qualified courses of continuing 

education, including education 

regarding ethics and professional 

conduct, which are designed to enhance 

professional knowledge in matters 

related to entitlement to, or eligibility 

for, benefits based on disability under 

titles II and XVI of the Act. The 

continuing education courses, and the 

instructors providing the education 

courses, must meet our prescribed 

standards. 

Revision to and Clarification of the 

Liability Insurance Coverage 

Requirement 

To fulfill the third requirement 

described above, the interim final rules 

required an eligible non-attorney 

representative to provide proof of and 

maintain continuous liability insurance 

coverage in an amount we prescribe (20 

CFR 404.1717(a)(6) and 416.1517(a)(6)). 

We explained in the preamble that we 

would accept either business liability 

and professional liability insurance to 

meet this requirement.3 In response to a 

comment, we are clarifying in the final 

rule that eligible non-attorney 

representatives must provide proof of 

and maintain continuous liability 

insurance that includes coverage for 

malpractice claims against the 

representative in an amount we 

prescribe. 

We are also clarifying our requirement 

that insurance policies be underwritten 

by a business entity that is legally 

permitted to provide the insurance we 

require in the States in which the nonattorney representative conducts 

business. When we first established the 

demonstration project, we required that 

insurance policies be underwritten by 

firms that are licensed to provide 

insurance in the States where the 

individuals practice. On August 16, 

2007, we published a Federal Register 

notice 4 explaining our decision that the 

insurance requirement would be met if 

the representative’s insurance policy 

was underwritten by a business entity 

that is legally permitted to provide 

professional liability insurance in the 

States in which the representative 

conducts business. After we published 

our interim final rules on July 28, 2011, 

some representatives asked us whether 

we were continuing the August 2007 

policy or whether we were returning to 

the original requirement that the 

insurance policies be underwritten by 

firms that are licensed to provide 

insurance in the States where the 

individual practices. We did not intend 

to change the requirement we explained 

in August 2007, and therefore clarified 

final sections 404.1717(a)(6) and 

416.1517(a)(6) to make this point 

clearer. 

Other Changes 

We also made minor changes to 

correct punctuation and wording to the 

following sections: 

• Corrected final sections 404.903(z) 

and 416.1403(a)(24) by deleting ‘‘and’’ 

after the semicolon. 

• Corrected final sections 404.903(aa) 

and 416.1403(a)(25) by deleting the 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES
396 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 3 / Tuesday, January 6, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

5The comments are available for public viewing 

at www.regulations.gov under docket ‘‘SSA–2010– 

0025.’’ 

6Public Law 108–203, section 303(b)(1) . 

7 70 FR 2447, 2448–49. 

8 42 U.S.C. 406(e)(2)(A). 

9 76 FR 45184, 45186, 45187. 10 76 FR 45184, 45187. 11 42 U.S.C. 406(e)(2)(B). 

period and adding a semicolon and the 

word ‘‘and.’’ 

• Corrected final sections 

404.1717(d)(1)(ii) and 416.1517(d)(1)(ii) 

by adding a semicolon after the word 

‘‘section.’’ 

• Corrected final section 

416.1517(f)(1) to read ‘‘. . . paragraphs 

(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), or (a)(5) of this 

section’’ to correspond to the text in 20 

CFR 404.1717(f)(1). 

Public Comments 

The 60-day public comment period 

closed on September 26, 2011. We 

received comments from three 

individuals and two organizations (the 

National Association of Disability 

Representatives (NADR) and the 

National Organization of Social Security 

Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR).5

We carefully considered the comments. 

We have condensed, summarized, and 

paraphrased some of the comments due 

to their length. We tried to summarize 

the commenters’ views accurately and 

respond to the significant issues raised 

by the commenters that were within the 

scope of these rules. 

