How to Fill Out and Submit SSA-3288: Signing, Errors, and Validity

To fill out Form SSA-3288, the Social Security Administration’s Consent for Release of Information, enter your name, date of birth, and Social Security number, name the person or organization you want to receive your records, check the specific record categories and write the date ranges they cover, state your reason for the release, then sign and date the form and send it to the local Social Security office that serves the record subject’s ZIP code. The form is a single page, available as a fillable PDF, and it authorizes SSA to send records like benefit amounts, Medicare entitlement, and medical file documents to a third party such as an attorney, insurer, doctor, or another agency.¹

What to Have Ready Before You Start

Gather everything before you open the PDF. Any required field left blank, marked with an asterisk on the form, is enough for SSA to reject the request and send you back to the beginning.¹

Your full legal name as it appears on your Social Security card.
Your date of birth in month/day/year format.
Your nine-digit Social Security number.
The recipient’s full name and mailing address. SSA will not send records to a vague or unnamed party.
A short, specific reason for the disclosure, such as “income verification for mortgage application” or “evidence for disability appeal.” SSA uses this to confirm the release serves a legitimate purpose and to determine whether a fee applies.²
Start and end dates for any record category that covers a time period: benefit history, SSI payment history, Medicare entitlement, and medical records. SSA will not guess a range for you.

If you are signing for someone else, also gather proof of your relationship to that person, such as a birth certificate or a court order.

Filling In Each Section of the Form

The PDF lives on SSA’s website, and paper copies are available at any local office.¹

Your Identifying Information

Enter your full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security number in the top fields. These must match SSA’s records exactly. A misspelled name or a transposed digit is one of the fastest routes to a rejected form.

The Recipient and the Records

Write the full name and mailing address of the person or organization you are authorizing to receive the records. Then check the boxes next to the specific record types you want released and fill in any required date ranges.

The form covers Social Security number verification, current monthly Social Security benefit amount, current monthly SSI payment amount, historical Social Security and SSI amounts, Medicare entitlement, medical records (either for a date range or the complete file), and other specified records such as award or denial notices, benefit applications, and appeals. If you check “Other Social Security record(s),” describe exactly what you want in the space provided. Do not write “any and all records” or “the entire file.” SSA explicitly refuses blanket requests and will send the form back.¹

The Reason for Release

State why the records are being released. It does not have to be long, but it does have to be specific enough for SSA to see a legitimate purpose. Common reasons include litigation, determining eligibility for benefits from another agency, insurance underwriting, and income verification.

Signature and Date

Sign and date the form. Without both, the consent is not legally effective. If you sign with a mark (“X”) rather than a written signature, two witnesses who know you must also sign and provide their full mailing addresses.² Leave the “relationship” field blank if you are the record subject; fill it in if you are signing as a parent, guardian, or legal representative.

SSA warns on the form itself that anyone who seeks access to another person’s records under false pretenses faces a fine of up to $5,000.¹

Signing on Behalf of Someone Else

You do not have to be the record subject to sign SSA-3288, but the rules are strict.

For a Minor Child

A natural or adoptive parent or a legal guardian can sign to release a minor child’s non-medical records. Include proof of the relationship, such as a birth certificate or custody order, and a written statement explaining how releasing the records is in the child’s best interest. A minor’s medical records cannot be requested through SSA-3288 at all. For those, visit a local Social Security office in person or call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).¹

For a Legally Incompetent Adult

A court-appointed legal guardian can sign on behalf of an adult who has been declared legally incompetent. The form must be submitted on paper with a handwritten (“wet”) signature; SSA does not currently accept electronic consent in this situation. The court order appointing the guardian must either already be in SSA’s records or accompany the consent form. The guardian must be acting on the individual’s behalf rather than in the guardian’s own interest, and SSA evaluates the stated purpose to decide whether that standard is met.³

Mistakes That Get the Form Rejected

Most rejections trace back to a small set of avoidable errors. When SSA sends the form back, you have to complete and submit a corrected one from scratch.¹

Missing required fields, including your SSN, date of birth, or the recipient’s address.
No date ranges on record categories that cover a time period.
Blanket requests like “any and all records.”
No purpose statement.
An unsigned or undated form.
A mark signature (“X”) without two witness signatures and addresses.
Using the wrong form. SSA-3288 does not cover detailed earnings or employment history; that requires Form SSA-7050-F4, which starts at $15 for a single year and increases with each additional year. It also does not cover a minor’s medical records, which have to be handled in person or by phone.¹

Submitting the Form

You can mail, fax, or hand-deliver the completed form. All three routes go to the same place: the local Social Security office serving the ZIP code of the person whose records are being requested.⁴ SSA’s online Office Locator will return that office’s street address and fax number when you enter the record subject’s ZIP code.⁵

Hand-delivering has the advantage of immediate confirmation that SSA received the form. If you mail it, use a trackable method so you have proof of delivery.

SSA may charge a fee when the request is unrelated to the administration of a Social Security program.¹ Requests tied to program administration, such as a disability determination or benefit calculation, are generally processed without a fee. SSA does not publish a single standard processing time for SSA-3288 requests, so if several weeks pass without a response, contact the local office to check on status.

How Long the Consent Stays Valid

Unless you write a different expiration date on the form itself, default time limits apply based on the type of records:¹

Non-medical records: valid for one year from the date you signed.
Medical records: valid for 90 days from the date you signed.
Either way, the consent covers a single disclosure unless you specify otherwise on the form.

If the recipient needs ongoing access, write a custom expiration date or note on the form that the consent covers multiple disclosures. Once SSA fulfills the request, the form is spent, and a future request for the same records will need a new SSA-3288.

When You Do Not Need SSA-3288 at All

If you need Social Security information for yourself rather than for a third party, skip the form. A “my Social Security” account lets you view your earnings record, download benefit verification letters, get tax forms like the SSA-1099, and update your personal information.⁶ The benefit verification letter is what many lenders and agencies actually want for income verification, and downloading it yourself is usually faster than routing a consent form through SSA and waiting for the records to reach the recipient. Use SSA-3288 when the records must come directly from the agency to a named third party. For everything else, the online account handles it.

1
Social Security Administration. Consent for Release of Information
2
Social Security Administration. GN 03305.003 – Consent Documents
3
Social Security Administration. GN 03305.005 – Who May Consent
4
Social Security Administration. Submit a Privacy Act Request for Your or Another Person’s Records
5
Social Security Administration. Field Office Locator
6
Social Security Administration. Personal Social Security Record