Frequently Asked Questions

The "Civil Remedies Division," also referred to as CRD, provides support to the DAB Administrative Law Judges (ALJs). The CRD is staffed with Attorney Advisors, paralegals, and administrative staff.

You can contact us for administrative, technical, and some types of case-related support. We cannot give you legal advice. You should never directly contact an ALJ.

DAB ALJs only have jurisdiction to decide cases that involve certain HHS programs. One such HHS program is Medicare.

• Civil Money Penalties and enforcement actions imposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) against nursing homes or skilled nursing facilities.
• Determinations made by CMS about a provider's or supplier's enrollment in Medicare, such as the effective date of a provider's enrollment in the Medicare program or a provider's revocation of enrollment in the Medicare program.
• Determinations made by the HHS Inspector General (IG) to exclude someone from participating in federal and state healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

DAB ALJs do NOT review appeals involving claims for Medicare coverage or payment of services that have been denied. Those appeals are heard by other HHS ALJs, at the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals (OMHA).

You can find more information about Medicare claim appeals before OMHA ALJs here.

If you already have a decision from an OMHA ALJ, you can find more information about the Medicare Appeals Council here.

Yes, DAB ALJs decide many other types of cases, including ones involving the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) and the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). You can find out more information about the CTP cases here and ORR cases here.

• HHS and SSA employee debts to the government (45 C.F.R. Part 33; 20 C.F.R. § 422.810)
• Office of Research Integrity (42 C.F.R. Part 93)
• HIPAA (45 C.F.R. Parts 160, 164)
• Civil Rights (45 C.F.R. Parts 80, 81, 83, 84, 86)
• SSA Civil Money Penalties (20 C.F.R. Part 498)
• HHS Inspector General Civil Money Penalties and Corporate Integrity Agreements (42 C.F.R. Part 1003, 1005; 45 C.F.R. Part 171)
• Equal Access to Justice Act award applications (45 C.F.R. Part 13)
• Adverse accreditation decisions by the FDA (21 C.F.R. § 900.15; 42 C.F.R. Part 498)

There are a few ways to tell if we can help you with your appeal.

The most accurate way to tell if the DAB handles your type of appeal is to look at the regulations that govern your appeal. Those regulations usually appear in the decision or determination that you want to appeal. You can read federal regulations at eCFR.gov.

A quick way to tell if the DAB handles your appeal is to look for certain language in the decision or determination that you want to appeal. Does it have a section marked "appeal rights," "hearing rights," "how to request a hearing," "how to appeal" or something similar? Did the decision come with a cover letter (or "transmittal letter") that includes instructions on how to appeal?

If so, read the language in those sections or the cover letter carefully. If it talks about how to request a hearing before an administrative law judge or ALJ in the Departmental Appeals Board, you are probably in the right place.

You can also contact us if you have questions.

To file an appeal, use the Departmental Appeals Board's electronic filing system, called "DAB E-File." Visit https://dab.efile.hhs.gov and register for a DAB E-File account https://dab.efile.hhs.gov/users/new?locale=en.

Once registered, you can electronically file an appeal and follow all updates to your case, including any filings from the other party.

You must have DAB E-File access to your case to receive important updates about your case (such as orders from the judge or filings by the other party) and to submit required filings.

For information on how to file your submission using DAB E-File, see these instructions: https://dab.efile.hhs.gov/appeals/to_crd_instructions.

If you have technical issues with DAB E-File, contact DAB E-File System Support at OSDABImmediateOffice@hhs.gov.

You must use DAB E-File unless there is a reason that you cannot use it (for example, if you don't have access to the internet). In limited circumstances, the ALJ will accept filings by mail. However, you must ask permission to not use DAB E-File. We call this a waiver. To request a waiver, contact the Attorney-Advisor assigned to your case.

Yes. However, if you are representing another person or entity and are not an attorney, you will need to file a signed notice that says you are authorized to represent them. After filing the appeal, please carefully review any instructions you receive for specific requirements.

No. You do not need to be represented by an attorney.

You must include two separate documents: (1) a request for a hearing before an administrative law judge and (2) a copy of the determination or decision you are appealing, which we call the "originating case decision."

You might find additional information on any additional documents you need to submit in the originating case decision or the letter accompanying the originating case decision. You should also check the regulations governing your appeal.

Generally, your request for hearing must state the issues or findings and legal conclusions that you disagree with, and you must explain why you think the findings and conclusions were incorrect. If you do not include this information, we may return your appeal to you. Your request for hearing must be signed by you or your authorized representative if you have one.

For more information about what a request for hearing must include, refer to the regulations listed on the decision you are appealing.

The originating case decision is our term for the agency's decision that you want to appeal. Often (but not always) it has a section called "Appeal Rights" or "How to Appeal" that has instructions about how to submit an appeal of the decision. If the decision you want to appeal does not contain an "Appeal Rights" section instructing you to file an appeal with the Civil Remedies Division, it may not be an appealable decision, or it may be a decision that you may appeal with a different division or agency.

If your appeal was not correctly filed, we will return your submission to you without docketing it as an appeal. You will receive a "misdirect notice" that explains why we couldn't accept it. Depending on the reason why we returned it, you may be allowed to fix the error and re-file your appeal. If you filed an appeal that belongs in another division in the DAB, but not the Civil Remedies Division, we may forward your appeal to that division.

Navigate to the Civil Remedies Division Cases page in DAB E-File and then click on "Request Access to Your Case" on the left sidebar menu. Complete the request form and, after verifying the information you provided is correct, click "Submit Request."

Once you have filed your appeal, you can check on the status and see all the filings through DAB E-File.

Go to the Civil Remedies Division Cases page in DAB E-File and then click on "Manage Your Appeals" on the left sidebar menu. Click on your appeal's docket number under the section for "Docketed Appeals" or use the search fields at the top of the page to find your appeal.

On the page for your appeal, you will find a box at the top containing information about your case. Below the case information box are links to documents filed in the record.

To file a new document, click the "Upload New Document" link located below the case information box.

If you have difficulty using DAB E-File, contact the attorney assigned to your case. You can find their contact information in the case information box.

When CRD receives a valid appeal, the case will be docketed and assigned to an ALJ. The ALJ will then issue documents which will likely provide important information about your case, such as deadlines and instructions about the next steps in your case. Please carefully review these documents when you receive them.

Whenever a document is filed by a party or issued by the ALJ, you will receive an email notification, which includes a link that allows you to view the document in DAB E-File.

It is important to read every document that is filed by the parties or issued by the ALJ. Notifications will come from this email address: notifications@dab.efile.hhs.gov. Please check your email spam folder to make sure you do not miss these important case notifications.

DAB staff cannot give you legal advice. But we can help you with procedural information. If you have administrative or procedural questions about your case, you can contact the staff attorney assigned to your case. You can find their contact information in DAB E-File in the section that contains your case information.

If you have technical issues using DAB E-File, contact DAB E-File System Support at OSDABImmediateOffice@hhs.gov.

If you have general questions about CRD, contact DABCRDHotline@hhs.gov.

You should never contact the ALJ assigned to your case.

Not all decisions are appealable. It depends on the statutes and regulations that governs your case, so you should check there first. You should also read the letter that accompanies the ALJ's decision or ruling. If the ALJ's decision or ruling can be appealed, the letter will let you know how and where to file your appeal.