Education and Experience 

The Social Security Protection Act of 

2004 (SSPA) included a requirement 

that we determine whether a nonattorney representative has ‘‘equivalent 

qualifications derived from training and 

work experience’’ if the representative 

does not have ‘‘a bachelor’s degree from 

an accredited institution of higher 

education.’’ 6 In 2005, we published a 

notice in the Federal Register in which 

we explained that we would use a 

formula that balanced the applicant’s 

years of education and his or her 

relevant professional experience when 

we determined whether an applicant 

met the ‘‘equivalent qualifications’’ 

requirement.7 In the 5 years that 

followed, we found the balancing 

formula difficult to administer and 

revised this requirement in the interim 

final rules.8 As we explained in the 

preamble to the interim final rules, we 

required applicants to demonstrate that 

they have either a bachelor’s degree 

from an accredited institution of higher 

learning or at least 4 years of relevant 

professional experience and either a 

high school diploma or GED certificate.9

Comment: We received a comment 

from NADR indicating that it concurred 

that relevant professional experience is 

essential for representatives who have 

not completed a bachelor’s degree. 

However, NADR noted that the SSPA 

demonstration project included a 

formula that balanced undergraduate 

education and work experience. NADR 

encouraged us to allow for some 

flexibility in evaluating relevant work 

experience for individuals who have 

received credit for undergraduate course 

work, but who have not earned a 

bachelor’s degree. 

Response: It is not practicable for us 

to evaluate relevant work experience for 

individuals who have received credit for 

undergraduate course work but who 

have not earned a bachelor’s degree. As 

we stated above and in the preamble to 

the interim final rule, we found the 

balancing formula that considered 

various combinations of education and 

work experience difficult to administer 

and we therefore streamlined the 

process and simplified our 

administration of this requirement. We 

believe requiring a person without a 

bachelor’s degree to have at least 4 years 

of relevant professional experience is 

appropriate because a bachelor’s degree 

generally requires 4 years of study. We 

believe this requirement appropriately 

ensures that the representatives possess 

the qualifications called for in the Act. 

Comment: NADR asked us to clarify 

what constitutes ‘‘relevant work 

experience.’’ NADR was concerned that 

applicants might lose their application 

fee because we will now evaluate their 

education or equivalent qualifications 

after they pay the application fee and 

pass the examination. 

Response: In the preamble to the 

interim final rules, we stated that 

We will continue to consider relevant 

professional experience to be work through 

which the applicant demonstrates familiarity 

with medical reports and the ability to 

describe and assess mental or physical 

limitations. As in the past, an applicant may 

gain this kind of experience in fields such as 

teaching, counseling or guidance, social 

work, personnel management, public 

employment service, nursing, or health care 

professions. We will also continue to 

consider relevant professional experience to 

include work involving claims for benefits 

under title II or XVI of the Act.10

We believe that this description 

provides sufficient detail for applicants 

to determine if their prior experience 

qualifies as relevant work experience. It 

would not be feasible for us, and 

potentially limiting for applicants, if we 

attempted to include an exhaustive list 

of all qualifying experience in our 

regulations. Given the changing job 

market and the wide variety of work 

experience that may qualify as ‘‘relevant 

professional experience,’’ any list we 

could develop would necessarily be 

under-inclusive. Accordingly, we will 

continue to determine on a case-by-case 

basis whether an applicant has relevant 

professional experience, rather than 

attempting to include in our regulations 

a list of jobs that would qualify. 

Comment: One individual asked how 

we will determine equivalent 

qualifications derived from training and 

work experience when a non-attorney 

representative is self-employed and has 

begun, but has not yet completed, a 

bachelor’s degree. This commenter also 

asked what documentation we would 

request in this circumstance to show the 

non-attorney representative has 4 years 

of relevant professional experience. 

Response: A self-employed nonattorney representative who does not 

have a bachelor’s degree must have at 

least 4 years of relevant professional 

experience and either a high school 

diploma or GED certificate. This 

professional experience may be from 

relevant self-employment work. In this 

situation, we may require copies of the 

representative’s tax returns and a 

description of job duties that would 

enable us to evaluate the applicant’s 

relevant professional experience. 

Comment: One individual asked how 

we will consider a paralegal certificate. 

Response: If a non-attorney 

representative has a high school 

diploma or GED certificate and a 

paralegal certificate but not a bachelor’s 

degree, he or she must have 4 years of 

relevant professional experience, as 

described above. 

Written Examination 

Comment: NADR suggested that we 

provide sample test materials. NOSSCR 

suggested that we make actual questions 

from past examinations available. 

