How do I replace a lost or stolen Social Security card?

Most adults can do this from their kitchen table. Sign in to your my Social Security account at ssa.gov/myaccount, answer a few questions, and submit. The card is mailed to your address of record in about ten to fourteen business days. Free.

The online path requires: a my Social Security account, U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent residency, an unexpired U.S. driver's license or state-issued ID, a U.S. mailing address, and your state has to participate in the online program. Most do.

If your state isn't on the online list, or you've changed your name, or you're requesting for a child, or you don't have a my Social Security account — you'll go in person or by mail with Form SS-5.

Download Form SS-5 from ssa.gov/forms/ss-5.pdf, fill it out, gather original (not photocopy) proof of identity and citizenship or lawful immigration status, and either bring it to a Social Security office or Card Center, or mail it to your local field office. The tool at ssa.gov/number-card will tell you which path applies.

Walk away. SSA never charges for a replacement Social Security card. Sites with names like ssa-replacement.us or social-security-card-services.com that take fifteen, twenty, fifty dollars to "process" or "expedite" your application are scams or middlemen. The most they're doing is filling out a form you can fill out yourself for free at ssa.gov/number-card.

The pattern to watch for: a .us, .org, or .com domain that mimics ssa.gov or includes words like "social security card services"; fees for what SSA does free; promises of expedited delivery (SSA doesn't offer that anyway). The real SSA hub is ssa.gov — always ends in .gov.

Stolen and lost are the same process for the replacement — but the protective steps you take alongside it are different.

Before you request the replacement: freeze your credit at all three bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion). It's free, you can do it online in about fifteen minutes, and it stops new credit accounts from being opened in your name. Then file a report at identitytheft.gov. Then request the replacement at ssa.gov/number-card.

The replacement card carries the same Social Security number you've always had. It does not give you a new number. Getting a new SSN is a different, much harder process reserved for limited circumstances.

Name changes can't be done online. You'll need Form SS-5 and original or certified proof of the legal name change — marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order. Bring it in person or mail it to your local Social Security office.

Good news on the limits: name-change replacements do not count toward the three-per-year or ten-per-lifetime card limits. The federal regulation excludes legal name changes from those caps. So if you've used most of your replacement allotment for other reasons, a marriage or divorce name change is still allowed without burning a slot.

A child's replacement card cannot be done online. A parent or legal guardian has to file Form SS-5 and bring original documents in person.

What you'll need: the child's Social Security number (or, if you don't have it, the child's birth certificate so SSA can pull it up), the child's proof of identity if they're 12 or older (school ID, medical record, state-issued ID), the child's proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful immigration status, and your own unexpired ID as the parent or guardian.

If you're the adult child stepping in for an elderly parent who lost their card — here's the practical playbook.

1. The card has to be issued in the parent's name based on the parent's documents. Being a representative payee on their benefit doesn't bypass card-issuance rules. Bring the parent's original birth certificate or U.S. passport, their unexpired state ID or driver's license, and Form SS-5 filled out in their name.

2. If they can't get to the office, call your local SSA field office first and ask about home-bound applicants or appointment by phone. There's more flexibility than people assume — SSA can sometimes do these by phone if originals are mailed in — but the parent still has to participate in some way.

3. Ask whether the originals can be returned the same day. For elderly parents, losing a birth certificate or passport in the mail is the worst outcome. Some offices return documents on the spot; others mail them back.

Helping someone else file? → Get help for someone else

Without primary documents this is harder, but not impossible. Build the document trail back step by step.

Step 1: order a certified copy of your birth certificate from your state's vital records office. Most states do this online for ten to twenty-five dollars and mail it within a week or two.

Step 2: if your driver's license or state ID is also gone, the DMV often requires fewer documents than SSA does — sometimes just the birth certificate and a proof-of-address letter. Get the state ID first.

Step 3: with birth certificate + state ID in hand, come back and request the SSA card replacement. Online if eligible, otherwise Form SS-5 in person.

If you have no usable documents at all, call your local SSA office and ask. There are limited workarounds for compelling circumstances — a referral letter from a governmental social services agency is one example the federal regulation explicitly recognizes — but those are case-by-case and not the normal path.

Need a different starting point? → Back to ssa.gov/number-card