Social Security guides
50 guides to official Social Security tasks. Start with your question, find the right service route, and check whether an office visit is needed.
No guides match that search. Try a task such as name change, Medicare, or appointment.
Office visits & online access
Choose a contact route, prepare for a visit, or use an official online service.
Make or change a Social Security appointment
Start with SSA’s official appointment service and find out whether your task can be completed online, by phone, or in person.
Read the guide 03 / Practical guideDocuments to prepare for common Social Security tasks
Use the right SSA checklist for a card, name change, retirement claim, or disability application.
Read the guide 36 / Practical guideHow to check Social Security office closures
Check temporary service changes and federal holidays before travelling to a Social Security office.
Read the guide 37 / Practical guideCard Center or field office: where should you go?
Understand location types and check that an SSA office handles your task before choosing where to visit.
Read the guide 38 / Practical guideFind your local Social Security office phone number
Find official local and national SSA contact options, prepare a clear question, and understand current call-timing guidance.
Read the guide 39 / Practical guideWhat you can do through SSA’s automated phone service
Understand which tasks SSA lists for its automated telephone service and when a representative or another channel is needed.
Read the guide 40 / Practical guideHow Social Security Video Connect appointments work
Learn how SSA decides whether a video appointment is suitable, what equipment is needed, and where to get help with the link.
Read the guide 41 / Practical guideGet a free interpreter for Social Security services
Request spoken-language assistance from SSA for a telephone conversation or an office visit.
Read the guide 42 / Practical guideContact SSA if you are deaf or hard of hearing
Find SSA’s hearing-access contact options and request communication assistance for Social Security business.
Read the guide 43 / Practical guideRequest Social Security notices in an accessible format
Understand SSA’s Special Notice Options for people who are blind or visually impaired and how paperless preferences affect delivery.
Read the guide 44 / Practical guideFind where to fax or mail documents to SSA
Locate the correct SSA destination for forms or evidence, and distinguish a general inquiry address from an application address.
Read the guide 45 / Practical guideWhich documents can you upload to SSA?
Use SSA’s official Upload Documents service for supported forms and evidence while preserving original-document requirements.
Read the guide 46 / Practical guideSocial Security tasks you can start or complete online
Choose the right official online service for an application, account record, document request, or benefits-management task.
Read the guide 47 / Practical guideCreate your official my Social Security account
Start account creation from SSA.gov, choose the official sign-in provider, and keep account access separate from a benefits application.
Read the guide 48 / Practical guideGet help signing in to my Social Security
Identify whether your difficulty involves the sign-in provider, account authentication, or an SSA service outage.
Read the guide 49 / Practical guideCheck SSA website outages and maintenance
Use SSA’s live service-status page to investigate an outage and distinguish it from an individual account-access problem.
Read the guide 50 / Practical guideContact Social Security while living outside the United States
Find the responsible international contact for your country and check which SSA online services are available from abroad.
Read the guideCards & personal records
Understand number, card, and record-correction tasks before following SSA’s process.
Replace a Social Security card
Learn where to start a free replacement-card request and what happens if SSA needs to see your documents.
Read the guide 04 / Practical guideApply for a Social Security number for the first time
Choose the correct original-number route, prepare evidence of age and identity, and understand what happens before SSA mails your first card.
Read the guide 05 / Practical guideGet a newborn's Social Security number through birth registration
Understand the hospital birth-registration route, what to do if it was missed, and where to check your baby's card-processing information.
Read the guide 06 / Practical guideSocial Security numbers and record updates after adoption
Separate an adopted child's first-number request from updates to an existing record, and prepare the adoption and identity evidence SSA needs.
Read the guide 07 / Practical guideSocial Security number eligibility for noncitizens
Check work-authorized and limited nonwork SSN eligibility, choose the correct application channel, and distinguish an SSN from work permission.
Read the guide 08 / Practical guideSocial Security numbers for international students
Understand school, employer and sponsor evidence for an eligible student SSN request, without confusing school enrollment with work authorization.
Read the guide 09 / Practical guideRequest an SSN through an immigrant visa application
Understand the immigrant-visa SSN request route, check whether you already requested a card, and find the official follow-up after arrival.
Read the guide 10 / Practical guideRequest an SSN card through a USCIS application
Check SSA's USCIS-linked request options and distinguish immigration approval, document receipt and Social Security card follow-up.
