How to Replace a Lost Social Security Card, Online or in Person

1Step 1: Decide whether you need the card at all

Social Security says that in most cases you do not need your physical card; knowing the number is enough. An employer, a bank or a benefits office usually needs the number itself, not the card. Some do ask to see the card, and that is the time to replace it. An employer filling out hiring paperwork, for example, may accept the card as one proof that you can work, but other documents, such as a U.S. birth certificate, can serve instead.

There is a second reason to think before ordering one. Replacements are limited: no more than three a year and ten in a lifetime. Legal name changes do not count toward those limits, and the limits can be waived if you show that a card is needed to prevent a significant hardship, but it still makes sense to keep the next card somewhere safe rather than in a wallet.

2Step 2: If it was stolen, protect the number first

A lost card is an inconvenience; a stolen one can be the start of identity theft. If you think someone has your card or number, the replacement is only part of the job:

• Report identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission at IdentityTheft.gov, which gives you a recovery plan.
• Check your credit reports and consider a fraud alert or credit freeze with the three credit bureaus.
• Review your Social Security earnings record for jobs you did not hold; our guide to checking your earnings record shows how.
• Create your my Social Security account if you have not, so no one else can create one in your name.

A replacement card carries the same number as the old one. Social Security assigns a new number only in limited situations, and a lost or stolen card alone is generally not one of them. If your driver's license was taken along with the card, replace the license first: the online card request depends on it.

3Step 3: Check whether you can apply online

The online service is the fastest route, and most adult U.S. citizens can use it. You generally qualify if all of these are true:

• You are a U.S. citizen aged 18 or older with a U.S. mailing address.
• You have a driver's license or state-issued ID card from a participating state or D.C.
• You have, or can create, a my Social Security account.
• You are not changing your name, date of birth, place of birth or gender on the record.

If any of those is not true, for example because your ID comes from a state that does not take part, you will apply in person instead, as described in Step 5. Nothing about your eligibility for a card changes; only the route does.

4Step 4: Apply online

1. Sign in to my Social Security at ssa.gov, or create an account if you do not have one.
2. Choose the replacement card request from your account's menu.
3. Enter the information from your license or state ID when asked, so Social Security can verify your identity.
4. Confirm your mailing address carefully; the card goes only to the address on the request.
5. Submit the request and note the confirmation. Keep it until the card arrives.

The service is free. Websites that offer to replace a card for a fee are not Social Security, and you do not need them.

5Step 5: If you cannot apply online

Noncitizens, children, people changing a name and anyone without an eligible ID apply through a Social Security office or card center. Start with Form SS-5, the application for a Social Security card, and bring original documents or copies certified by the agency that issued them. Photocopies and notarized copies are not accepted. Before you go, check the office's hours and whether it asks you to schedule an appointment, and fill out the form at home to save time at the counter.

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Social Security returns original documents, but do not mail originals such as a driver's license or passport; take them in person. Local offices cannot print a card on the spot. It arrives by mail, as with an online request.

6Replacing a child's card

A parent or legal guardian applies for a child under 18, through a Social Security office or card center, with Form SS-5. You will need proof of the child's identity and of your own, plus proof of the child's citizenship if Social Security does not already have it. Social Security's document list shows which records it accepts for a child, such as a U.S. passport or certain medical or school records.

As with adults, a child rarely needs the physical card. Schools, doctors and insurers usually need only the number, so keep the child's card at home once it arrives.

7Step 6: Changing your name at the same time

A name change after marriage, divorce or a court order is a correction to your record, not a simple replacement, so it cannot be done through the online replacement service described above. Update the record before, or at the same time as, you change your name with your employer, because a mismatch between your name and Social Security's records can hold up tax refunds and the posting of your earnings.

The new card shows your new name with the same number, and a name change does not count toward the three-a-year and ten-in-a-lifetime limits.

8Step 7: Wait for the mail, and store the card well

By Social Security's current estimate, a replacement card arrives by mail 5 to 10 business days after your request is processed. If it has not arrived after a few weeks, contact Social Security rather than ordering another one, since each order counts toward the limits.

When the card arrives, store it with other important papers at home. You will rarely need to show it, and a card left at home cannot be lost from a wallet.