Social security number prefix

The Area Number is assigned by the geographical region. Prior tocards were issued in local Social Security offices around the country and the Area Number represented the State in which the card was issued.

The number is issued to an individual by the Social Security Administration , an independent agency of the United States government. Although the original purpose for the number was for the Social Security Administration to track individuals, [1] the Social Security number has become a de facto national identification number for taxation and other purposes. Within three months, 25 million numbers were issued. On November 24, , 1, of the nation's 45, post offices were designated "typing centers" to type up Social Security cards that were then sent to Washington, D. On December 1, , as part of the publicity campaign for the new program, Joseph L.

Social security number prefix

We're no longer updating this page, so the information on it may be out of date. See our current work related to privacy. Check out our 4-star rating on Charity Navigator. Join EFF Lists. Electronic Frontier Foundation. Podcast Episode: 'I Squared' Governance. Structure of Social Security Numbers. The first three-digit field is called the "area number". The central, two-digit field is called the "group number". The final, four-digit field is called the "serial number". Area Numbers The area numbers were assigned to geographical locations in a manner analogous to the way in which ZIP codes were later assigned in particular, area numbers increase from east to west across the continental US as do the ZIP codes.

August 30, This did not have to be in the area where the applicant lived, because one could apply for a card in any Social Security office.

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This change is referred to as "randomization. The SSA began assigning the nine-digit SSN in for the purpose of tracking workers' earnings over the course of their lifetimes to pay benefits. Since its inception, the SSN has always been comprised of the three-digit area number, followed by the two-digit group number, and ending with the four-digit serial number. Since , the SSA has issued Social Security cards centrally and the area number reflected the state, as determined by the ZIP code in the mailing address of the application. There are approximately million numbers available for assignment. However, the previous SSN assignment process limited the number of SSNs available for issuance to individuals by each state. Changing the assignment methodology extended the longevity of the nine digit SSN in all states. SSA ].

Social security number prefix

Created merely to keep track of the earnings history of U. Assigned at birth, the SSN enables government agencies to identify individuals in their records and businesses to track an individual's financial information. The author also wishes to thank the many employees in the Office of Income Support Programs and the Office of Earnings and Enumeration and Administrative Systems who reviewed the article for technical correctness. The findings and conclusions presented in the Bulletin are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Social Security Administration. Since then, use of the SSN has expanded substantially. The SSN 's very universality has led to its adoption throughout government and the private sector as a chief means of identifying and gathering information about an individual. How did the SSN come to be, and why has it become an unofficial national identifier?

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Congress has proposed federal laws that restrict the use of SSNs for identification and bans their use for a number of commercial purposes—e. Social Security cards printed from January until January expressly stated that people should not use the number and card for identification. Serial Number Within each group, the serial numbers last four 4 digits run consecutively from through Press Press Contact. Social Security was originally a universal tax, but when Medicare was passed in , objecting religious groups in existence prior to were allowed to opt out of the system. Before June 25, , a valid SSN could not have an area number in the range —, or above , the highest area number the Social Security Administration had allocated. Nine-digit number issued to U. Exacerbating the problem of using the Social Security number as an identifier is the fact that the Social Security card contains no biometric identifiers of any sort, making it essentially impossible to tell whether a person using a certain SSN truly belongs to someone without relying on other documentation which may itself have been falsely procured through use of the fraudulent SSN. Serial Numbers Serial numbers are assigned in chronological order as the applications are processed except that all and series serial numbers are special; see below. Ogden Standard Examiner. However, the number was found to be in use by 12 individuals as late as

The number is issued to an individual by the Social Security Administration , an independent agency of the United States government. Although the original purpose for the number was for the Social Security Administration to track individuals, [1] the Social Security number has become a de facto national identification number for taxation and other purposes.

List showing the geographical location of the first three digits of the Social Security numbers assigned in the United States and its territories from until June 25, August 30, The original area number assignments have been augmented as required. The New York Times. All it does is confirm that a particular number has been issued to a particular name. Now numbers are assigned randomly, and fraudulent SSNs are not easily detectable with publicly available information. The Chippewa Herald. Rather, every fifth applicant is assigned a serial number in one of these ranges. The SSNs in Idaho, then, were assigned in the following order: , , , Until , the SSA published the last group number used for each area number. Identity confusion has also occurred because of the use of local Social Security numbers by the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau, whose numbers overlap with those of residents of New Hampshire and Maine.