Read the guide 11 / Practical guideApply for an SSN or card while living outside the United States
Find the Federal Benefits Unit serving your country, use the international SS-5-FS form when directed, and confirm how evidence should be presented.
Read the guide 12 / Practical guideChange or correct your name with Social Security
Use SSA's name-change route for marriage, divorce, a court order or a correction, and prepare evidence of the event and your identity.
Read the guide 13 / Practical guideUpdate citizenship or immigration status with Social Security
Use SSA's status-update route after naturalization or another immigration change, and check whether an earlier linked request already updated the record.
Read the guide 14 / Practical guideCorrect a date of birth or other personal-record error with SSA
Find the right route for a wrong birth date, place of birth or parent information, and distinguish a record correction from what prints on the card.
Read the guide 15 / Practical guideForm SS-5: find the official form and complete it correctly
Download SSA's genuine paper card application and understand the name, previous-request, evidence and signature instructions before submission.
Read the guide 16 / Practical guideSocial Security card types and work-restriction wording
Compare SSA's three card types and understand why printed restrictions, immigration authorization and a record update are different questions.
Read the guide 17 / Practical guideReplacement Social Security card limits and exceptions
Understand the yearly and lifetime replacement limits, issuances that do not count, and when SSA considers a documented exception.
Read the guide 18 / Practical guideWhen a Social Security card has not arrived: timing and follow-up
Work out whether a card request is waiting for evidence review or postal delivery, then follow up through the correct SSA application channel.
Read the guide 19 / Practical guideWhat to do if your Social Security number is stolen or exposed
Find SSA's official identity-theft reporting route and distinguish a compromised number from a physical card replacement or a rare different-number request.
Read the guideBenefits & Medicare
Find the official application route without guessing about personal eligibility.
How to apply for Social Security retirement benefits
Find the official retirement application, prepare your information, and get phone or office help when you need it.
Read the guide 21 / Practical guideHow to start a Social Security disability application
Find SSA’s disability application route and use its starter kit to organize the information for your request.
Read the guide 22 / Practical guideHow to start an SSI application
Find the right adult or child SSI application route and prepare the financial, household, and other information SSA may request.
Read the guide 23 / Practical guideHow to apply for Social Security survivor benefits
Find out how to contact SSA about a survivor claim and prepare the information it may request after a family member dies.
Read the guide 24 / Practical guideHow to apply for Social Security family benefits
Choose the right SSA route for spouse, former-spouse, or child benefits and prepare the relationship records it may request.
Read the guide 25 / Practical guideHow to sign up for Medicare through Social Security
Find SSA’s Part A and Part B enrollment route, the information to prepare, and where other Medicare plan questions belong.
Read the guide 26 / Practical guideHow to add Medicare Part B when you already have Part A
Find SSA’s Part B-only enrollment options and the forms it identifies for different enrollment situations.
Read the guidePayments & official records
Find help with letters, payments, account details, and decisions.
How to get a Social Security benefit verification letter
Get the official proof-of-income or benefit letter online, or find SSA’s automated phone alternative.
Read the guide 28 / Practical guideHow to get a replacement SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S
Download a replacement Social Security tax statement or find the automated phone option without making an unnecessary office trip.
Read the guide 29 / Practical guideHow to report an error in your Social Security earnings record
Identify the year and employer involved, gather supporting records, and find SSA’s online or phone correction route.
Read the guide 30 / Practical guideHow to change Social Security direct deposit information
Find SSA’s online, bank, phone, and appointment routes for changing where benefit payments are deposited.
Read the guide 31 / Practical guideHow to update your address and contact information with SSA
Learn which contact details can be updated online, when a call may be needed, and why bank and account-login changes are separate.
Read the guide 32 / Practical guideHow to find the right route to appeal an SSA decision
Use the decision notice to identify the appeal stage, the correct official request, and where to get help submitting it.
Read the guide 33 / Practical guideHow to report a death to Social Security
Check whether SSA needs a death report, find the official contact route, and separate reporting from survivor-benefit applications.
Read the guide 34 / Practical guideWhat to do if a Social Security payment is missing
Check the expected payment, contact the bank first for a missing electronic deposit, and find SSA’s reporting route.
Read the guide 35 / Practical guideHow to apply to become a Social Security representative payee
Learn how to contact SSA about becoming a payee, prepare for its selection process, and understand the role’s core responsibilities.
Read the guideKeep official actions with SSA.
Our guides help you prepare. Applications, account services, and appointment scheduling happen through SSA’s official channels.