Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card

What is Form SS-5?

Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card, is the Social Security Administration (SSA) form used to apply for an original Social Security card, to apply for a replacement card, and to change or correct information on your Social Security number record. Applying is free. The form above is the 12-2024 edition, marked "Discontinue Prior Editions". It has five pages: what the application is for, the evidence documents, how to complete and submit it, the privacy statements, and the application itself (items 1 to 18) on page 5.

When you need Form SS-5, and when you don't

Under 20 CFR 422.103, a person who needs a Social Security number applies by completing a prescribed application and submitting the required evidence, and a prescribed application is also required for a replacement card. Before you fill out the paper form, check the routes SSA describes:

• Starting online. SSA's website says that if you're in the U.S. you can apply online for a first number and then go to a local Social Security office to provide your documentation. For a replacement card it says you may be able to apply online, depending on your situation, and that otherwise you'll need an appointment at a local office. SSA Publication 05-10002 (July 2026) adds that after starting online you bring any required documents to the office or Card Center within 45 calendar days.
• Paper form. An SSA FAQ on replacement cards (dated November 14, 2024) says that if you do not begin the application online, you complete a paper Form SS-5 and bring your documents to a local Social Security office or Card Center, and that you can download, complete and print the form before you arrive. The same FAQ says that in most states a personal my Social Security account can be used to request a replacement card. SSA's staff manual (POMS RM 10205.630, guidance for SSA employees) lists who can use that online request: a U.S. citizen whose citizenship is already established on the Social Security record, age 18 or older, with a U.S. mailing address and a valid, current driver's license or State-issued identity card from a participating State (the POMS table permits only driver's licenses from Delaware, Nevada and Wisconsin), asking for a card with no change to the record or, with a marriage certificate or license from a participating State, only a last name change after marriage.
• Name change. SSA's website says you change your name with Social Security by requesting a replacement card.
• Newborns. Where a State has an agreement with SSA, a parent can request the child's number as part of the birth registration process, without a separate application (20 CFR 422.103(b)(2)). Publication 05-10002 says that a parent who waits and applies at an office must make an appointment first, and that verifying the birth record may add up to 12 weeks.
• Immigration process. Where SSA has an agreement with the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security, a noncitizen can request the number through them as part of the immigration process, without a separate application (20 CFR 422.103(b)(3)).

You may not need a new card at all: SSA's website says that if you know your number you may not need to replace the card, and that in most cases a physical card isn't necessary. It also says the local office cannot print a card for you.

Documents SSA asks for

Originals or certified copies only. The form says SSA can only accept original documents or documents certified by the custodian of the original record, and that notarized copies or photocopies not certified by the custodian are not acceptable. Publication 05-10002 puts it as original documents or copies certified by the issuing agency, with no photocopies or notarized copies. The regulation (20 CFR 422.107(a)) requires originals or copies certified by the custodians of the original records. SSA's staff manual (POMS RM 10210.420, guidance for SSA employees) says documents with security features, such as passports, driver's licenses and some identification cards, cannot be copied and certified by the custodian of record. The form says SSA will return any documents you submit. Under 20 CFR 422.107(g), SSA will not issue a card on invalid or expired documents; for a name change, SSA's publication accepts an expired identity document in your old name (see below).

What the form asks for depends on the request:

• Original card. At least two documents to prove age, identity, and U.S. citizenship or current lawful, work-authorized immigration status.
• Replacement card. One document to prove your identity. If you were born outside the U.S., also documents to prove U.S. citizenship or current lawful, work-authorized status. Publication 05-10002 words it as documents proving your citizenship if it is not already in SSA's records.
• Change to your record (a name or citizenship change, or a corrected date of birth). Documents to prove your identity, support the change and establish the reason for it. A name-change document must be recent and identify you by both the old and the new name; if the event was over two years ago, or the document does not have enough information to prove your identity, the form also asks for identity documents in your prior name and/or, in some cases, your new legal name. SSA's documents page puts the two years at four for applicants under 18. Publication 05-10002 says SSA will accept an identity document in your old name that has expired and, if you have none, may accept an unexpired one in your new name. If you were born outside the U.S., the form also asks for a document to prove U.S. citizenship or current lawful, work-authorized status.

