California Department of Social Services (CDSS) State Hearings Division (SHD) has issued instructions regarding withdrawing of a state hearing request.  A claimant or the Authorized Representative can withdraw a hearing request any time before a decision is issued.

A withdrawal can be unconditional or conditional.  An unconditional withdrawal is a complete retraction of the hearing request without conditions.  There are three ways to unconditionally withdraw a hearing request.  A claimant can request an unconditional withdrawal in the ACMS computer system if they have an account.  A claimant can submit a request to unconditionally withdraw their hearing by mail, fax or email.  A claimant can submit a verbal request to unconditionally withdraw their hearing request using the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system or by telephone.  SHD will send a letter to the claimant confirming the unconditional withdrawal request.

The opposing party may be aware that the claimant wants to unconditionally withdraw their hearing request.  If the opposing party tells SHD that the claimant or their Authorized Representative wants to unconditionally withdraw a hearing request, SHD will contact the clamant to confirm their intent to unconditionally withdraw their hearing request. If the claimant has any questions, SHD will tell the claimant to talk to the opposing party.  If the claimant or Authorized Representative confirms that they want to unconditionally withdraw the hearing request, SHD will enter the withdrawal in ACMS and will send the claimant a letter confirming the unconditional withdrawal.

A conditional withdrawal is a retraction of the hearing request based on the opposing party’s agreement to certain actions to resolve the case.  A conditional withdrawal must be in writing signed by the claimant or their Authorized Representative.

SHD will accept any conditional withdrawal request that is submitted by mail, fax, email, text, IVR, phone, or uploaded to ACMS, that includes written terms and is signed by the opposing party and the claimant.  These methods are considered to be a valid electronic signature.

A claimant or Authorized Representative can confirm a conditional withdrawal by phone with SHD.  The opposing party must contact the claimant to confirm the agreement.  The opposing party cannot rely on a telephonic signature unless they have gotten the claimant’s consent.  If the opposing party parts gets consent, they must upload the terms to ACMS.  SHD will then contact the claimant to confirm the terms.

The claimant or Authorized Representative can use the SHD IVR to state the terms of a conditional withdrawal.  If the opposing party has their own IVR, it can upload a recording of the terms to ACMS.  The agreement must state that the parties complete all terms within 30 days.

If the case has multiple opposing parties, all parties must consent to the conditional withdrawal.

When a case is withdrawn, SHD will notify all parties that the hearing request has been dismissed.

If the claimant or Authorized Representative does not appear at the hearing and a conditional withdrawal has not been processed, SHD will dismiss the case.

A party can withdraw a rehearing request any time before SHD acts on it.  After a rehearing request has been granted, the claimant can withdraw it with the approval of the Chief Administrative Law Judge.  The parties can submit a conditional withdrawal to resolve the case after rehearing is granted.  SHD will review the terms to ensure that all issues in the rehearing are addressed, and then will forward the request to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for approval.  (ACL 23-82, September 19, 2023.)