To fill out Form SSA-89, the Authorization for the Social Security Administration to Release Social Security Number Verification, enter your full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security number exactly as they appear on your Social Security card, add the name and address of the company requesting the verification, check the box that matches your reason (mortgage, bank account, credit card, loan, retirement account, job, licensing, or other), set the consent period, and sign and date the form.1Social Security Administration. Authorization for the Social Security Administration (SSA) To Release Social Security Number (SSN) Verification The form is one page. A small error in any field can produce a no-match result and stall whatever transaction prompted the request, so the fields deserve more attention than their size suggests.
In most cases, you won’t download the form yourself. The lender, bank, or employer requesting verification hands it to you with their own name and address already filled in. Your job is the personal information and the signature.
Field by Field
The form has eight things to complete. Work through them in order.
- Printed Name. Your full legal name exactly as it appears in SSA’s records, which is the name on your Social Security card. Not your driver’s license, not your passport, not the name you go by day to day.
- Date of Birth. Your date of birth in the format shown on the form.
- Social Security Number. Your nine-digit SSN. Double-check for transposed digits before you sign; this is the second most common source of no-match results after name mismatches.
- Company Name and Address. The name and mailing address of the company requesting the verification. If the lender or bank hasn’t already filled this in, ask them for it rather than guessing.
- Agent’s Name and Address. If the company uses a third-party vendor to submit the verification to SSA, that vendor’s information goes here. Leave it blank if the company submits directly. The company will usually tell you which applies.
- Reason for Authorizing Consent. Check one box: applying for a mortgage, opening a bank account, applying for a credit card, applying for a loan, opening a retirement account, applying for a job, meeting a licensing requirement, or “other.”1Social Security Administration. Authorization for the Social Security Administration (SSA) To Release Social Security Number (SSN) Verification
- Consent Validity Period. The default is 90 days from the date you sign. You can write in a different number of days and initial next to it if you want a shorter or longer window. The consent is valid for one-time use only regardless of the period you choose.
- Signature and Date. Sign and date the form.
Getting the Name Exactly Right
The name field causes more failed verifications than every other field combined. Match your Social Security card character for character. If you recently married or divorced and haven’t updated your Social Security record, the name on file with SSA is still your old name, and that’s the one to write on the form even if every other document you own shows the new one.
One quirk worth knowing: SSA does not consider your middle name or suffix part of your legal name. Whether your middle name is included, omitted, or shown incorrectly in SSA’s system doesn’t affect your legal name record.2Social Security Administration. Defining the Legal Name for an SSN Even so, a middle name mismatch can trip up some lenders’ internal systems even when SSA’s verification itself passes. Matching your card exactly is the safest approach.
Signing: Paper or Electronic
How you sign depends on which verification system your lender or company uses. If they use the original Consent Based SSN Verification (CBSV) service, they’ll need a handwritten signature on the printed form.
The newer eCBSV system accepts electronic signatures that comply with the federal E-SIGN Act. SSA’s guidance lists four acceptable formats: typing your name into a signature block on a website form, attaching a scanned or photographed image of your handwritten signature to an electronic record, using a password or PIN as a shared secret, or clicking an “I Agree” or “I Consent” button on screen.3Social Security Administration. eCBSV Guide to eCBSV Written Consent Many mortgage lenders now build electronic consent into their online application, so you may never see a paper SSA-89 at all. Others use a fillable PDF version of the form with an electronic signature, or embed the required consent language from SSA’s template into their own digital workflow.4Social Security Administration. eCBSV User Agreement
The signature method isn’t your choice. Sign in whichever format the company presents.
Before You Hand It Back
Take a moment before you sign. Read the name field against your Social Security card, not against another ID. Read each digit of the SSN out loud. Confirm the reason box you checked matches the actual transaction (a mortgage application is not a “loan” for these purposes, since mortgage has its own box). If you’re setting a validity period other than 90 days, make sure your initials sit next to the change.
Once you’ve handed the signed form back, the company submits your data to SSA and receives a simple yes or no on whether the name, date of birth, and SSN match. SSA does not share your earnings, benefits, address, or any other personal information, and the verification is not a check on your identity, citizenship, or employment eligibility. It only confirms that the three data points match each other in SSA’s files.5Social Security Administration. Consent Based Social Security Number Verification (CBSV) Service
If the Verification Comes Back as a No-Match
A no-match doesn’t mean something is wrong with your identity. It almost always means the information on the form doesn’t line up with what SSA has on file. The two usual causes are a name that doesn’t match SSA’s records and transposed digits in the SSN.
SSA can disclose the basis for a no-match to the requesting company when the company qualifies as a permitted entity, so the lender or bank will typically be able to tell you which field caused the failure.1Social Security Administration. Authorization for the Social Security Administration (SSA) To Release Social Security Number (SSN) Verification
If the cause is a data entry mistake, fill out a new SSA-89 with the correct information and have the company resubmit. Because each consent is one-time use, you can’t reuse the earlier form.
If the cause is outdated SSA records, say a name change you never reported, you need to update your records with SSA before verification will succeed. Start the name change online at SSA’s website or visit a local Social Security office. You’ll need documentation of the change (marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order) along with proof of identity such as a current driver’s license or passport.6Social Security Administration. Change Name with Social Security Documents must be originals or certified copies; photocopies and notarized copies are not accepted.7Social Security Administration. Learn What Documents You Will Need to Get a Social Security Card A replacement card arrives by mail in five to ten business days, and you can then sign a new SSA-89 with the corrected name.
Whether You Have to Sign
Signing is voluntary. The Privacy Act statement printed on the form says so directly: providing the information is voluntary, but not providing it may prevent SSA from assisting with the verification request.1Social Security Administration. Authorization for the Social Security Administration (SSA) To Release Social Security Number (SSN) Verification There is no legal penalty for refusing.
The practical consequence is different. A mortgage lender selling loans to Fannie Mae cannot close without a validated SSN, so declining the form usually means declining the loan.8Fannie Mae. General Borrower Eligibility Requirements Banks and other financial institutions that have built verification into their compliance workflow generally won’t proceed without the signed authorization either. You keep the right to say no; the transaction usually doesn’t survive the refusal.