[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 120 (Thursday, June 22, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 32444-32446]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-15301]



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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

20 CFR Part 422

RIN 0960-AE18


Evidence Required for Duplicate Social Security Number Card

AGENCY: Social Security Administration (SSA).

ACTION: Interim rule.

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SUMMARY: We intend to conduct a pilot project in as many as 100 social 
security offices throughout the country and in as many as 10 
teleservice centers to encourage people who need a duplicate social 
security number (SSN) card to contact us by phone to request the 
duplicate card. We are, therefore, providing an exception to our rule 
in 20 CFR 422.107(c) on the corroborative evidence of identity a person 
must submit when he or she applies for a duplicate SSN card.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This regulation is effective on June 22, 1995. Since 
this rule grants a limited exemption from certain requirements for 
issuing duplicate SSN cards, the 30-day delay in effectuating rules, as 
provided by 5 U.S.C. 553(d), does not apply. We will consider any 
comments we receive by August 21, 1995 and will publish a revised final 
regulation if public comments warrant it.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this rule should be submitted in writing to the 
Commissioner of Social Security, P.O. Box 1585, Baltimore, MD 21235, 
sent by telefax to (410) 966-2830, sent by E-mail to 
``[email protected],'' or delivered to the Division of Regulations 
and Rulings, Social Security Administration, 3-B-1 Operations Building, 
6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235, between 8:00 a.m. and 
4:30 p.m. on regular business days. Comments received may be inspected 
during these same hours by making arrangements with the contact person 
shown below.
    Organizations and individuals desiring to submit comments on the 
information collection requirements under the ``Paperwork Reduction 
Act'' should submit them to the Office of Management and Budget, Office 
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, New Executive Office Building, 
Room 3208, Washington, D.C. 20503, Attention: Desk Officer for SSA.
    The electronic file of this document is available on the Federal 
Bulletin Board (FBB) at 9 a.m. on the date of publication in the 
Federal Register. To download the file, modem dial (202) 512-1387. The 
FBB instructions will explain how to download the file and the fee. 
This file is in Wordperfect and will remain on the FBB during the 
comment period.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack Schanberger, Room 3-B-1 
Operations Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235, 
(410) 965-8471.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 205(c)(2)(B)(ii) of the Act provides 
that an applicant for an SSN must submit such evidence as may be 
necessary for the Commissioner of Social Security (the Commissioner) to 
establish the applicant's age, citizenship or alien status, and true 
identity. Under this provision, the applicant must also provide 
evidence that the Commissioner may need to determine which (if any) 
social security account number has previously been assigned to the 
applicant. This provision was added to the Act in 1972 (Pub. L. 92-603) 
to provide instructions for assigning SSNs. In addition, Pub. L. 92-603 
amended section 208 of the Act to provide penalties for anyone who 
knowingly, willfully, and with intent to deceive uses an SSN that was 
obtained with false information. See S. Rep. No. 92-1230 and H.R. Rep. 
No. 92-1605, 92d Cong., 2d Sess. (1972).
    The amendments were in response to the expanding use of the SSN and 
a concern about its misuse. To implement the amendments, we increased 
the security of the procedures we used for assigning an SSN. We also 
published regulations at 20 CFR 422.107(c) which, among other things, 
require that each applicant for an original, duplicate, or corrected 
SSN card must submit documentary evidence of identity. The primary 
purposes for requiring an applicant for a duplicate SSN card to furnish 
this evidence are to avoid assigning more than one SSN to a person and 
to ensure that the card is issued to the correct person. 
[[Page 32445]] 
    A recent report by SSA's Inspector General (IG), entitled ``SSA 
Field Office Visitor Workload,'' indicates that approximately one-third 
of the many people who visit Social Security offices each day are there 
to request a new or duplicate social security number card. The IG 
report suggested that individuals could request duplicate cards by 
telephone or by mail, thereby significantly reducing the volume of 
people (approximately 8 million per year) who visit social security 
offices to apply for original or duplicate SSN cards.
    In a continuing attempt to furnish better service to the public, we 
will conduct a pilot project which will enable certain individuals to 
apply by phone for a duplicate SSN card without having to complete and 
sign an application and take or mail their identity documents to a 
social security office. We plan to conduct the pilot project in as many 
as 100 social security field offices throughout the country and in as 
many as 10 teleservice centers.
    We are modifying the evidentiary requirements for identity in 20 
CFR 422.107(c) for this project. This will enable us to forgo 
requesting the corroborative documentary evidence of identity for some 
applicants who request a duplicate SSN card. The pilot project will 
apply to U.S. citizens born in the U.S. and to U.S. citizens born 
outside the U.S. who have previously presented to us evidence of U.S. 
citizenship. The applicant must be the number holder or a parent 
applying on behalf of his or her minor child number holder.
    Because of our enhanced ability to screen by electronic means an 
applicant requesting a duplicate SSN card, we believe that we may be 
able to eliminate or at least modify our current requirement that all 
persons applying for a duplicate SSN card must submit a signed 
application and corroborative documentary evidence of identity. If we 
find that this evidence and the signed application are no longer needed 
in some kinds of cases, we should be able to provide more efficient, 
more economical, and more convenient service to the public, while at 
the same time reducing the need for many people to apply in person at 
social security offices for duplicate SSN cards. We will also be 
helping businesses with their wage reporting obligations by ensuring 
that their employees have their correct social security numbers.
    With our current electronic systems capability, we believe that 
under the interim rule we will be able to comply with the evidentiary 
requirements of the Act. We can compare the information the number 
holder gives when requesting a duplicate card with the information 
already available in our electronic records. The true number holder 
should know the information contained in these electronic records. 
Therefore, we believe it is reasonable to treat the conforming 
information provided by the person requesting a duplicate SSN card as 
acceptable evidence of his or her identity within the meaning of 
section 205(c)(2)(B)(ii) of the Act. If our records do not confirm the 
information provided by the applicant, we will require that he or she 
submit corroborative evidence of identity and a signed application 
either by mail or in person to an SSA office.
    If we decide to discontinue this project concerning duplicate SSN 
cards, we will rescind this interim rule. If we decide to expand this 
project, we will publish a notice in the Federal Register. If we decide 
to implement the procedures nationally, a regulation reflecting this 
decision will be promulgated. However, before deciding to expand the 
test or implement nationally, we will conduct a study to determine 
whether the pilot procedures provide sufficient safeguards against 
fraud.
    These special pilot procedures for issuance of duplicate SSN cards 
will not apply to aliens who request such duplicate cards, because 
pursuant to 20 CFR 422.107(e), aliens must also furnish proof of alien 
status as well as identity. Under section 205(c)(2)(B)(i)(I) of the 
Act, the Commissioner must take affirmative measures to assure that 
SSNs are assigned to certain aliens. Aliens are assigned SSNs when they 
are lawfully admitted to the U.S. as permanent residents, when they are 
admitted to the U.S. for a temporary period of time with authorization 
to work, or when they receive authorization to work subsequent to entry 
into the United States. The Immigration and Naturalization Service 
issues to aliens documentation of their lawful admission and requires 
that an alien keep that documentation on his or her person at all 
times. Generally, aliens are required to submit that documentation to 
us as proof of alien status. Therefore, aliens will need to take their 
INS documents to SSA to apply for a duplicate SSN card.
    These special procedures also do not apply to requests for 
corrected SSN cards because the corrected information cannot be 
verified on our records. Additionally, these procedures do not apply to 
(1) foreign-born U.S. citizens who have not already submitted evidence 
of citizenship; (2) a person applying on behalf of another if the 
applicant is not a parent applying on behalf of his or her minor child; 
and (3) people whose address is an in-care-of address, a post office 
box, general delivery, or a suite.