NOSSCR asserted that without these 

materials there was no way for the 

public to assess whether our 

examination met the statutory 

requirements of testing a 

representative’s knowledge of the 

relevant provisions of the Act and the 

most recent developments in SSA and 

court decisions affecting titles II and 

XVI of the Act.11

Response: We provide several sample 

examination questions for the public to 

view. They are currently accessible 

through the Direct Payment to Eligible 

Non-Attorney Representatives Web page 

at http://www.ssa.gov/representation/ 

nonattyrep.htm by selecting the link to 

the contractor’s Web site. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 3 / Tuesday, January 6, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 397 

12 42 U.S.C. 406(e)(2)(C). 13See 70 FR 41250. 

However, we do not plan to make any 

of our actual tests available to the 

public. We have taken a number of 

measures to ensure the validity of the 

examination and to make sure that it 

tests knowledge of the relevant 

provisions of the Act and the most 

recent developments in agency and 

court decisions affecting title II and title 

XVI of the Act. Our employees, 

including some of our administrative 

law judges and other subject matter 

experts, develop the scope and content 

of the examination questions to ensure 

that our test is comprehensive. The 

contractor that proctors the examination 

has in-depth knowledge in testing 

services, including test research and 

development; test validation; test 

scoring; test logistics and 

administration; statistical analysis; and 

the design, development, and 

administration of assessment centers 

and performance examinations. We are 

confident these measures ensure that 

our test complies with the statutory 

requirements cited by the commenter. 

Comment: NADR acknowledged our 

current budgetary constraints, but 

suggested that we administer the 

examination electronically using 

computers in secure locations, such as 

in our field or hearing offices, when 

such technological improvements and 

enhancements become available. The 

commenter believed that this approach 

would allow us to offer the 

examinations at least twice a year in 

more locations. 

Response: We are not adopting these 

suggestions at this time. As the 

commenter recognized, we currently do 

not have separate facilities at field and 

hearing offices or designated computer 

equipment to administer examinations, 

nor do we have funds available to adopt 

this comment. We are also concerned 

that proctoring examinations at field 

and hearing offices could disrupt our 

service to the public. However, we may 

consider offering additional 

examinations if demand warrants, and 

we have the resources available to do so. 

Comment: NADR wanted us to raise 

the minimum passing score from 70 to 

75 because we discontinued the 

requirement that an applicant show he 

or she has represented at least five 

claimants within a 24-month period. 

Response: We are not adopting this 

suggestion. We continue to believe that 

a representative who attains a score of 

at least 70 has demonstrated that he or 

she has sufficient knowledge of the Act, 

our regulations, and related court 

decisions to meet the statutory testing 

requirement. 

Comment: NOSSCR wanted us to 

assess advocacy skills in the 

examination. 

Response: We are not adopting this 

suggestion. The Act does not require 

that we assess a representative’s 

advocacy skills and we believe the 

current examination and other criteria 

are sufficient measures of a non-attorney 

representative’s knowledge. 

Liability Insurance 

Comment: NADR asked us to require 

non-attorney representatives to ask their 

insurance companies to notify us when 

the non-attorney representative modifies 

or terminates his or her insurance 

coverage. 

Response: We are not adopting this 

suggestion. Implementing this proposal 

could result in an additional workload 

for us to follow up with insurance 

companies and to analyze more 

correspondence than necessary. It 

would be unnecessary and would 

impose a significant burden on our 

scarce administrative resources to 

review these policies every time there is 

a slight modification. We believe the 

representative should remain 

responsible for providing us with proper 

proof of current liability insurance 

coverage. 

Comment: NOSSCR asserted that our 

rules allowing non-attorney 

representatives to maintain business 

liability insurance was not consistent 

with the Act’s requirement that nonattorney representatives have 

‘‘professional liability insurance, or 

equivalent insurance, which the 

Commissioner has determined to be 

adequate to protect claimants in the 

event of malpractice by the 

representative.’’ 12 NOSSCR asserted 

that most business liability insurance 

contracts do not include errors and 

omissions coverage for malpractice and 

are therefore not equivalent to 

professional liability insurance 

coverage. NOSSCR asked us to revise 

our rules to require eligible non-attorney 

representatives to maintain only 

professional liability insurance 

contracts that include malpractice 

coverage. 

