# Is there a procedure to legally change your social security number? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 1, 2025, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-procedure-to-legally-change-your-social-security-number/1019076 "2025-06-01T16:55:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2025, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-procedure-to-legally-change-your-social-security-number/1019076/1 "2025-06-01T16:55:57Z")
I know there are always warnings about keeping your social security number private, but it really isn’t possible. I mean, it seems like everything you do with financial effects requires you to put it on an application or some such. Every credit card, installment purchase, apartment lease, job application, on and on. Plus, I think it’s basically routine nowadays for parents to apply for a child’s SSN when they are very young, so of course the parents will know what it is. Yes, we presume parents aren’t going to use that info to harm their children, but let’s face it, you hear a lot of stories about stolen identities and many of them involve parents using their kid’s info to apply for credit after they’ve ruined their own. So, in the aftermath of something like that, is there a way for the victim to get a new SSN (obviously with the SS people able to link between old and new for official reasons) to insure the offender who used the old SSN for some evil purpose can’t just turn around and do it again the next time they are in a financial bind? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2025, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-procedure-to-legally-change-your-social-security-number/1019076/2 "2025-06-01T17:03:34Z")
I know we got our daughter a change of SSN after we adopted her 28 yrs ago. So there’s definitely a procedure for certain circumstances. Unfortunately I don’t remember any specifics anymore. It was done to retire her old SSN, as she’d been claimed on her birth mother’s taxes previously. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2025, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-procedure-to-legally-change-your-social-security-number/1019076/3 "2025-06-01T17:05:17Z")
Yes, it can be done, but it is not easy to do. (If it were people would be tempted to run up bad debts, then change their SSN to clean credit history and repeat.) You have to have a good reason, usually either being a victim of identity theft or stalking, and you have to present documents to the SSA to make your case for a new number. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2025, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-procedure-to-legally-change-your-social-security-number/1019076/4 "2025-06-01T17:45:46Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > I think it’s basically routine nowadays for parents to apply for a child’s SSN when they are very young, You think rightly. Parents get a tax deduction for each minor child. To obtain the tax deduction, they must provide the kid(s)’ SSN(s). As a result, all but tax protesters get their kids SSNs before the next time they file income taxes. So before the kid’s first birthday for sure. This came into effect back around 1980. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2025, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-procedure-to-legally-change-your-social-security-number/1019076/5 "2025-06-01T17:51:05Z")
The Social Security Administration [explanation](https://www.ssa.gov/faqs/en/questions/KA-02220.html#:~:text=We%20can%20assign%20a%20different,holder%20has%20an%20established%20relationship.)) ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2025, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-procedure-to-legally-change-your-social-security-number/1019076/6 "2025-06-01T18:28:58Z")
Ah, thanks all! Good to know there is a way for those who need it for legitimate reasons. Weirdly, the only case of stolen identity I’ve run into personally turned out to have helped the “victim.” Long ago a woman I knew and her husband were applying for loan to open a small store. They’d been nervous about it, not because they had anything bad in their financial histories, but because they were young, not that long out of college, and pretty much had NO financial record at all. But then the bank guy said, oh, no problem, Mrs. Jones, with your excellent credit history. Turns out her parents had taken out several loans over the previous five years to handle some emergency situations (a medical bill, car repairs, her own tuition bill in one case) by using her name/SSN without her knowing anything. The parents had paid off those loans promptly according to the terms, so she had a very nice credit rating! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2025, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-procedure-to-legally-change-your-social-security-number/1019076/7 "2025-06-01T18:36:19Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > This came into effect back around 1980. 1987, to be precise, is when the SSA began the “Enumeration at Birth” program, which coincided with a change in Federal tax laws, requiring parents to include the SSNs of dependent children in order to claim the tax deduction. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-procedure-to-legally-change-your-social-security-number/1019076/8 "2025-06-02T21:26:13Z")
