Welcome to the Social Security Administration's

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 

Public Access Link (PAL)

The FOIA allows members of the public to request records from Federal agencies. At the Social Security Administration (SSA), we are committed to promoting transparency and openness in government while balancing the need to protect certain information from release. We hope you will find this site informative and useful and that it will give you a better understanding of the FOIA and its implementation at the Social Security Administration.

The FOIA is centrally processed at SSA in the Office of Privacy and Disclosure (OPD) with a subset of requests processed by the Office of Central Operations, Division of Earnings and Business Services (DEBS).

Within the PAL, you may submit requests for deceased individual’s original Application for a Social Security Card (SS-5) and Numident records and other records subject to the FOIA. 

PAL is not the correct place to submit a request for the following:

• To request a living individual’s original SS-5 or Numident record, please visit our FOIA page for instructions.
• Earnings Request: To request earnings records, please complete the SSA-7050 and submit it to the address noted on the Form. Earnings requests are not processed under the FOIA.
• Request for your own record: To request your own record – e.g., claims file, medical records, etc. – please visit your local office. Please use our office locator to find the office that services your zip code.

SSA FOIA Reading Rooms

Before you submit your request, search SSA’s publicly available information, including our electronic Reading Room. 

To Submit a FOIA Request Online

Please Sign In with a ROME, Login.gov, or ID.Me account to submit a request.  Visit our FOIA page for instructions on alternate submission options.

To Check the Status of a FOIA Request

If you are a registered requester with this online submission site you can Sign In to view the status of your request(s) or download responsive records once they are delivered.

If you are not a registered requester you can still check the status of your request by clicking on Check Request Status in the toolbar. Be prepared to enter the tracking number provided by the FOIA Office to retrieve the status of your request.