What information is available from Social Security records to help in genealogical research?
Records potentially available from Social Security Administration include the Application for a Social Security Card (form SS-5) and information from the “claims folder” for past recipients of benefits. In any case, to obtain any of this information from Social Security Administration you will need to file a Freedom of Information Act request. The detailed procedures are as follows: To search the Social Security Administration’s records for the information you want, Social Security needs certain identifying information. Social Security records are filed by Social Security numbers (SSNs) rather than by names. If you can provide the person’s SSN, Social Security will search their records for any information they might have. Without an SSN, Social Security will need the person’s full name, date and place of birth, and parents’ full names to locate the record. If you can provide the necessary identifying information, Social Security will search for the number. Social Security cannot search
You might want to start by checking out the Social Security Death Index which is available online from a variety of commercial services (usually the search is free). The Death Index contains a listing of everyone who had a Social Security number and who is deceased, and whose death was reported to the Social Security Administration. If you find a person in the Death Index you will learn the date of birth and Social Security Number for that person. (The Social Security Death Index is not published by SSA for public use, but is made available by commercial entities using information from SSA records. We do not offer support of these commercial products nor can we answer questions about the material in the Death Index.) Other records potentially available from SSA include the Application for a Social Security Number (form SS-5). To obtain any information from SSA you will need to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The detailed procedures for doing so can be found elsewhere