When I got my SS card around 1972 or so, I was warned not to give it out to anyone not required to have it (banks, basically). When I moved to Canada and got a SIN (Social Insurance Number) I treated it the same way. When supermarkets started to accept credit cards, I avoided using them because I felt that their use added a couple percent to the cost of groceries to the detriment of poor people. At the first market I used, they gave me a cheque cashing card when I applied. Then I moved and the new market required a SIN to issue a card and so I figured F-em and just used the CC from then on. I have the feeling that almost everyone uses CCs these days. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-procedure-to-legally-change-your-social-security-number/1019076/9 "2025-06-02T21:31:59Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > Yes, it can be done, but it is not easy to do. (If it were people would be tempted to run up bad debts, then change their SSN to clean credit history and repeat.) > > You have to have a good reason, usually either being a victim of identity theft or stalking, and you have to present documents to the SSA to make your case for a new number. I will just add that it’s exactly the same in Canada. It’s called a Social Insurance Number (SIN) here, and it cannot be changed just on request. You have to prove identity theft before you can be issued a new one. Also, the government no longer issues SIN cards, as they serve no useful purpose. There’s no point in issuing cards emblazoned with a number that is supposed to be confidential. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2025, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-procedure-to-legally-change-your-social-security-number/1019076/10 "2025-06-02T21:51:04Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > the government no longer issues SIN cards, as they serve no useful purpose. Here in the UK, children used to get a card with their NI (National Insurance) number. It was discontinued sometime back in the 80s. NI numbers are NOT used for things like loan applications, but they are linked to tax records. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2025, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-procedure-to-legally-change-your-social-security-number/1019076/11 "2025-06-03T00:06:42Z")
Most of the people here have had their Social Security number and associated information stolen. Here is just one data breach: > **[2024 National Public Data breach](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_National_Public_Data_breach)** > > Jerico Pictures, Inc., doing business as National Public Data, was a data broker company that performed employee background checks. Their primary service was collecting information from public data sources, including criminal records, addresses, and employment history, and offering that information for sale. > National Public Data was involved in a data breach that impacted 2.9 billion records, which contained sensitive information like Social Security numbers. On October 2, 2024, National Publi... This involved hundreds of millions of individuals. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2025, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-procedure-to-legally-change-your-social-security-number/1019076/12 "2025-06-03T00:17:26Z")
A more recent tranche of SSNs that were made public due to gross incompetence: > **[Unredacted JFK Files Contain Hundreds Of Social Security Numbers](https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/03/20/hundreds-of-social-security-numbers-made-public-in-unredacted-jfk-files/)** > > The Justice Department is also reportedly pushing for the accelerated release of records related to the surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2025, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-procedure-to-legally-change-your-social-security-number/1019076/13 "2025-06-03T00:48:00Z")
I think we can safely assume that every living American has had their name and number stolen at least once. The fact we all haven’t been identity theft victims is testament to how much data theft is a wholesale business and identity theft is a mom and pop retail business. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2025, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-procedure-to-legally-change-your-social-security-number/1019076/14 "2025-06-04T17:34:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I think we can safely assume that every living American has had their name and number stolen at least once. > > The fact we all haven’t been identity theft victims is testament to how much data theft is a wholesale business and identity theft is a mom and pop retail business.   Yep. I feel better now about my lost or (more likely) stolen wallet. Fortunately, I have a separate little wallet for plastic cards, and since almost anything of value these days is plastic, the only thing really lost in that wallet was some memorabilia, a small amount of cash, and a card bearing my SIN. This was probably over a year ago now and there have been no repercussions to anything. Of course, still a good idea to maintain confidentiality of your SSN/SIN/NI or whatever it’s called in your country, but it’s not the end of the world if it gets leaked. Still a good idea to check your credit record periodically, though, which is always good practice. If one is really paranoid, one can put a freeze on new credit applications. I’m not that paranoid. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2025, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-procedure-to-legally-change-your-social-security-number/1019076/15 "2025-06-07T17:06:19Z")
I am not particularly paranoid, but I have a freeze at the three bureaus. It’s free and only takes a few minutes. And it works - once I tried to get a pay-over-time deal and forgot the freeze. My application was denied because of it. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2025, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-procedure-to-legally-change-your-social-security-number/1019076/16 "2025-06-07T18:31:51Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > And it works - once I tried to get a pay-over-time deal and forgot the freeze. My application was denied because of it. I’ve had that happen to me twice. The second time I was able to call the bureau and lift the freeze while I was still negotiating the pay-over-time deal, so it was able to be approved immediately. And the next week, once I was sure the deal was approved, I reinstated the freeze.