Response: We agree with NOSSCR 

that our rules should specify that all 

liability insurance policies must include 

malpractice coverage and that our 

current regulations do not clearly state 

this requirement. Therefore, we are 

revising final sections 404.1717(a)(6) 

and 416.1517(a)(6) to require that each 

eligible non-attorney representative 

provide proof of and maintain 

continuous liability insurance that 

includes coverage for malpractice 

claims against the representative and be 

in an amount we prescribe. 

Criminal Background Check 

Comment: NADR asked which types 

of information within a criminal 

background check could disqualify a 

non-attorney representative from being 

eligible to receive direct fee payment. 

Response: We explained in sections 

20 CFR 404.1717(a) and 416.1517(a) of 

the interim final rules that 

A non-attorney representative is 

eligible to receive direct payment of his 

or her fee out of your past due benefits 

if he or she: 

(4) Passes our criminal background 

investigation (including checks of our 

administrative records), and attests 

under penalty of perjury that he or she: 

(i) Has not been suspended or 

disqualified from practice before us and 

is not suspended or disbarred from the 

practice of law in any jurisdiction; 

(ii) Has not had a judgment or lien 

assessed against him or her by a civil 

court for malpractice or fraud; 

(iii) Has not had a felony conviction; 

and 

(iv) Has not misrepresented 

information provided on his or her 

application or supporting materials for 

the application. 

We will reject the application if the 

applicant fails to meet any of these 

criteria. In addition, we list the factors 

we consider under this requirement at 

the Direct Payment to Eligible NonAttorney Representatives Web page 

http://www.ssa.gov/representation/ 

nonattyrep.htm and selecting the link to 

the contractor’s Web site. As we note on 

that Web site, we will also reject an 

application if the applicant fails to pass 

our administrative records check or fails 

to provide documentation requested by 

the contractor to perform the criminal 

background investigation. 

Continuing Education 

The SSPA included a requirement 

that eligible non-attorney 

representatives demonstrate ongoing 

completion of qualified courses of 

continuing education. In 2005, we 

published a notice in the Federal 

Register under which we required the 

non-attorney representative to complete 

certain hours of continuing education 

requirements during certain time 

periods, depending on how long the 

representative participated in the 

demonstration project and whether the 

representative was a course instructor.13

We found that framework unnecessarily 

complex and burdensome to administer. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES
398 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 3 / Tuesday, January 6, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

14 42 U.S.C. 406(e)(2)(E). 15 76 FR 45184, 45189. 16 20 CFR 404.1717(c)(1)(ii) and 416.1517(c)(1)(ii). 

As a result, in sections 404.1717(a)(7) 

and 416.1517(a)(7) of the interim final 

rules, we required the non-attorney 

representative to complete and provide 

proof that he or she has completed all 

continuing education courses that we 

prescribe by the deadline we prescribe 

in order to meet the PRA’s continuing 

education requirement. 

Comment: NADR disagreed with our 

decision to end our prior framework of 

balancing the continuing education 

requirement with the representative’s 

length of participation in the 

demonstration project. 

Response: We do not agree with this 

comment. The framework we set out in 

the 2005 Federal Register notice was 

confusing to many representatives and 

unnecessarily complex and burdensome 

for us to administer. As a result, a 

number of representatives had difficulty 

understanding our requirements and 

contacted us for guidance throughout 

the reporting period. We anticipate that 

the streamlined and uniform approach 

that we established in the interim final 

rules and are making final in these rules 

will benefit representatives. 

Comment: NADR suggested that the 

educational opportunities that will 

satisfy the continuing education 

requirement should be widely available. 

Response: We agree that the courses, 

whether our own or from vendors, 

should be widely available. We plan to 

prescribe courses that will satisfy the 

continuing education requirement. 

These courses may include a variety of 

electronic presentations. We will inform 

eligible non-attorney representatives of 

the deadline for completing the courses, 

and how they should report to us that 

they have completed the courses 

through alternate methods, e.g. through 

our Web site: http:// 

www.socialsecurity.gov/representation. 

