United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT) - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What is in This Collection?
The Social Security Administration created these records to track the earnings of US workers and determine benefit entitlements. The publishable index only contains information for deceased individuals and was gathered from all three record types in the collection: applications, deaths, and claims. Each compiled record includes fields for the name of the deceased, social security number, parents' names, gender, birth city and state or country, birth date, and death date.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Each compiled record includes fields for: • 2

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the person
 * Approximate date of the event

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * If available, check the image for additional information
 * Analyze the entry to see if it provides additional clues to find other records of the person or their family

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try searching by surname only
 * The person may be recorded with an abbreviated or variant form of their name
 * Remember that spelling was generally not standardized until the early part of the 20th century

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the United States.
 * United States Guided Research
 * United States Record Finder
 * United States Research Tips and Strategies

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Desmond Walls Allen and Carolyn Earle Billingsley, Social Security applications: a genealogical resource Conway, Arkansas : Research Associates, c1995 FS Library 973 D27adw

FamilySearch Historical Records

 * United States Social Security Death Index
 * United States, GenealogyBank Historical Newspaper Obituaries, 1815-2011
 * United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, Births, and Marriages 1980-2014
 * United States, Cemetery Abstracts, 1949-1969

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * Report of distribution of surnames in the Social Security number file September 1, 1974
 * America's centenarians : reports of interviews with Social Security beneficiaries who have lived to 100. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare Social Security Administration, 1963

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.