Regulatory Procedures

Justification for Interim Rule Without Proposed Rule

    We are publishing this amendment to the regulations as an interim 
rule instead of a proposed rule. The Social Security Administration 
follows the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) notice of proposed 
rulemaking and public comment procedures specified in 5 U.S.C. 553 in 
the development of its regulations. The APA provides exceptions to its 
notice and public comment procedures when an agency finds that there is 
good cause for dispensing with such procedures on the basis that they 
are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. We 
have determined that, under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), good cause exists for 
waiver of notice of proposed rulemaking and public comment procedures 
in this instance because the use of such procedures to provide a very 
limited exception to the evidentiary requirements that must be met when 
a person requests a duplicate SSN card notice is unnecessary. This is a 
minor rule of limited applicability that should be of little interest 
to the general public. We do not believe that there is significant 
public interest in whether persons in areas where this pilot project 
will be conducted who request duplicate SSN cards must supply signed 
applications and supportive documentary evidence of their identities 
when they request duplicate SSN cards.

Executive Order (E.O.) 12866

    We have consulted with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
and determined that this rule does not meet the criteria for a 
significant regulatory action under E.O. 12866. Thus, it was not 
subject to OMB review.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    We certify that this regulation will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities because it 
affects only the issuing of duplicate SSN cards to individuals. 
Therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis as provided in Pub. L. 96-
354, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, is not required.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This regulation contains a new reporting burden in section 422.107. 
As required by section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, we 
[[Page 32446]] will submit a copy to the Office of Management and 
Budget for its review.
    Public reporting burden for this collection of information is 
estimated to average 2 minutes per response. This includes the time it 
will take to read the instructions, gather the necessary facts, and 
provide the information. If you have any comments or suggestions on 
this estimate, write to the Social Security Administration, ATTN: 
Reports Clearance Officer, 1-A-21 Operations Building, Baltimore, MD 
21235.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Nos. 96.001 Social 
Security--Disability Insurance; 96.002 Social Security--Retirement 
Insurance; 96.004 Social Security--Survivors Insurance; 96.006 
Supplemental Security Income)

List of Subjects in 20 CFR Part 422

    Administrative practice and procedure; Freedom of information; 
Organization and functions (Government agencies); Social Security.

    Dated: June 14, 1995.
Shirley S. Chater,
Commissioner of Social Security.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, Subpart B of Part 422 of 
20 CFR Chapter III is amended as follows:

PART 422--ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURES

    1. The authority citation for Subpart B is revised to read as 
follows:

    Authority: Secs. 205, 702, and 1143 of the Social Security Act; 
42 U.S.C. 405, 902, and 1320b-13.

    2. Section 422.107 is amended by adding language at the end of 
paragraph (c), to read as follows:


Sec. 422.107  Evidence requirements.

    (c) Evidence of identity. * * * An applicant for a duplicate social 
security number card who is a U.S. citizen and who resides in an area 
where the Social Security Administration is conducting a pilot project 
on the issuance of duplicate cards will not be required to submit a 
signed application or corroborative documentary evidence of identity if 
the Social Security Administration is able to compare information 
provided by the applicant with information already in its records and, 
on the basis of this comparison, decides that corroborative documentary 
evidence is not needed to establish the applicant's identity. These 
special procedures do not apply to foreign-born U.S. citizens who have 
not already submitted evidence of citizenship to us; to a person 
applying on behalf of another if the applicant is not a parent applying 
on behalf of his or her minor child; and to people whose address is an 
in-care-of address, a post office box, general delivery, or a suite.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 95-15301 Filed 6-21-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4190-29-P