Comment: NADR suggested that we 

create a process through which we 

would pre-approve vendor courses if the 

vendor supplied us with certain 

information. The commenter asked us to 

provide written approval of these 

courses so that the vendors can state in 

marketing materials that the courses 

meet our criteria. 

Response: It would be 

administratively burdensome to preapprove all potential courses that meet 

our standards for satisfying the statutory 

requirement for continuing education.14

We will identify either our own courses 

or general types of courses and will 

provide sufficient information so that 

the representative can individually 

identify vendors’ courses that meet our 

standards and satisfy this requirement. 

We will identify these courses through 

alternate methods, e.g. through our Web 

site: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/ 

representation. 

Comment: NADR asked us to include 

links on our Web site to vendors that 

have approved courses. 

Response: We will include links on 

our Web site or our contractor’s Web 

site to our own courses. As noted above, 

we will also provide sufficient 

information to allow representatives to 

identify vendors’ courses that meet our 

requirements. 

Comment: NADR suggested that we 

require non-attorney representatives to 

keep proof of course attendance for up 

to 3 years so we could conduct audits 

of attendance. 

Response: We are not adopting this 

suggestion because we revised this 

criterion to make it less complex and 

less burdensome. 

Representational Experience 

As we discussed in the preamble to 

the interim final rule, under the 

procedures we followed for the 

demonstration project, we required a 

non-attorney representative to show that 

he or she had specific minimum 

representational experience.15 We 

required a non-attorney representative 

to show that he or she represented at 

least five claimants before us within a 

24-month period within the 60 months 

before the month in which the applicant 

filed the application. We eliminated this 

requirement in the interim final rules 

because we found it complicated the 

application process without adding 

significant benefit. 

Comment: NOSSCR disagreed with 

this decision and asked us to add that 

at least two of the five required cases 

take place at the hearing level. 

Response: In our experience 

administering the demonstration 

project, we found that passing the 

written examination is a better 

barometer of a representative’s 

knowledge and skills than the 

representational experience 

requirement. The representational 

requirement is not one of the statutory 

prerequisites to the direct payment of 

fees to non-attorney representatives and, 

therefore, we have decided to exercise 

our discretion not to include it in our 

current process. 

Protest Procedures 

Both the SSPA and the PRA require 

that a non-attorney representative meet 

the statutory requirements before we 

determine that he or she is eligible to 

receive direct fee payment. Once we 

determine that a non-attorney 

representative is eligible to receive 

direct fee payment, he or she must 

continue to meet all of the requirements. 

The Federal Register notice we 

published to explain the demonstration 

project set out protest procedures that 

we followed for that project. In the 

interim final rules, we also included 

rules that explained how we would 

handle protests when we determine that 

a non-attorney representative is not 

eligible to receive direct fee payment. 

We explained that the protest 

procedures in the interim final rules 

were easier to understand, follow, and 

administer than the procedures we 

followed under the demonstration 

project. 

Comment: NADR asked us to state 

that we would refund an applicant’s 

application fee for failing to arrive for an 

examination due to weather or travel 

disruptions because they are 

‘‘circumstances beyond an applicant’s 

control.’’ 

Response: The interim final rules 

provided we would refund the 

application fee if ‘‘[c]ircumstances 

beyond the applicant’s control that 

could not have been reasonably 

anticipated and planned for prevent an 

applicant from taking a scheduled 

examination.’’ 16 We believe it is 

inappropriate to include in our 

regulations the examples the commenter 

cited. In our experience, we have found 

that including examples in our 

regulations inappropriately limits the 

application of the rule to the specific 

examples cited in a manner that we do 

not intend. In addition, it is unclear that 

all weather or travel disruptions would 

be both beyond the applicant’s control 

and constitute circumstances that the 

applicant could not have reasonably 

anticipated and planned for, as the 

regulation requires. If an applicant 

requests a refund because he or she did 

not take the examination, we will 

consider the reasons presented and 

make a decision based on the facts of 

each individual case. The applicant 

retains the responsibility to submit 

documentation to support his or her 

request. 

