How to Find or Get Your Baby’s Social Security Number

If you’re trying to find or get your baby’s Social Security number, start with the paperwork already in your house — tax returns, insurance forms, and hospital records often list it — and if none of those turn it up, contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) to request the number or apply for a new card using Form SS-5. There is no fee for any of this, whether the card is an original or a replacement.¹

What Should Have Happened at the Hospital

Most newborns are enrolled through a program called Enumeration at Birth. When you completed the birth registration paperwork, one question asked whether you wanted a Social Security number for the baby. A “yes” sent the request through your state’s vital records office to the SSA, which then mailed the card to your home.²

Delivery time varies by state. Some parents see the card in a couple of weeks; for others, six weeks or more is normal. If it has been several weeks and nothing has come, call 1-800-772-1213 to confirm the number was actually assigned before assuming the card is lost.

Check Your Own Records First

If your baby already has a number, it is probably sitting on a document in your home. Look at:

Prior tax returns where you claimed the child as a dependent — the SSN appears there.³
Health insurance enrollment forms and explanation-of-benefits statements.
Hospital admission paperwork from the birth.
Bank accounts or savings bonds opened in the child’s name, which required the SSN at the time.⁴

If none of these produce the number, a parent or legal guardian can ask the SSA directly. The fastest route is visiting a local SSA office in person with your own ID and the child’s birth certificate. Staff can verify your identity and relationship on the spot.

Getting a Replacement Card

If you know the number but need the physical card, fill out Form SS-5, the Application for a Social Security Card. Only a parent, legal guardian, or the child (if old enough) may submit it.⁵

You can begin the process online at ssa.gov and finish by taking your documents to a local office, or mail the completed form with your originals to the nearest SSA office.⁶ Skip any website that charges a fee; the SSA never does, and you still have to hand your documents to the SSA anyway.

Keep in mind that Enumeration at Birth only issues the original card. Any subsequent card counts as a replacement, and the SSA caps replacements at three per year and ten per lifetime, so put the card somewhere safe once you have it. For most purposes, the number itself is what matters and the physical card rarely comes out.

Applying for a First-Time Number

If your child never received a number — because the hospital box was left unchecked, or because the child was adopted or born abroad — you use the same Form SS-5, but you’ll need more documentation.

Proof of the Child’s Age and Identity

A U.S. birth certificate covers both age and legal name. For identity, the SSA prefers an unexpired U.S. passport. Alternatives include a certified medical record from a doctor or hospital, a religious record such as a baptismal certificate, or a certified school or daycare record from the current or prior year showing the child’s name and date of birth.⁵⁷ For children 6 through 17, a school photo ID also works as secondary evidence.

All documents must be originals or copies certified by the issuing agency. The SSA will not accept photocopies or notarized copies.

Proof of Your Identity and Relationship

The parent applying needs a U.S. driver’s license, state-issued ID card, or U.S. passport. Your relationship to the child is usually shown by the birth certificate naming you as a parent, or by an adoption decree.⁵

How to Submit and How Long It Takes

Two options: in person at any SSA office, or by mail. In person is often less stressful because staff verify your documents and hand the originals back the same day. If you mail the application, use certified mail with return receipt so you have proof of delivery; the SSA returns your originals separately from the card, usually within a few weeks.⁵

Once the SSA approves the application, expect the card in roughly 5 to 10 business days.⁶ To check on a pending application, sign in to your my Social Security account at ssa.gov or call 1-800-772-1213 and say “application status.” The automated line runs around the clock in English and Spanish.⁸

Filing Taxes While You Wait

This is where most parents feel the pressure. You cannot claim your child as a dependent without an SSN on your return, and the IRS will reject the claim if you try.⁹ The child tax credit is stricter still: the child must have an SSN valid for employment issued before your return’s due date, including extensions.¹⁰

If tax season arrives before the card does, you have two workable paths:

File Form 4868 for an automatic six-month extension. You still owe any taxes due by the original deadline, but the extra months usually give the SSN time to arrive so you can claim every credit on your original return.⁹
File now without the child, then submit Form 1040-X to amend after the SSN arrives. You generally have three years from the original filing date, or two years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later.⁹

The extension is usually simpler if you can pay any estimated tax owed by April.

Adopted Children

Adoption complicates things because the SSA often cannot issue a number until the adoption is legally final. In the meantime, the IRS issues an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number (ATIN) so you can still claim the child on your return. An ATIN lasts two years and can be extended if the adoption process runs longer.¹¹ To qualify, the child must be placed in your home by an authorized placement agency for legal adoption, and the SSA must be unable to process an SSN application yet.

Once the adoption is final, apply for a permanent SSN and use that number on all future tax documents. For proof of the legal relationship, the SSA accepts court adoption records, an amended birth certificate, or an official notice from the granting court.¹² International adoptions may also require a Certificate of Citizenship or a U.S. passport in addition to the foreign adoption papers.

Children Born Outside the United States

If your child was born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent, apply through a Social Security Federal Benefits Unit at a designated U.S. embassy or consulate. Children under 12 can apply by mail; children 12 and older who have never had an SSN must appear for an in-person interview.¹³

The key document is a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240), issued by the embassy or consulate where you registered the birth. It proves both age and U.S. citizenship for SSA purposes.¹⁴ You still use Form SS-5 and there is no fee.

Protecting the Number Once You Have It

Child identity theft often goes undetected for years because nobody checks a child’s credit until they apply for student loans or a first apartment. Warning signs include collection notices in your child’s name, denial of government benefits because someone else is using the SSN, an IRS letter about unpaid taxes tied to the child’s number, or a teenager denied credit over a history they never created.¹⁵

The strongest preventive step is placing a credit freeze on your child’s file at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Federal law lets parents and legal guardians freeze credit files for children under 16 at no cost. If no file exists yet, the bureau creates one for the sole purpose of freezing it, so the file cannot be used to open credit. You’ll need to show proof of your authority, such as the child’s birth certificate.¹⁶

If someone has already misused the SSN, report it at IdentityTheft.gov or by calling 1-877-438-4338. The site builds a personalized recovery plan and produces pre-filled letters for credit bureaus and debt collectors.¹⁷

1
Social Security Administration. What Does It Cost to Get a Social Security Card?
2
Social Security Administration. RM 10205.505 – Enumeration at Birth Process
3
Internal Revenue Service. Dependents
4
Reginfo.gov. Instructions for Completing the Order for U.S. Savings Bonds
5
Social Security Administration. Social Security Numbers for Children
6
Social Security Administration. Request Social Security Number for the First Time
7
Social Security Administration. Priority List of Acceptable Evidence of Identity Documents
8
Social Security Administration. Check Application or Appeal Status
9
Internal Revenue Service. Dependents
10
Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit
11
eCFR. 26 CFR 301.6109-3 IRS Adoption Taxpayer Identification Numbers
12
Social Security Administration. Evidence of Legal Adoption
13
Department of the Treasury, Department of State, IRS, and SSA. Joint Frequently Asked Questions on Obtaining Social Security Numbers, Expatriation, and Tax Implications
14
Social Security Administration. Registration of Births of U.S. Citizens Born Abroad
15
Federal Trade Commission. How To Protect Your Child From Identity Theft
16
Federal Trade Commission. New Protections Available for Minors
17
Federal Trade Commission. Child Identity Theft – What to Know, What to Do