The form's evidence lists are examples and are not all inclusive:

• Age. In general, your birth certificate. In some situations SSA may accept another document that shows your age, such as a U.S. hospital record of your birth created at the time of birth, a religious record established before age five, a passport, or a final adoption decree that shows the birth information was taken from the original birth certificate.
• Identity. Current, unexpired evidence in your legal name: a U.S. driver's license, a U.S. State-issued non-driver identity card, or a U.S. passport. If you do not have one of these or cannot get a replacement within 10 work days, SSA may accept other documents that show your legal name and biographical information, such as a U.S. military identity card, a Certificate of Naturalization or an employee identity card. The form adds that, generally, documents without an expiration date should have been issued within the past two years for adults and the past four years for children. If you are not a U.S. citizen, the form says SSA must see your current U.S. immigration documents and your foreign passport with biographical information or a photograph. SSA's staff manual (guidance for SSA employees) has staff accept the immigration document alone when a noncitizen has a current one but no unexpired foreign passport, a refugee for example (POMS RM 10210.420), and, in the rare case where a refugee, parolee, asylee or victim of a severe form of trafficking has no other documents, accept it alone as evidence of age, identity and immigration status (POMS RM 10210.020). If you send a photo identity document and do not appear in person, it must show biographical information such as your date of birth, age or parents' names. SSA cannot accept a birth certificate, a hospital souvenir birth certificate, a Social Security card stub or a Social Security record as evidence of identity; the regulation likewise says a birth record is not sufficient evidence of identity.
• U.S. citizenship. In general, a U.S. birth certificate or U.S. passport. Other documents you may provide are a Consular Report of Birth, a Certificate of Citizenship or a Certificate of Naturalization.
• Immigration status. A current, unexpired document issued to you by the Department of Homeland Security, such as Form I-551, I-94 or I-766. An international student or exchange visitor may need additional documents, such as Form I-20, DS-2019 or a letter authorizing employment from the school and employer (F-1) or sponsor (J-1). SSA cannot accept a receipt showing you applied for the document. SSA's staff manual describes two cases in which an expired card is still accepted: an expired Form I-551 accompanied by a Form I-797 or I-797C notice that extends the card's validity and shows you are authorized to work (POMS RM 10211.025), and an employment authorization document that has been automatically extended, which serves as evidence of current employment authorization (POMS RM 10211.420). If that is your case, confirm with SSA which documents you need before you apply.
• No work authorization. SSA can issue a card only if you need the number for a valid non-work reason, and the card will be marked to show you cannot work. If you check "Legal Alien Not Allowed to Work" or "Other" in item 5, the form asks for a document from a U.S. Federal, State or local government agency that explains why you need a number and that you meet all the requirements for the government benefit; it notes that most agencies do not require one. SSA Publication 05-10096 (February 2026) names two cases: a federal statute or regulation requires you to have a number to receive a federally funded benefit (whether you live inside or outside the U.S.), or a State or local law requires one to receive public assistance benefits (if you are legally residing in the U.S.). It says the agency's letter must be on letterhead stationery (no form letters or photocopies), identify you as the applicant, state the nonwork reason, cite the law that requires the number, indicate that you meet all agency requirements except having a number, and contain an agency contact name, signature and telephone number. For a replacement card, SSA's staff manual (POMS RM 10210.015) says the only valid reason to issue one for a nonwork purpose is evidence of a new (different), current, valid nonwork need.

How to fill out Form SS-5

The form's own instruction is to complete and sign the application legibly, using only black or blue ink, on the attached or downloaded form, on 8 1/2 by 11 inch (or A4) paper. The PDF that SSA posts has fillable fields, and an SSA FAQ on replacement cards (November 14, 2024) says you can download, complete and print Form SS-5 before you arrive at the office. Neither says whether entries typed on screen meet the ink instruction. If you fill in the form on screen, print it on paper of that size, check that every entry is legible, and sign the printout by hand in black or blue ink; if in doubt, ask SSA or complete the printed form by hand.

The application is page 5, items 1 to 18. The instructions on page 3 single out these items:

1. Item 5, citizenship: see the note on non-work reasons above if you check "Legal Alien Not Allowed to Work" or "Other".
2. Items 6 and 7, ethnicity and race: voluntary; the form says the answer does not affect decisions on your application.
3. Items 9.B and 10.B, parents' Social Security numbers: required when you apply for an original card for a child under age 18, unless the parent was never assigned a number. If the number is not known and you cannot obtain it, check the "unknown" box.
4. Item 13: if the date of birth in item 4 differs from the one on your Social Security record, show the date currently on the record here and provide evidence for the date in item 4.
5. Item 16, mailing address: an address where you can receive the card 7 to 14 days from now, in the form's words.
6. Item 17, signature, and item 18, your relationship to the person in item 1 (self, natural or adoptive parent, legal guardian, or other).

