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Miscellaneous
General-Miscellaneous
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Last Updated |
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| 02/20/2004 07:13 AM |
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Can Social Security records help in genealogical research? |
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Question |
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What information is available from Social Security records to help in genealogical research? |
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Records potentially available from SSA include the Application for a Social Security Card (form SS-5) and information from the "claims folder" for past recipients of benefits. In any case, to obtain any of this information from SSA you will need to file a Freedom of Information Act request. The detailed procedures are as follows:
To search our records for the information you want, we need certain identifying information. Our records are filed by Social Security numbers (SSNs) rather than by names. If you can provide the person's SSN, we will search our records for any information we might have. Without an SSN, we will need the person's full name, date and place of birth, and parents' full names to locate the record. If you can provide the necessary identifying information, we will search for the number. We cannot search for the SSN for people born before 1865. The Social Security Administration did not begin keeping records until 1936; therefore, we have no records about people who died before then.
A deceased person does not have any privacy rights. Therefore, if he or she applied for an SSN, we can generally provide a copy of the Application for a Social Security Card (form SS-5). This document contains the person's name, date and place of birth, and parents' names that were given when he or she applied for the number.
You will be charged the cost of searching our records even if we are unable to locate or disclose any information on the person you are asking about. The fee for searching our records for the form SS-5 is $27 when the SSN is known and $29 when the number is unknown or is incorrect. The check or money order should be made payable to the Social Security Administration. We will also accept VISA, MasterCard, Discover, American Express or Diners Club. Please include the appropriate credit card number, along with the expiration date of the credit card with your written request.
If you are requesting copies of applications for a Social Security Card (Form SS-5) for people who are deceased, address your request to:
Social Security Administration
OEO FOIA Workgroup
300 N. Green Street
P.O. Box 33022
Baltimore, Maryland 21290-3022
The cost to search for a claim file is $14 when you provide the SSN. You may be charged 10 cents a page for copies. Please note that claim files are usually destroyed within a few years of the final decision on the claim, so we will not have claim files for most people.
Send requests for claim files to:
Social Security Administration
Freedom of Information Officer
6401 Security Blvd.
Baltimore, MD 21235.
(Note: We cannot release information on living persons without their written consent.)
There are many web sites that offer free searches of the Social Security death index. However, these are all commercial web sites and our policy generally prohibits providing a link to or recommending a commercial web site as we cannot endorse or appear to endorse any commercial product or service. Also, SSA cannot vouch that the information that they offer online is up-to-date.
To find a web site that provides the death index, we recommend that you use one of the common web search sites that are available and type in "death index". Your search should provide several sources where you can view the death index free of charge.
The Death Index contains a listing of most people who had a Social Security number and who are deceased, and whose death was reported to the Social Security Administration. If you find the name of a person in the Death Index you will learn the date of birth and Social Security number for that person.
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