Comment: One individual and one 

organization wanted us to give nonattorney representatives more than 10 

calendar days to file a protest. NADR 

wanted us to give 10 business days to 

file a protest, in addition to 5 days for 

mailing. NADR also wanted us to allow 

a representative to file a request for an 

extension of time to protest when 

extenuating circumstances existed. The 

individual wanted us to give 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 3 / Tuesday, January 6, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 399 

17See e.g. 20 CFR 404.521(b), 404.1512(d)(1), 

405.5, and 411.435(c)(2). 

18 20 CFR 404.3(b) and 416.120(d). 

representatives at least 15 days to file a 

protest, or, ideally, to provide 30 days 

to protest, as we do in our sanctions 

procedures. 

Response: The definition of the 

phrase ‘‘Date we notify him or her’’ in 

sections 404.1703 and 416.1503 of the 

interim final rules makes it clear that we 

begin counting the 10 calendar days to 

file a protest 5 days after the date on the 

notice. We add 5 days to account for 

mail time, although a representative 

may show us that he or she received it 

after this 5-day period. Therefore, we do 

give representatives 15 days to protest 

our finding that he or she is ineligible 

to receive direct fee payment for the 

reasons set out in sections 404.1717(d) 

and 416.1517(d) of the rules, as the 

second commenter suggested. 

We disagree with the comment to 

revise the deadline in our protest rules 

from 10 calendar days to 10 business 

days for two reasons. The majority of 

our other rules use calendar days 

instead of business days as a basis for 

calculating action deadlines.17 Further, 

our rules clearly explain how to 

calculate a deadline that falls on a nonwork day.18

We also disagree with the comment to 

allow for an extension of time to file a 

protest based on extenuating 

circumstances. We inform non-attorney 

representatives who apply for direct fee 

payment eligibility about our 

requirements and timeframes in the 

application materials, on our Web site 

or our contractor’s Web site, and in 

other correspondence, we send to them. 

When there is evidence that a 

representative may not meet our 

eligibility prerequisites, we will request 

the missing documentation from him or 

her. It is the representative’s 

responsibility to respond to our requests 

in a timely manner. 

Finally, we disagree with the 

comment to extend the time in which to 

protest our finding that a non-attorney 

representative is ineligible to receive 

direct fee payment from 10 to 30 

calendar days, to match our sanctions 

rules. An adverse decision from a 

sanctions proceeding results in the 

representative being unable to practice 

before us. In contrast, a non-attorney 

representative may continue to practice 

before us and be paid for his or her 

services directly by the claimant even if 

we determine he or she is ineligible to 

receive direct fee payment from us. For 

that reason, a shorter time frame to file 

a protest in the direct pay context is 

appropriate. 

Terminology 

Comment: One individual asked us to 

change the title of ‘‘non-attorney 

representative’’ to something ‘‘more 

dignified.’’ NOSSCR asked us to specify 

what designation a non-attorney 

representative may use after he or she is 

found eligible for direct fee payment. 

NOSSCR also asked us to revise our 

regulations to clarify that a non-attorney 

representative who is eligible for direct 

fee payment is not certified or licensed 

by us. 

Response: We began using the term 

‘‘non-attorney representative’’ in 2004 

because this is the term used by 

Congress in the SSPA, and again in the 

PRA. We believe it works well and are 

not changing it at this time. 

We agree with NOSSCR that being 

eligible for direct pay does not mean 

that the representative is certified or 

licensed by us. Our current rules clearly 

state that we only pay fees directly to 

non-attorney representatives who 

successfully meet the eligibility 

requirements in 20 CFR 404.1717(a) and 

416.1517(a). This eligibility to receive 

direct fee payment does not confer our 

certification, license, accreditation, or 

endorsement of the individual to be a 

representative. Therefore, eligible nonattorney representatives may not 

advertise themselves in any way that 

may create the appearance that we have 

approved or endorsed them as 

representatives. Further, a 

representative who performs an action 

to deceive or knowingly mislead a 

claimant or prospective claimant or 

beneficiary may violate our rules of 

conduct and standards of responsibility 

for representatives in 20 CFR 404.1740 

and 416.1540. Because we believe that 

the purpose of the direct pay 

application process is clear and that the 

current rules of conduct and standards 

of responsibility are sufficient to 

discipline any representative who 

portrays his or her credentials 

deceptively, we are not adopting the 

suggestion to revise our rules in this 

manner. 

