How to Look Up a Deceased Person’s Social Security Number

To look up a deceased person’s Social Security Number, submit Form SSA-711 to the Social Security Administration with proof of the person’s death and a fee of $26 or $27. The SSA treats the request under the Freedom of Information Act and mails back either a photocopy of the original Social Security card application or a computer extract of the record, both of which contain the SSN.

Who Can Request the Record

You do not need to be related to the deceased. Under 20 CFR § 401.190, the SSA does not consider disclosure of a deceased person’s record an invasion of that person’s privacy, so anyone can file the request through the FOIA process. What differs by requester is the paperwork you attach.

Executors and estate administrators submit Letters Testamentary or a court appointment order as proof of authority. Courts expect them to have the SSN for final tax filings, closing accounts, and benefit claims.
Surviving spouses and children applying for survivor benefits, life insurance, or pension distributions attach proof of relationship along with proof of death.
Genealogical researchers and members of the general public need only proof of death and enough identifying information for the SSA to locate the right file.

For older records, the standard loosens. If the person was at least 100 years old, the SSA releases the record with acceptable proof of death. If the person would be over 120, the SSA presumes death and releases the record with no proof required at all.¹

Information and Documents You’ll Need

The SSA matches your request to a file using identifying details, so provide as much as you can: full name (including any prior names), date of birth, date of death, and the city and state where the person died. Common names with thin details slow the search or come back unmatched.

Form SSA-711, “Request for Deceased Individual’s Social Security Record,” asks for the decedent’s identifying details, your relationship, and the reason for the request.² Attach proof of death, which the SSA defines broadly:

A copy of a public death record (certified death certificate)
A statement from a funeral director
A statement from the attending physician or the institution where the person died
A coroner’s report or coroner’s jury verdict
An official federal agency report of death
An obituary with enough identifying information to match the record

The obituary option matters most for genealogists working with ancestors who died decades ago, when a certified death record may be hard to obtain.¹ If you’re acting as the estate’s legal representative, include your Letters Testamentary or court appointment order.

Fees and How to Submit

The SSA charges a flat fee because looking up a deceased person’s SSN is a non-program request, not part of administering benefits.³ The current amounts are:

Original SS-5 application (photocopy): $27
Numident record (computer extract): $26
Certification of either record: additional $10

Certification adds an official SSA stamp and signature, needed only if you’ll submit the record as evidence in a court proceeding or formal legal matter. Most requesters do not need it.⁴

You can submit two ways. Online, use the FOIAXpress Public Access Link at foia.ssa.gov. By mail, send the completed SSA-711, proof of death, and payment to:

Social Security Administration, OEIO, FOIA Workgroup, 6100 Wabash Ave, P.O. Box 33022, Baltimore, MD 21290-3022.

Mailed payment must be a check or money order made out to the Social Security Administration for the exact amount. To pay by credit card, complete Form SSA-714 and include it with your SSA-711.⁵

How Long It Takes

Federal regulation directs the SSA to make a determination within 20 working days on most non-expedited FOIA requests.⁶ Real-world turnaround runs closer to four to six weeks. If processing takes more than 10 working days, the SSA sends an acknowledgment with a tracking number. If they contact you for clarification and you don’t respond within 30 calendar days, they close the request.

What the Record Looks Like

The SSA offers two versions of the record. Both contain the SSN.

The SS-5 photocopy is an image of the original application the person submitted when they first got a Social Security card. It typically shows their full name, any prior names, date of birth, place of birth, both parents’ full names (including the mother’s maiden name), the applicant’s signature, and the SSN.⁷ The parents’ names and place of birth are what make this document useful to genealogists.

The Numident is a computer extract of the same core fields in a typed, standardized format, and it may reflect later updates such as name changes. It costs a dollar less and is what the SSA sometimes furnishes when the physical SS-5 has already been digitized.³

Whether You Can Find the SSN in Public Indexes First

For older deaths, you may be able to find the SSN through the publicly available Social Security Death Index before spending a fee on an SSA-711. The SSDI is derived from the SSA’s Death Master File and historically listed the SSN, name, date of birth, and date of death for tens of millions of deceased individuals.

The public version is now limited. Section 203 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 created a three-calendar-year blackout: the SSA cannot disclose DMF information about any deceased individual during the three years after death unless the requester holds a special certification.⁸ Section 205(r) of the Social Security Act separately restricts the full DMF, including deaths reported by state governments, to certain federal and state agencies.⁹

The practical result: if the person died within the last three years, skip the public indexes and file the SSA-711 directly. For older deaths, the SSDI and commercial genealogy databases that compiled its pre-2013 data can help you confirm details, though the records aren’t guaranteed to be accurate or complete. Older SSNs also sometimes appear in probate filings and military service records that predate modern privacy restrictions.

What the SSA Will Redact or Deny

The privacy rules protect the living, not the deceased. If releasing part of the record would reveal a living survivor’s benefit amount, address, or other personal information, the SSA redacts that portion. Some requests come back partially blacked out for this reason, and it’s the most common ground for a denial along with insufficient proof of death.

You can appeal a denial to the SSA’s Office of Privacy and Disclosure. Appeals follow the same 20-working-day target, longer for complex cases that need legal review.¹⁰

1
Social Security Administration. Make a FOIA Request
2
Social Security Administration. Form SSA-711 – Request for Deceased Individual’s Social Security Record
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Social Security Administration. Can You Provide a Copy of a Deceased Person’s Social Security Number Application for Genealogical Research?
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Social Security Administration. SSA PAL Application – Requests and Fees
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Social Security Administration. Submit a Privacy Act Request for Your or Another Person’s Records
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Social Security Administration. 20 CFR 402.60 – How Does SSA Process FOIA Requests?
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Social Security Administration. Application for Social Security Card
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Social Security Administration. P.L. 113-67 – Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013
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Social Security Administration. Requesting SSA’s Death Information
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Social Security Administration. 20 CFR 402.105 – Appeals of the FOIA Officer’s Determination