Skip to content
Social Security Online		 Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS)
 www.socialsecurity.gov
 

SSA logo: link to Social Security Online home Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS) Handbook

SSNVS Handbook (246 KB) Adobe Reader icon

Table of Contents
SSNVS Front Cover
Contact Information
What is SSNVS and BSO?
System Requirements
Security
SSNVS/BSO Availability
Registration
Access to SSNVS
Logging into SSNVS
Using SSNVS
Submission File Format
Returned File Format
SSN Verification Results
Status and Retrieval Options
Status and Retrieval Results
What to Do If an SSN Fails to Verify
Logging Out
SSNVS News
Getting Help
Employer Reporting Information
Maintaining Your Registration Information
Glossary of Terms
Appendix A: Additional Verification Options

SUBMISSION FILE FORMAT

To ensure your electronic file submission processes successfully, the file must be a text file (.txt) in the following format:

NOTE: Effective 09/24/11, gender is no longer used as part of the SSN verification process. You do not need to make any changes to the file format. If a value is included in position '54' of a file, we will remove it and replace it with a blank prior to the verification attempt. All returned files will have a blank in position '48.'

NOTE: Record delimiters are not to be used (i.e., do not place a comma or any other character after any field).

NOTE: If a field marked "May not be left blank." does not contain an entry, the item is automatically considered a non-verified record.

NOTE: In order to sort the return file to your specifications, we recommend using the User Control Data field to create a unique identifier for each record. This unique identifier would be placed in positions 90-103 in your submission file and returned to you in positions 84-97 in the return file.


Field Name Instruction Position Field Size Field Type
SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER
  • Must include all 9 digits including lead zeros.
  • May not be left blank.
 1-9 9 Numeric
ENTRY CODE “TPV”
  • Must insert "TPV".
  • May not be left blank.
 10-12 3 Alpha
PROCESSING CODE 214
  • Must insert "214".
  • May not be left blank.
 13-15 3 Numeric
LAST NAME
  • Do not use hyphens, apostrophes, spaces, periods, suffixes (Jr) or prefixes (Dr).
  • Must contain at least one character.
  • May not be left blank.
 16-28 13 Alpha
FIRST NAME
  • Do not use hyphens, apostrophes, spaces, periods, suffixes (Jr) or prefixes (Dr).
  • Must contain at least one character.
  • May not be left blank.
 29-38 10 Alpha
MIDDLE
NAME / INITIAL
  • Do not use hyphens, apostrophes, spaces, periods, suffixes (Jr) or prefixes (Dr).
  • Optional
 39-45 7 Alpha
DATE OF BIRTH (MMDDYYYY)
  • If unknown, leave blank.
  • Optional
 46-53 8 Numeric
BLANK SSA use only. 54-89 36 Blanks
USER CONTROL DATA Free form text for employer. 90-103 14 Alphanumeric
BLANK SSA use only. 104-123 20 Blanks
REQUESTER IDENTIFICATION CODE
  • Enter OEVS.
  • May not be left blank.
 124-127 4 Alpha
MULTIPLE REQUEST INDICATOR
  • Must insert "000".
  • May not be left blank.
 128-130 3 Numeric

 Link to FirstGov.gov: U.S. Government portal Privacy Policy | Website Policies & Other Important Information | Site Map Need Larger Text?