administrative hearing

Administrative hearings are the proceedings conducted by administrative law judges (ALJs) for disputes involving the regulatory jurisdiction of an executive agency. Administrative hearings resemble judicial proceedings in many ways including pre-trial matters, complaints, presentation of opposing arguments and evidence, and a final judgment. However, administrative hearings usually have more flexibility in procedure and take less time than a judicial proceeding. Further, ALJs generally rule on questions of fact and questions of law, and while parties are entitled to representation, a party may proceed without a lawyer. 

After the administrative hearing, the parties often submit briefs summarizing their arguments before the ALJ issues a ruling. Even the ruling may involve some flexibility, and the ALJ may seek the parties' responses to the decision before making it final. The determinations of an ALJ may be appealed to a federal court. However, essentially every agency has its own appellate processes of review that must be followed before a party can access the federal courts, and sometimes in large agencies, the agency’s internal review process can be quite extensive. 

[Last reviewed in January of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team]

Keywords

• lawsuits-court

Wex

• THE LEGAL PROCESS
• administrative law
• wex definitions
• constitutional law
• government