o/t lost my S.S. card

can I get a new one online or are they scams,thanks for any info.

I lost my card too. I had to go to the nearest SS office with a birth certificate and other ID (I used my drivers license). The new card came in about 10 days.
DWF

I lost mine too. Back in 1965. Never got a new one.Don't worry, You don't need it. Carrying one around is the dumbest thing you can do.

GordoSD,well I dont carry mine around,and this is 2013 not 1965 and you do need a SS card.

As a former SSA employee, I can tell you that a birth certificate is not a valid form of identification for a replacement card.

I wouldn't worry about it. You do know your number? I lost mine back in the 60's. Went to sign up for S.S. Not a problem the girl signed me up and sent me a new card, but why do I need it now? Vic

Ok, then please tell us what a valid form if ID is. Around here to get a SS card, at one time, you had to have a valid DL. Funny thing, if your DL had expired, or in the cases I knew of, was lost, you had to have a SS card as ID to get a DL. That led to the situation of the DL was non existant, or expired (not valid) so there was no way to get the SS card required to get a valid DL.....I knew several people who had a heck of a time getting a "Valid ID" because the "Valid ID" they needed to get another was the one they needed to get the one needed to get the other......Kind of like the old ordeal of which came first, the chicken or the egg???

So, what form if ID is now needed to get a SS card if your birth certificate, which was needed to get a SS card in the first place (long before you were of the age to have a DL or any other form of 'valid ID), isn't good enough any more????

That is what I had to have when I couldn't find mine. I asked them on the phone after hanging on for a while...................BC and DL is what I had to have, and I had to do it in person. The SS office in Lubbock, Texas, makes you set up an appointment, and then you have to wait at least an hour for a five minute chore. The first time they got my name wrong, so I set up another appointment because they wouldn't do it over the phone. All of this because of a part time job I was applying for required a photocopy of the card. Right or wrong, I couldn't work until I had it.

Oh, I had to get a new copy of my birth certificate as well. Couldn't find that either. I do have it somewhere, packed down, so I went to the local county health department with a DL, pay stub, and another ID (fire department), and they printed something that took the place of the original. It only states there is "evidence" of the original in the county where I was born. It does work for what I needed.

A birth certificate is not a valid form of identification but it is a valid form of citizenship.
To get a SS card you need 2 forms of ID. One to prove your identification and one to prove your citizenship. A passport is the only thing that will cover both in one document.

I know I have one somewhere but have not ever had a need to show it to anyone. I learned mine real quick when we went through the tear gas chamber in basic training. Some of those guys couldn't remember theirs and they came out a puking away.

JD2ACWD........interestingly enuff, I hadda go to the S.S. office this week. The IRS has attached my Social Security check for $250 for next 6-months. (frown) Hadda go thru a magtomitor just like at the airport. My BIG cowboy belt buckle set off'n their machine; then my electronic wristwatch. Asked iff'n they wanted me to bend-over but that INSULTED the rent-a-cop!!! Supprizingly enuff, my cowboy shirt snaps didn't set off'n the alarm ...but... my hearing aide batterys did. Yep, 1-hr wait fer 5-mins at the SS window. ........dumbfounded Dell

Shows that everyone needs to be careful with legal documents. We know exactly where our important papers are: locked away in the vault at the bank. No trouble to locate them at all.

Why wouldn't you go to the horse's mouth?

I don't recall ever having to produce my actual card.
ssa.gov

We had the same thing at Great Lakes. Amazing how tear gas can make you remember things.

I haven't seen my card in years. Just know my number.

I just signed up for SS and did it all online, worked seasonal harvest truck driving last fall, did not need it then. Like others said, never carry it with you. Drivers license is an ID, passport shows citizenship.

Just and FYI here...

Make certain to check your credit history periodically in the future - to be sure no one has used your SS number to open credit accounts.

Happened to a guy around our area - crooks clear across the country just got his SS number, not even the actual card. They were able to open credit cards in his name. Not sure what kind of nightmare it is to straighten out something like that!

I don't think getting one online is a good idea.

Go to the nearest office to get it replaced.

Call the credit bureaus and put a fraud watch on your records.

James went online to see what he needed to apply to draw his SS. Online said he needed a copy of his birth certificate. Paid $23 at the courthouse for a copy, then went to the SS office. Agent at the SS office told him he didn't need a copy. Oh well. At least now he has a copy.

P.S. Mine was stolen more that 20 yrs ago, hence the "fraud watch" to the credit bureaus.

I never got the card replaced and haven't needed it.

OK, what do you usually need to get a Passport.....Yep, usually two forms of ID that you say a Passport can replace. So, if a man had lost his DL, and/or his SS card he is going to have a hard time getting a Passport. Again, the way 'the system' does things they usually seem to require at least one form of ID, to get another form of ID, that you would have needed the first form of ID to get. Basically lose, or don't have, two of the three when it comes to a DL, SS card, or Birth certificate, and your pretty well screwed as to getting the third one....which is needed to get either of the two others.

The way I see it, they already have an electronic database of fingerprints up and going, and the majority of folks that have ever been in the military, done any kind of government work (including working at the airport, etc) already have their prints in the system. So why don't they start using that whole setup, at least within givernmental agencies, to verify ID? Heck, the way things are nowdays with identity theft, anyone can have a copy of your DL, SS card, etc, but there won't be a criminal out there with your exact fingerprint. Too, with the biometric readers out now it's not like they would have to ink your fingers everytime to read your prints. Seriously, what would be easier, lay your hand on a screen and let the computer scan your prints and your done, or go through he!! fighting 'the system' to prove you are you to get a form of ID you lost, when that very 'system' can easily find you and tell you exactly who you are if they really wanted to? Seriously, the way things are if you never had an ID, you'd play he!! getting one if you needed it, but I can guarantee you if the Government wanted to find you, they would have no problem doing so and proving you were who they said you were, wether you had an ID or not, but proving to the Government that you are who you say you are is a completely different story..... Seems to me like it would be a way more secure way of doing things for everyone just to use fingerprints....For those that say they don't want to be printed, etc, etc, the only time you'd ever need to worry about it would be if a crime were commited and you were the one that did it. My prints have been in the system, just like many of you, since going in the military 27 years ago, and were just put in again electronically a few years back when I was working at the airport, and I've never had a problem....because I'm not a criminal....

Surprising how easy nit is to get someone else's. I make out 1099's every year and if the person is not incorporated, I need their social to fill it out. Just a call and they give it to me.

I lost mine in 1954. Never have needed it. Went into the Army 1957, held several jobs and retired, started drawing SS in 1996, still don't have a card. Of course I know my number.