Can I check my SSN? Yes, you can. Anyone can check or run a background SSN check. Whether it is that you are hiring new employees or you are paying wages, you may want to double up on checking or conducting a social security number check.
Can I Check My SSN
Legally, employees are required to enter the social security number and the name of each employee on the federal W-2 form. This is a unique form of an identifier as it may also show important information about the potential hires. And to also help you to conduct a more clean and thorough background check. In this post, in order to check up on social security numbers, you will have to follow the steps shared.
You should know that the social security administration offers users a free online tool that lets them verify the social security number of former or current employees. There are also other tools and services out there that will help in the regard of checking up social security numbers such as Occuscreen.
How to Check For Social Security Numbers
Just as mentioned already, there are two ways of doing this. You can either make use of the online tool offered by the social security administration or try out other online tools and services. Now that’s out of the way, continue reading to learn how to effectively and successfully check for SSNs.
Check SSN with SSA
Generally, as an employer, it is your responsibility to double-check each of your employees’ names and SSNs before bringing them on board. Firstly, you want to make sure that your new employee is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
Secondly, it’s very important to verify the identity of your employees. For instance, criminals might provide SSNs that belong to infants, children, or even dead individuals. And these numbers can in turn be used for many years without anyone noticing it.
You will also be required to verify your social security number when preparing and filing the W-2 form. Employers can end up paying hefty fines depending on the state for incorrectly reporting this number on W-2s. Texas-based companies, for example, must pay a $50 fee for each incorrect SSN, warns the Texas Workforce Commission. The penalties however can be substantial for large companies and organizations.
One effective way to check the SSN of an employee is to register with the Social Security Administration (SSA) and then sign up for SSNVS, which is a free online service. SSNVS allows users to easily verify one to 10 names and SSNs at a particular time. If you select this option, you will receive the results instantly.
Employers of a large number of people at a time, as well as those that are looking to check entire payroll databases, can verify up to 250,000 names and SSNs. Simply list the names of your employees on a file and upload it into the system. The results will be ready almost immediately within one business day.
Social Security Number Lookup
SSNVS is not developed to be used for checking the identity of an employee, credit score, and other sets of personal information. the main purpose of this service is to help employers file the W-2 form correctly. If however, you’re trying to verify a new employee or track down a customer, you should consider using a paid tool or service.
For example, Experian’s Social Security Search can make it easier to detect fraud and also locate customers solely based on their SSNs. This online tool and service retrieve data from Experian’s File One database, and in the process offers the latest identifying information-based and associated with your clients.
Another very good option is to use the Social Security Number Trace, which is a service that is provided by Occuscreen. This service and tool allow users to check the validity of a social security number and find out when and where it was issued. It also provides all names and previous addresses that are associated with that number.
The results are almost immediate and are available within 24 hours. With this service, employers can easily verify potential new employees and also determine the accuracy of the information that is being received from them.
