20 Cfr 725.304

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 245 / Wednesday, December 20, 2000 / Rules and Regulations
(b) Any other person shall provide a
statement describing his or her
relationship to the claimant, the extent
to which he or she has care of the
claimant, or his or her position as an
officer of the institution of which the
claimant is an inmate. The Office may,
at any time, require additional evidence
to establish the authority of any such
person.
§ 725.303
claims.

Date and place of filing of

(a)(1) Claims for benefits shall be
delivered, mailed to, or presented at,
any of the various district offices of the
Social Security Administration, or any
of the various offices of the Department
of Labor authorized to accept claims, or,
in the case of a claim filed by or on
behalf of a claimant residing outside the
United States, mailed or presented to
any office maintained by the Foreign
Service of the United States. A claim
shall be considered filed on the day it
is received by the office in which it is
first filed.
(2) A claim submitted to a Foreign
Service Office or any other agency or
subdivision of the U.S. Government
shall be forwarded to the Office and
considered filed as of the date it was
received at the Foreign Service Office or
other governmental agency or unit.
(b) A claim submitted by mail shall be
considered filed as of the date of
delivery unless a loss or impairment of
benefit rights would result, in which
case a claim shall be considered filed as
of the date of its postmark. In the
absence of a legible postmark, other
evidence may be used to establish the
mailing date.
§ 725.304

Forms and initial processing.

(a) Claims shall be filed on forms
prescribed and approved by the Office.
The district office at which the claim is
filed will assist claimants in completing
their forms.
(b) If the place at which a claim is
filed is an office of the Social Security
Administration, such office shall
forward the completed claim form to an
office of the DCMWC, which is
authorized to process the claim.
§ 725.305 When a written statement is
considered a claim.

(a) The filing of a statement signed by
an individual indicating an intention to
claim benefits shall be considered to be
the filing of a claim for the purposes of
this part under the following
circumstances:
(1) The claimant or a proper person
on his or her behalf (see § 725.301)
executes and files a prescribed claim
form with the Office during the

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claimant’s lifetime within the period
specified in paragraph (b) of this
section.
(2) Where the claimant dies within
the period specified in paragraph (b) of
this section without filing a prescribed
claim form, and a person acting on
behalf of the deceased claimant’s estate
executes and files a prescribed claim
form within the period specified in
paragraph (c) of this section.
(b) Upon receipt of a written
statement indicating an intention to
claim benefits, the Office shall notify
the signer in writing that to be
considered the claim must be executed
by the claimant or a proper party on his
or her behalf on the prescribed form and
filed with the Office within six months
from the date of mailing of the notice.
(c) If before the notice specified in
paragraph (b) of this section is sent, or
within six months after such notice is
sent, the claimant dies without having
executed and filed a prescribed form, or
without having had one executed and
filed in his or her behalf, the Office shall
upon receipt of notice of the claimant’s
death advise his or her estate, or those
living at his or her last known address,
in writing that for the claim to be
considered, a prescribed claim form
must be executed and filed by a person
authorized to do so on behalf of the
claimant’s estate within six months of
the date of the later notice.
(d) Claims based upon written
statements indicating an intention to
claim benefits not perfected in
accordance with this section shall not
be processed.
§ 725.306

Withdrawal of a claim.

(a) A claimant or an individual
authorized to execute a claim on a
claimant’s behalf or on behalf of
claimant’s estate under § 725.305, may
withdraw a previously filed claim
provided that:
(1) He or she files a written request
with the appropriate adjudication
officer indicating the reasons for seeking
withdrawal of the claim;
(2) The appropriate adjudication
officer approves the request for
withdrawal on the grounds that it is in
the best interests of the claimant or his
or her estate, and;
(3) Any payments made to the
claimant in accordance with § 725.522
are reimbursed.
(b) When a claim has been withdrawn
under paragraph (a) of this section, the
claim will be considered not to have
been filed.
§ 725.307 Cancellation of a request for
withdrawal.

At any time prior to approval, a
request for withdrawal may be canceled

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by a written request of the claimant or
a person authorized to act on the
claimant’s behalf or on behalf of the
claimant’s estate.
§ 725.308

Time limits for filing claims.

(a) A claim for benefits filed under
this part by, or on behalf of, a miner
shall be filed within three years after a
medical determination of total disability
due to pneumoconiosis which has been
communicated to the miner or a person
responsible for the care of the miner, or
within three years after the date of
enactment of the Black Lung Benefits
Reform Act of 1977, whichever is later.
There is no time limit on the filing of
a claim by the survivor of a miner.
(b) A miner who is receiving benefits
under part B of title IV of the Act and
who is notified by HEW of the right to
seek medical benefits may file a claim
for medical benefits under part C of title
IV of the Act and this part. The
Secretary of Health, Education, and
Welfare is required to notify each miner
receiving benefits under part B of this
right. Notwithstanding the provisions of
paragraph (a) of this section, a miner
notified of his or her rights under this
paragraph may file a claim under this
part on or before December 31, 1980.
Any claim filed after that date shall be
untimely unless the time for filing has
been enlarged for good cause shown.
(c) There shall be a rebuttable
presumption that every claim for
benefits is timely filed. However, except
as provided in paragraph (b) of this
section, the time limits in this section
are mandatory and may not be waived
or tolled except upon a showing of
extraordinary circumstances.
§ 725.309 Additional claims; effect of a
prior denial of benefits.

(a) A claimant whose claim for
benefits was previously approved under
part B of title IV of the Act may file a
claim for benefits under this part as
provided in §§ 725.308(b) and 725.702.
(b) If a claimant files a claim under
this part while another claim filed by
the claimant under this part is still
pending, the later claim shall be merged
with the earlier claim for all purposes.
For purposes of this section, a claim
shall be considered pending if it has not
yet been finally denied.
(c) If a claimant files a claim under
this part within one year after the
effective date of a final order denying a
claim previously filed by the claimant
under this part (see § 725.502(a)(2)), the
later claim shall be considered a request
for modification of the prior denial and
shall be processed and adjudicated
under § 725.310.

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