NUMIDENT

How can I get an additional information on an application to a Social security program from my great aunt?  Reference is to a "United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database,

  • You can order her original Social Security application: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/request.html  Note: It is better to order the original Application for a Social Security Card (SS-5) instead of the Numident record, which is a computer extract of the SS-5.

    Do you have her Social Security Number?

  • Social Security can provide you with a copy of your great aunt's SS-5 form (call an Application for Social Security Account Number) which can be made via a Freedom of Information Act Request (FOIA). This will be her original application made when she applied for a social security number. The website to order is: https://foia.ssa.gov/app/Home.aspx. You'll need to create an account if you do not already have one.

    When ordering, always request the Original SS-5 Application. Do not order the Numident form. Original SS-5 forms are $30 each and are delivered via email, or to your FOIA account that you will create (you can choose how to receive the SS-5).

    Depending on when your great aunt was born, there are specific age requirements that must be met before you will receive the SS-5. Here are the age requirements when ordering these forms: (1) Deceased individuals born more than 120 years ago, the SS-5 can be provided without additional verification or evidence needed. (2) Deceased individuals born 100-119 years ago, the SS-5 can be supplied provided the individual is within Social Security's death records. In the event, Social Security does not have death information on file, you will need to provide a copy of the death certificate. They will let you know if the individual is not within their records as being deceased. (3) Deceased individuals born less than 100 years ago are the most restrictive for receiving a SS-5. You will be required to provide proof of death (i.e., death certificate) in order to obtain the SS-5. You'll also need to provide proof that the parents are deceased too, otherwise Social Security will redact the parents names.

    Once you submit your request, you'll be prompted to make payment ($30). You'll receive an email acknowledgement of your request, and an email for your payment. Processing time ranges, on average, somewhere between two weeks and six weeks. I order these forms fairly regularly and the response time varies greatly. You'll receive an email from them when your request has been completed. You can keep track of the status of your request by logging into your FOIA account.

    The SS-5 will provide information such as the individual's name, address, employer name, employer's address, date of birth, place of birth, father's name, mother's maiden name, and will contain their signature and the date they received their number. There are some instances when Social Security does not have the Original SS-5 on file. In these instances, you'll be provided with whatever form they have. For example, when I ordered the SS-5 for my grandmother's sister. I was sent form OAAN-7003 which is a Request for Name Change form. It contains most of the same information as the SS-5 form, but the OAAN-7003 was specifically for changing your name (in her case, she got married and changed her name with Social Security; however, Social Security did not have her original SS-5 on file but they did have the OAAN-7003 so that's what I got).

  • Thanks for this extended answer.  I do have my great aunt's SSN and she is listed in the US Social Security Death Index. (This is via Ancestry).  She was born in 1935 so not more than 100 years ago.  I don't have the death certificates of her parents but have established their death (Via Find A Grave via Ancestry) and they are both listed in the US Social Security Applications and Claims Index.  Don't know if they appear in the US Social Security Death Index.  Of particular interest is the program my great aunt was enrolled in 1975.  ASB above suggests that that information would be contained in her SS-5.  But your discussion suggests that the SSA wont release it to me.  Where might I get her parents death certificates?

  • Death certificates would be available in whatever state they passed away. It sound like you have an Ancestry account, so using that site may be able to help you find out the state her parents died, and then depending on when they died, and what images, if any, are publicly available, you could download images from Ancestry (or, for example, FamilySearch if Ancestry doesn't have the state you're searching). However, if the deaths were within recent decades and the latter half of the 20th century (say 1950's onward) the chance may be greater you'll need to order copies of their death certificates from the state archives in the state in which they passed away.

    The location of their death in the Social Security Death Index doesn't necessarily mean that's where they died; the location in the death index will generally indicate the address where they received the final benefit payment. Newspaper searches can also help you confirm where the parents died.

    You mention that your great-aunt "enrolled" in social security in 1975; is this her appearing in the application index or in the claim index?

  • Here are examples of what the SS-5 looks like, one provided in full, and one provided with parents names redacted. John W. Cowgill is my great-great grandfather. This is his application for a social security number that he obtained in 1936. He was born in 1888, so that is well beyond any limitations of having to provide additional death evidence to social security.

    Here is an example of one with parent names redacted. I ordered this SS-5 in 2019 when she would have only been 95 years old, so it was less than the 100 year old rule, and I didn't have the parents death certificates at the time. I provided social security with her death certificate, but did not yet have the deaths for her parents, so my SS-5 request was partially granted. This is an example of when you provide evidence of death for the individual, but when you're unable to provide death for the parents, this is how the form would look. The reference to "(b)(6)" is from one of social security's sections on redactions.

  • Just to clarify: You do not need to provide her parents' death records to order her SS-5. Her parents' names would be redacted on her application, but it sounds as if you don't need those...?

  •  

    Thank you for posting your question on History Hub!

    To add to the helpful information already provided, we searched the National Archives Catalog and located the series Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936–2007 in the Records of the Social Security Administration (Record Group 47) which may include information relating to your great aunt and other relatives. The publicly available portion of these records may be accessed online through NARA’s Access to Archival Databases (AAD). For more information about these records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Electronic Records (RDE) at cer@nara.gov.

    You may also find the FamilySearch research wiki United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT) - FamilySearch Historical Records useful.

    We hope this assists you with your research! 

    Sincerely,

    Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR)

    [25-03729-ZTD]