Social security number prefix

The number is issued to an individual by the Social Security Administrationan independent agency of the United States government. Although the original purpose for the number was for the Social Security Administration to social security number prefix 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.

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Social security number prefix

The Area Number is assigned by the geographical region. Prior to , cards were issued in local Social Security offices around the country and the Area Number represented the State in which the card was issued. This did not necessarily have to be the State where the applicant lived, since a person could apply for their card in any Social Security office. Since , when SSA began assigning SSNs and issuing cards centrally from Baltimore, the area number assigned has been based on the ZIP code in the mailing address provided on the application for the original Social Security card. The applicant's mailing address does not have to be the same as their place of residence. Thus, the Area Number does not necessarily represent the State of residence of the applicant, either prior to or since. Generally, numbers were assigned beginning in the northeast and moving westward. So people on the east coast have the lowest numbers and those on the west coast have the highest numbers. Note: One should not make too much of the "geographical code. The numbering scheme was designed in before computers to make it easier for SSA to store the applications in our files in Baltimore since the files were organized by regions as well as alphabetically. It was really just a bookkeeping device for our own internal use and was never intended to be anything more than that. Group Number Within each area, the group number middle two 2 digits range from 01 to 99 but are not assigned in consecutive order.

A few duplications did occur when prenumbered cards were sent out to regional SSA offices and originally post offices. However, social security number prefix, since the Social Security numbers were not assigned in chronological order, Sweeney did not receive the lowest Social Security number, Follow EFF: x facebook instagram youtube flicker linkedin mastodon tiktok threads.

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Trying to figure out if a social security number is valid? Want to know what state an SSN was issued in? How are Social Security Numbers Assigned? Up until , Social Security Numbers were assigned to different regions in batches. The number is divided into 3 parts — the area numbers , the group numbers , and the serial numbers.

Social security number prefix

In many ways, your Social Security number is as much a part of you as your date of birth—it follows you from birth to death and can serve as a key to your sensitive information. You probably even know the number by heart. But have you ever wondered what Social Security numbers mean? So, what is it? The number was originally a way for the government to keep track of your earnings and the money you paid into the Social Security program. But now, you can use it in a variety of ways:. The SSA can also give you a replacement card if yours was lost or damaged. The digits in your SSN have a unique configuration. The original intent was to limit the range of numbers based on specific criteria. For instance, the area number was assigned according to the state in which the SSN was issued.

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Retrieved Since , when SSA began assigning SSNs and issuing cards centrally from Baltimore, the area number assigned has been based on the ZIP code in the mailing address provided on the application for the original Social Security card. Instead, for administrative reasons, group numbers were issued in the following order: [35]. Structure of Social Security Numbers. Even before SSN randomization, the group numbers were not assigned consecutively in an area. The Social Security Administration has suggested that, if asked to provide their Social Security number, a citizen should ask which law requires its use. Frequently Asked Questions. The Internal Revenue Code also provides, when required by regulations prescribed by the secretary of the treasury or their delegate:. Odd numbers, 01 to 09 2. Tax return preparers must obtain and use a Preparer Tax Identification Number PTIN to include on their client's tax returns as part of signature requirements. For example, in the social engineering attack involving Hewlett-Packard , executives hired private investigators to manipulate phone companies into disclosing calling information and social security numbers of employees they suspected were leaking information to the press. Before , people often did not obtain a Social Security number until the age of about 14, [7] since the numbers were used for income tracking purposes, and those under that age seldom had substantial income.

Created merely to keep track of the earnings history of U.

The SSNs in Idaho, then, were assigned in the following order: , , , So people on the east coast have the lowest numbers and those on the west coast have the highest numbers. It says it has enough to last several generations without reuse and without changing the number of digits. The final, four-digit field is called the "serial number". The and series serial numbers are special. National Tax Journal. Retrieved October 19, — via NewspaperArchive. May 2, The first three-digit field is called the "area number". More recently, Todd Davis distributed his SSN in advertisements for his company's LifeLock identity theft protection service, which allowed his identity to be stolen over a dozen times. Skip to main content. April 29,