Below, there is a list of questions which appear on a Social Security application. Pat Connors supplied this list to the Rennselaer Co., NY mailing list in March. On July 1, the price of a photocopy of the original application is going up from $7 to $27. name: first, middle, last address: street, city, state business name/employer address of busines/employer age at last birthday date of birth place of birth father's name, regardless of whether living or dead mother's name, regardless of whether living or dead sex color give date you became an employee have your filled out a card like this before if yes, enter place and date or original filing and reason for filing again today's date signature To search the SS Index to see if there is anyone that interests you, click on the URL for the RootsWeb index. http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi If you find a name that interests you, you can click on "SS-5 Letter" and RootsWeb generates the letter for you. That's about as easy as it gets. If you want to beat the price increase, your letter must be postmarked by Saturday June 30. You don't have much time. If you want information from the Social Security Administration, click here: http://www.ssa.gov/foia/foia_guide.htm Here is an alternate index. It will also generate the letter for you. http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/vital/ssdi/main.htm Cliff