Regulatory Procedures 

Executive Order 12866, as 

Supplemented by Executive Order 

135653 

We consulted with the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) and 

determined that these final rules meet 

the criteria for a significant regulatory 

action under Executive Order 12866, as 

supplemented by Executive Order 

13563. Therefore, OMB reviewed them. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

We certify that these final rules will 

not have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small entities 

because they affect individuals only. 

Therefore, a regulatory flexibility 

analysis as provided in the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, as amended, is not 

required. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This rule does not create any new or 

affect any existing collections and, 

therefore, does not require OMB 

approval under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 96.001, Social Security— 

Disability Insurance; 96.002, Social 

Security—Retirement Insurance; 96.004, 

Social Security—Survivors Insurance; and 

96.006, Supplemental Security Income) 

List of Subjects 

20 CFR Part 404 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Aged, Blind, Disability 

benefits, Old-age, Survivors and 

Disability Insurance, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Social 

Security. 

20 CFR Part 416 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Supplemental Security 

Income (SSI). 

Carolyn W. Colvin, 

Acting Commissioner of Social Security. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, we are adopting the interim 

rule with request for comments 

amending 20 CFR chapter III, part 404, 

subparts J and R, and part 416 subparts 

N and O that we published on July 28, 

2011 at 76 FR 45184 as final with the 

following changes: 

PART 404—FEDERAL OLD-AGE, 

SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY 

INSURANCE (1950– ) 

Subpart J—Determinations, 

Administrative Review Process, and 

Reopening of Determinations and 

Decisions 

■ 1. The authority citation for subpart J 

of part 404 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Secs. 201(j), 204(f), 205(a)–(b), 

(d)–(h), and (j), 221, 223(i), 225, and 702(a)(5) 

of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401(j), 

404(f), 405(a)–(b), (d)–(h), and (j), 421, 423(i), 

425, and 902(a)(5)); sec. 5, Pub. L. 97–455, 96 

Stat. 2500 (42 U.S.C. 405 note); secs. 5, 6(c)– 

(e), and 15, Pub. L. 98–460, 98 Stat. 1802 (42 

U.S.C. 421 note); sec. 202, Pub. L. 108–203, 

118 Stat. 509 (42 U.S.C. 902 note). 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES
400 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 3 / Tuesday, January 6, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

■ 2. Amend § 404.903 by revising 

paragraphs (z) and (aa) to read as 

follows: 

§ 404.903 Administrative actions that are 

not initial determinations. 

* * * * * 

(z) Starting or discontinuing a 

continuing disability review; 

(aa) Issuing a receipt in response to 

your report of a change in your work 

activity; and 

* * * * * 

Subpart R—Representation of Parties 

■ 3. The authority citation for subpart R 

of part 404 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Secs. 205(a), 206, 702(a)(5), and 

1127 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

405(a), 406, 902(a)(5), and 1320a–6). 

■ 4. Amend § 404.1717 by revising 

paragraphs (a)(6) and (d)(1)(ii) to read as 

follows: 

§ 404.1717 Direct payment of fees to 

eligible non-attorney representatives. 

(a) * * * 

(6) Provides proof of and maintains 

continuous liability insurance coverage 

that is underwritten by an entity that is 

legally permitted to provide 

professional liability insurance in the 

States in which the representative 

conducts business. The policy must 

include coverage for malpractice claims 

against the representative and be in an 

amount we prescribe; and 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(ii) Meet at all times the criminal 

background investigation criteria, as 

described in paragraph (a)(4) of this 

section; 

* * * * * 

PART 416—SUPPLEMENTAL 

SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED, 

BLIND, AND DISABLED 

Subpart N—Determinations, 

Administrative Review Process, and 

Reopening of Determinations and 

Decisions 

■ 5. The authority citation for subpart N 

of part 416 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Secs. 702(a)(5), 1631, and 1633 

of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

902(a)(5), 1383, and 1383b); sec. 202, Pub. L. 

108–203, 118 Stat. 509 (42 U.S.C. 902 note). 

