On-line Social Security Number (SSN) Verification Tool

Many employers are now using the Social Security Administration's (SSA) on-line tools for verifying the name and SSN combinations of their employees. Increasingly, employers are also using this tool at the time-of-hire as part of their payroll intake process because it saves them from having to correct wrong information later in the process and ensures that correct wage information will be credited to their employees' earnings records.

As a result, when W-2 wage information is submitted to SSA at the end of the year, the verification process will have already been completed. This enables employers to reduce the end-of-the-year reporting burden and reduces the time it would otherwise take to correct employee records upon receiving rejection notices from SSA.

Another benefit of doing the verification at the time-of-hire is that the process ensures that correct information is provided to other federal and state programs that rely on this information.

Please link to SSA's employer webpage at: http://ssa.gov/employer/ssnv.htm and follow the instructions to register and access this tool for employers.