Replace a lost Social Security card

Almost nobody needs the physical card. What employers, banks and government agencies need is the number, and once you know it the card itself sits in a drawer. Before applying for a replacement, check whether the thing you are being asked for actually requires the card in your hand.

Cost

Free — the SSA never charges for a card

Limits

3 replacements a year, 10 in a lifetime

Time

Usually 7–14 days by post

Where

Online, by post, or at a Social Security office

When you genuinely need the card

Completing Form I-9 for a new employer is the main one, and even there the card is only one of several documents that can satisfy the requirement — a combination you already hold may work instead. See Form I-9 and work authorisation for what counts.

Otherwise, quoting the number is normally enough. No legitimate organisation needs to photocopy the card, and very few need the number at all: a shop, a school or a landlord asking for it is usually asking out of habit rather than requirement.

The replacement limits

You may receive three replacement cards in a year and ten in a lifetime. These are statutory limits, and they are the reason not to request a replacement casually.

Two things do not count against the limits: a card reissued after a legally verified change of name, and a card reissued because your immigration status changed in a way that alters the restrictive legend printed on it — for example moving from "valid for work only with DHS authorisation" to an unrestricted card. The SSA can also make exceptions in genuinely compelling circumstances.

Applying

Many people can apply online through a personal SSA account, which is the fastest route and requires no appointment. The online option is not available for every situation — non-citizens and certain states are sometimes excluded — and the site tells you before you get far.

Otherwise complete Form SS-5 and either post it or take it to a Social Security office. You will need original documents or certified copies proving identity, immigration status and work authorisation; the SSA does not accept photocopies or expired documents, and returns your originals afterwards.

Offices are considerably quieter with an appointment. Bring more documentation than you think you need — being sent away for one missing paper is the usual outcome of walking in unprepared.

If the number has been misused

A lost card is a low risk on its own. A number being used by someone else is a serious one, and the signs are things like a tax return being rejected as already filed, or credit accounts you did not open appearing on your file.

Start by getting your free credit reports and looking for accounts that are not yours — building a credit history covers how to read them. Report identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission, which produces a recovery plan and the documentation banks ask for. The SSA changes a number only in rare and well-documented cases of ongoing harm, because a new number leaves you with no credit or work history attached to it.