Signing and submitting the application

Who signs. The form says: if you are age 18 or older and physically and mentally capable of reading and completing the application, you must sign in item 17. If you are under 18, you may sign yourself, or a parent or legal guardian may sign for you. If you are over 18 and cannot sign on your own behalf, a legal guardian, parent or close relative may generally sign for you. Someone completing the application for another person must provide evidence of their authority to sign, and documents proving their own identity and the identity of the person the application is for.

How to sign. Sign in black or blue ink. The signature sits under a declaration, made under penalty of perjury, that the information on the form is true and correct to the best of your knowledge. If you cannot sign your name, the form says to sign with an "X" mark and have two people sign as witnesses beside it. The form asks you not to alter your signature by including additional information on the signature line, and warns that this may invalidate your application. SSA's staff manual (POMS RM 10205.180), which is guidance for SSA employees, says that when you apply for yourself the signature must agree with the name in item 1, and that someone who applies on another person's behalf must sign their own name and indicate their relationship to that person (item 18 of the form asks for the relationship); it calls signing "for" the other person, as in "John Smith for Mary Smith", not correct. For your own signature it accepts a signature without the middle name or suffix, a prior name signed after you entered a new married name in item 1, and an obvious nickname, abbreviation or initials.

In person or by mail. The form says that in most cases you can take or mail the signed application with your documents to any Social Security office, and that documents you mail are returned to you. Publication 05-10002 (July 2026) says that if you cannot start the application online you must make an appointment to visit a Social Security office or Card Center. An SSA FAQ dated December 12, 2022 says it may take 2 to 4 weeks to process a mail-in application and return the evidence. Because mailing means sending original documents or copies certified by the custodian of the record, check with SSA (the questions at ssa.gov/number-card, or 1-800-772-1213) before you mail anything. SSA's staff manual (POMS RM 10210.015) tells employees never to ask a noncitizen to mail an immigration document, because noncitizens age 18 or older in the U.S. must keep it with them. The address in the form's Paperwork Reduction Act Statement is for comments on the time estimate only, not for the completed form.

In-person requirement. The form notes that if you are age 12 or older and have never received a Social Security number, you must apply in person. The regulation (20 CFR 422.107(a)) requires an in-person interview in that case, except for a noncitizen who requests the number as part of the immigration process, and says SSA may require an in-person interview of other applicants. Publication 05-10002 adds that this generally applies even if a parent or guardian will sign for a child.

At the office. SSA's staff manual (POMS RM 10205.001 and 10205.175) describes two ways an application is taken: a completed and signed Form SS-5 that is mailed or brought in, or an application an SSA employee enters during an office interview. In the interview, the manual says, SSA does not require a pen-and-ink signature; the employee records your confirmation, under penalty of perjury, that the information is true. This is internal guidance for SSA staff, not a public instruction.

After you apply

• When the card arrives. SSA's website says the card comes by mail in 5 to 10 business days after the application is approved or the request is completed. Publication 05-10002 (July 2026) says within 7 to 10 business days once the application is complete.
• Limits on replacement cards. The form says the law limits replacement cards to 3 per calendar year and 10 in a lifetime; cards issued for a legal name change or a change to a work authorization legend do not count, and SSA may grant exceptions on evidence from an official source that a card is required. The regulation (20 CFR 422.103(e)(2)) words the limit as three in a year and ten per lifetime and allows exceptions case by case, including for significant hardship. SSA's staff manual (POMS RM 10205.400, guidance for SSA employees) also leaves out of the count cards issued before December 17, 2005.
• Cost. There is no charge for a number or card. Publication 05-10002 says you can report anyone who tries to charge you to SSA's Office of the Inspector General at oig.ssa.gov.
• Keeping the card. The form says not to carry the card with you: keep it in a secure location and take it only when you must show it.
• Questions. SSA's number is 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778); its website lists phone support Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., in most U.S. time zones.

Form SS-5 resources

• Form SS-5, SSA PDF
• Social Security number and card, SSA.gov
• Request a Social Security number for the first time, SSA.gov
• Replace a Social Security card, SSA.gov
• Documents you need for a Social Security card, SSA.gov
• Your Social Security Number and Card, SSA Publication 05-10002 (PDF)
• Social Security office locator, SSA.gov
• 20 CFR 422.103, Social security numbers (eCFR)
• 20 CFR 422.107, Evidence requirements (eCFR)
• Form SS-5-FS, for applicants outside the U.S.