■ 6. Revise § 416.1403 paragraphs 

(a)(24) and (25) to read as follows: 

§ 416.1403 Administrative actions that are 

not initial determinations. 

(a) * * * 

(24) Starting or discontinuing a 

continuing disability review; 

(25) Issuing a receipt in response to 

your report of a change in your earned 

income; and 

* * * * * 

Subpart O—Representation of Parties 

■ 7. The authority citation for subpart O 

of part 416 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Secs. 702(a)(5), 1127, and 

1631(d) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

902(a)(5), 1320a–6, and 1383(d)). 

■ 8. Amend § 416.1517 by revising 

paragraphs (a)(6), (d)(1)(ii), and (f)(1) to 

read as follows: 

§ 416.1517 Direct payment of fees to 

eligible non-attorney representatives. 

(a) * * * 

(6) Provides proof of and maintains 

continuous liability insurance coverage 

that is underwritten by an entity that is 

legally permitted to provide 

professional liability insurance in the 

States in which the representative 

conducts business. The policy must 

include coverage for malpractice claims 

against the representative and be in an 

amount we prescribe; and 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(ii) Meet at all times the criminal 

background investigation criteria, as 

described in paragraph (a)(4) of this 

section; 

* * * * * 

(f) * * * 

(1) Did not meet the initial criteria for 

eligibility in paragraph (a)(1), (2), (3), or 

(5) of this section in a prior application 

period; or 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2014–30921 Filed 1–5–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4191–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade 

Bureau 

27 CFR Part 9 

[Docket No. TTB–2014–0005; T.D. TTB–126; 

Ref: Notice No. 143] 

RIN 1513–AC07 

Expansion of the Fair Play Viticultural 

Area 

AGENCY: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and 

Trade Bureau, Treasury. 

ACTION: Final rule; Treasury decision. 

SUMMARY: The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax 

and Trade Bureau (TTB) is expanding 

the approximately 33-square mile ‘‘Fair 

Play’’ viticultural area in El Dorado 

County, California, by 1,200 acres 

(approximately 2 square miles). The 

established viticultural area and the 

expansion area are both located entirely 

within the larger El Dorado and Sierra 

Foothills viticultural areas. TTB 

designates viticultural areas to allow 

vintners to better describe the origin of 

their wines and to allow consumers to 

better identify wines they may 

purchase. 

DATES: This final rule is effective 

February 5, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karen A. Thornton, Regulations and 

Rulings Division, Alcohol and Tobacco 

Tax and Trade Bureau, 1310 G Street 

NW., Box 12, Washington, DC 20005; 

phone 202–453–1039, ext. 175. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background on Viticultural Areas 

TTB Authority 

Section 105(e) of the Federal Alcohol 

Administration Act (FAA Act), 27 

U.S.C. 205(e), authorizes the Secretary 

of the Treasury to prescribe regulations 

for the labeling of wine, distilled spirits, 

and malt beverages. The FAA Act 

provides that these regulations should, 

among other things, prohibit consumer 

deception and the use of misleading 

statements on labels and ensure that 

labels provide the consumer with 

adequate information as to the identity 

and quality of the product. The Alcohol 

and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau 

(TTB) administers the FAA Act 

pursuant to section 1111(d) of the 

Homeland Security Act of 2002, 

codified at 6 U.S.C. 531(d). The 

Secretary has delegated various 

authorities through Treasury 

Department Order 120–01 (Revised), 

dated December 10, 2013, to the TTB 

Administrator to perform the functions 

and duties in the administration and 

enforcement of this law. 

Part 4 of the TTB regulations (27 CFR 

part 4) authorizes the establishment of 

definitive viticultural areas and the use 

of their names as appellations of origin 

on wine labels and in wine 

advertisements. Part 9 of the TTB 

regulations (27 CFR part 9) sets forth the 

standards for the preparation and 

submission of petitions for the 

establishment or modification of 

American viticultural areas (AVAs) and 

lists the approved AVAs. 

Definition 

Section 4.25(e)(1)(i) of the TTB 

regulations (27 CFR 4.25(e)(1)(i)) defines 

a viticultural area for American wine as 

a delimited grape-growing region having 

distinguishing features, as described in 

part 9 of the regulations, and a name 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES