Employment

U.S. Social Security Death Index

The Social Security Death Index contains millions of names of deceased people who had social security numbers, had their deaths reported to the Social Security Administration, and died after 1962 (although there are some records as early as 1937). This index is free to search and can be found in a variety of places, one being www.familysearch.org.

To search this index, you only need a name, although the place of death is helpful in distinguishing between people with the same name. Once you obtain the social security number, you may send for the actual application (Form SS-5) or a computer-generated summary of the application card. This application contains the persion's name, date and place of birth, and parents' names that were given when he or she filled out the application. You may request Form SS-5 or the computer-generated summary by writing to:

For the actual SS-5 card, the search fee is $27 when the SSN is known and $29 when the number is unknown or is incorrect. If you do not have the social security number you must provide the person's name, date and place of birth, and parents' full names. You may also request a computer extract from the original application for a Social Security card. The fee for searching these records is $16 when the SSN is known and $18 when the number is unknown or is incorrect.