From Rootsweb Review RootsWeb Review: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine 3 May 2006, Vol. 9, No. 18 (c) 1998-2006 RootsWeb.com, Inc. http://www.rootsweb.com/ 1c. USING ROOTSWEB: Exploring the SS-5 Now that you have found Aunt Grace in the RootsWeb SSDI (Social Security Death Index) (http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/), what's next? Let's assume you wish to send away to the Social Security Administration for information included on Grace's SS-5 (Application for a Social Security Number). This information is available under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for deceased individuals. To request Aunt Grace's data, click on the link that says "SS-5 Letter" under the Tools column on the line with her SSDI listing at RootsWeb. You will find a preprinted request letter with her Social Security number and other pertinent information already typed in for you. Print the letter and enclose a check for $27 and mail it to the address provided on the request form. You can also request the SS-5 information without the Social Security number, but it costs $29 in such cases. What information can you hope to learn from the SS-5? You can expect to receive a printout from the microfilm of the items on the SS-5. It probably will provide the following information: --Full name --Full name at birth (including maiden name) --Present mailing address (at time the application was made) --Age at last birthday --Date of birth --Place of birth (city, county, state) --Father's full name "regardless of whether living or dead" --Mother's full name, including maiden name, "regardless of whether living or dead" Many of the requests being made for old SS-5 application data will include the information the person provided to obtain his or her Social Security Number originally -- based upon the questions asked on the old form. The items originally found on the SS-5 application when Social Security first began can be viewed on the Social Security website: http://www.ssa.gov/history/ssn/ss5.html Keep in mind that birthdates and other information supplied by the applicant were generally not verified at the time of application on the older applications--but rather, proof was submitted at the time the individual or his family members applied for benefits on his account. The information on the SS-5 may or may not be 100 percent accurate. Besides requesting SS-5 information, what other data can you obtain from SSA? Requests for Computer Extracts of Social Security Number Applica- tions, called Numidents, may be made at a charge of $16 -- if the SSN is provided and $18 if the SSN is not provided. The Numident has limited information but it does include name changes for married women. This information is not found on the original SS-5 forms. Many Numident records of older individuals, primarily those born in 1910 or earlier, are abbreviated records that do not contain the names of the individual's parents and may not contain the place of birth. While it happens infrequently, there have been cases where only the Numident form still exists. The SSA will also search for information about the death of an individual for a fee of $16 if the SSN is provided, and $18 if it isn't. Note that SSA does not usually have the place of death, burial, or cause of death. It will not search for the Social Security number of anyone born before 1865. SSA attempts to handle request within 20 (working) days from the date it is received. However, it may take longer depending on the difficulty of finding the record and depending upon the current case load. Requests are processed on a "first in" "first out" basis.