If you receive Social Security while living outside the United States, the SSA-7162 life certificate form is how you prove to the Social Security Administration that you’re still alive and still eligible. Complete the yes-or-no questions, sign and date the back, and mail it in the enclosed envelope within 60 days of receiving it. Miss that deadline and your benefits stop.1Social Security Administration. Form SSA-7162-OCR-SM
Who Gets Form SSA-7162
SSA mails Form SSA-7162 directly to beneficiaries living outside the United States: retirees, disabled workers, and surviving spouses collecting Social Security from a foreign address. If you receive benefits on behalf of someone else, such as a child or an adult who cannot manage their own funds, you’ll get Form SSA-7161 instead. It works the same way and carries the same 60-day deadline, but the questions ask about the beneficiary’s circumstances rather than your own.2Social Security Administration. Form SSA-7161-OCR-SM
The form is mailed to the address SSA has on file. If you’ve moved and haven’t reported the new address, the questionnaire may never reach you, and your benefits will still be suspended when no response comes back. SSA’s Office of Earnings and International Operations posts a notice on its website when forms for the current year have been mailed.3Social Security Administration. Service Around the World – Office of Earnings and International Operations For 2026, the mailing group covers beneficiaries whose Social Security numbers end in 50 through 99, along with anyone aged 90 or older.
Filling Out the Form Item by Item
Most of the form is yes-or-no questions about changes since your last report to SSA. If nothing has changed, you mark “No” on every question, sign the back, and mail it. Use black ink or a dark pencil, print your answers in every field except the signature block, and keep your X marks inside the boxes on the first page.4Social Security Administration. Instruction for Completion of Form SSA-7162
Items 1 and 2: Address and Phone
Item 1 asks for your mailing address. Leave it blank if the pre-printed address on the form is still correct. Fill it in only if you’ve moved and haven’t yet reported the change to SSA. Item 2 is a daytime phone number where SSA can reach you.
Items 3 Through 6: What’s Changed
Each of these items asks about a specific life event. Mark “Yes” or “No” on the front. For any “Yes,” turn the form over and complete the matching section on the back.1Social Security Administration. Form SSA-7162-OCR-SM
Item 3 covers a change in citizenship or country of residence. If you check “Yes,” provide the country of your new citizenship or current residence and the date the change took effect.
Item 4 covers marriage, divorce, or annulment. Check which event occurred and enter the date.
Item 5 covers employment or self-employment. Report any work you’ve done, whether as an employee or running your own business. You’ll need start and stop dates, a list of any months you worked 45 hours or less, whether the work was performed in the United States or was subject to U.S. Social Security taxes, and your earnings for the past two years plus an estimate for the current year. If you are under age 66, every kind of work must be reported.4Social Security Administration. Instruction for Completion of Form SSA-7162
Item 6 applies only if you receive benefits because you have a child under 16 or a disabled child in your care. Answer “Yes” if you and the child lived apart at any point, and provide the dates, the child’s name, the reason, and the child’s current address if they haven’t returned.
Signing and Getting a Witness
You must sign and date the back of the form no matter how you answered the questions. The signature block includes a declaration under penalty of perjury that everything you’ve reported is true and correct.1Social Security Administration. Form SSA-7162-OCR-SM
A witness signature is not required if you can sign your name normally. If you sign with a mark instead of a written signature, a witness must also sign and date Item 8.
If you need notarial services and live overseas, U.S. consular officers can perform them under 22 CFR ยง 92.1.5eCFR. 22 CFR 92.1 – Definitions The fee is $50 per consular seal placed on a document.6U.S. Department of State. Notarial and Authentication Services at U.S. Embassies and Consulates For a routine SSA-7162 where you don’t sign with a mark, no notarization is needed at all.
Where and How to Mail It
Both SSA-7162 and SSA-7161 arrive with a pre-addressed return envelope. The address for SSA-7162 is:
Social Security Administration
P.O. Box 7162
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 18767-7162
U.S.A.4Social Security Administration. Instruction for Completion of Form SSA-7162
If you’ve lost the envelope or need to send replacement documentation, the SSA’s Office of Earnings and International Operations can be reached at:
Social Security Administration
Office of Earnings & International Operations
P.O. Box 17775
Baltimore, Maryland 21235-77753Social Security Administration. Service Around the World – Office of Earnings and International Operations
SSA does not accept these forms digitally. The form must be physically signed and mailed or hand-delivered. The SSA publication on payments outside the United States instructs beneficiaries to “complete, sign, date, and return the questionnaire to us in the envelope provided.”7Social Security Administration. Your Payments While You Are Outside the United States Some beneficiaries living near a U.S. embassy or consulate hand the form to a consular officer instead, but standard practice is to mail it.
If international postal service in your country is unreliable, send it by registered or certified mail. Keep a photocopy of the signed form and your mailing receipt. If the form gets lost in transit, that copy is your proof that you completed and sent it on time.
The 60-Day Deadline
The clock starts when you receive the form, not when SSA mails it. Both SSA-7162 and SSA-7161 state in bold print at the top: “Failure to complete and return this form within 60 days will result in a suspension of benefits.”1Social Security Administration. Form SSA-7162-OCR-SM There is no grace period and no automatic extension.
If you’re traveling and won’t be at your mailing address for an extended period, arrange for someone to forward your mail or notify SSA of a temporary address before the annual mailing goes out. A calendar reminder a few weeks before the typical mailing date is the simplest safeguard.
If You Miss the Deadline
Suspension means payments stop entirely. Not reduced, not delayed. To restart them, you need to submit the completed form, or a new one if the original was lost, and wait for SSA to process it. The administrative backlog for international cases can stretch for weeks or months.
Contact SSA as soon as you realize your benefits have been suspended. You can reach the agency by phone, by mail, or in person at a U.S. embassy or consulate that provides Social Security services.7Social Security Administration. Your Payments While You Are Outside the United States Once your identity and continued eligibility are confirmed, SSA should issue back payments for the months you missed, though the reinstatement process itself has no guaranteed timeline. A suspension can also affect other benefits tied to your Social Security record, including Medicare coverage if you’re enrolled through SSA.