One of the forms that was filled out when Rachel was born last month (and Alice just over four years ago) was for a Social Security Number (SSN) and card. We just got Rachel’s card the other day and I noticed that there is a signature line at the bottom. Being just over five weeks old she obviously isn’t able to sign her name just yet. So I guess we’ll just leave it unsigned until at some point she can sign for it herself.
This just strikes me as very odd. Leaving something like this just doesn’t feel right. But having Sarah or myself sign doesn’t make any sense either. The next question that comes up is when to have the girls sign their cards. Alice can spell and write her name, but I wouldn’t call that a signature (she is only four). So they should be at least old enough to have developed some sort of signature. Or perhaps waiting until they turn 18 is the right thing?
I didn’t see anything in the instructions on the card indicating what the right thing to do is. There are plenty of people having kids so I know I’m not the only who has wondered about this.
28 replies on “Signing Your Social Security Card”
Hello!
Actually, there are Social Security Card Instructions that state:
“ADULTS: Sign this card in ink immediately.
CHILDREN: Do not sign this card until age 18 or your first job, whichever is earlier.”
Hope this helps!
Amy
POMS RM 00201.070
D. Policy – Signing the SSN Card
Instructions provided on the front of the card stub advise adults to sign their SSN card in ink immediately. Children are not told to sign until age 18 or their first job; whichever is earlier. Although the card serves as SSA’s official verification of the SSN assigned to the individual named on the card, it is not an identity document. Failure to sign the card does not invalidate it. Therefore, a card sent to an infant or young child can be left unsigned and kept in a safe place with other important documents until needed by the number holder for employment purposes.
Well, I’m seventeen and just signed my card to get a state ID in a few days. But I didn’t sign my middle name which appears on the card. Should I squeeze in my middle initial, or is this OK?
As soon as I got my child’s SS card. Without reading the instruction properly, I signed her card with my signature. Will this be a problem? Please help me.
I don’t know.
No, it’s not a problem. You can request a replacement card and they’ll mail it to you. Until your child is 18 you can go and do it, but once your child is 18, she’ll have to do it. You can mail in the paperwork and *original* supporting documents (they’ll be mailed back to you) or take it all in to your local office~~ you’ll leave with all your originals. We just did this with our son as I, too, signed his card many years ago when I was actually told to sign it. It was easy-peasy and his new card came in less than a week. You can find the form on the SS site. Also see if you can make an appointment at your local office. I didn’t know they made appointments, so we sat there a bit before being called back, but many people had appointments. Hope this helps!
Why would a baby have a social security card? I didn’t get mine until I was 14. I signed it then.
Sean, a baby needs a social security card so a parents medical insurance will cover the baby, and also so the parents of the baby can open up a saving account or savings bonds for the baby. Another thing is that when the parents file there taxes, they can prove that there is a dependent. I believe there is a couple other needs, but no a parent does not need to get there kid a social security right away. It should be done as soon as possible however because if you do it in a hospital it’s much faster then going to some place to do it. But as I said you don’t need to get a kid a card right away but it is important. But are you sure your parents went and got your card when you where 14 or did they provide it to you? I mean my parents always had my card but they did not provide it to me till I was 17 and needed it to get my drivers license.
You must be young . I looked into it and babies were not required to get ss numbers until 1987. I got my card in 1982 when my mom brought me in to fill out the form and when it arrived in the mail I signed it. I needed it because I was getting a paper route job. So if you are younger you may have had your parents apply when you were born.
Oh I did not realize that it was required. I thought that yes a child needs a social security card and it is a good idea to get a kid a social security card right away.
Do your parents sign your social security card for you when born? And then when you turn of adult age do you apply for a new social security card and sign it yourself at 18.
No they didn’t sign it for me when I was born your social security card is for life. You can sign it whenever I signed it when I needed to have it presented signed for something when I was 19. However up till then I had no problems if it was unsigned. Honestly it’s up to the person it belongs too to sign it whenever. As long as they are old enough to realize what they are doing
I applied for my social security card when to get my first job at McDonald’s (at 15 years old). I picked it up and signed it then. It is for taxes and such. Babies would not need one.
I mean it’s been required since I was born that babies have to have a social security card and I’m 21. If that’s helpful.
If you want to go through a lot of grief and expense, don’t even register your baby’s birth certificate. For good mesure, don’t even have the birth attendant or anyone fill out and sign a BC. If you hate your baby, let him/her get his/her own BC and SS card him/herself after she/he is 18. And refuse to provide any documents, information or help.
BCs registered after the baby is one year old are called “delayed” BCs. They are not accepted by the SSA or Passport Services without a lot of supporting documentation, some of which may have been destroyed by the medical services.
I waited until I got my first job to get a Social Security number/card. You don’t need it until then. I signed it when I was 16 and had a job at McDonald’s and needed to pay taxes. My parents had nothing to do with it.
Don’t get a SS card until you need it. I got mine at 16 when I needed it to work at McDonald’s. Babies certainly do not need one.
If your parents are on any government assistance as in Welfare, Medicaid, or receive SNAP benefits, you ARE required to have a social security card at birth.
Ok so I got on the social security website and consulted a professor since I am a social work student and the child does not need a social security card at birth but the way the government has it it’s almost like you need one. For a child it is needed because you need the number to claim them as a dependent on an income tax return, to buy savings bonds for the child, to get medical coverage for the child and to apply for government services for the child. If you wait to get it once the child leaves the hospital after birth the process is longer and drawn out because the birth certificate needs to be varified and there are many other reasons why it is drawn out.
Sean, just in case there’s a misunderstanding, there are actually several reasons for a child to get a SS card. You do not need a SS card as a child, but considering the benefits, there is little to no reason to not get it right away–as a baby. As for the signature question: Parents do not sign for their child; and it doesn’t need to be signed by the child until they are 18 or they gets a job first. All of this has already been stated a few times by the others lol. Thanks Amy, Erica, and Earthgal.
Related question: I signed my SS card at like 16 or so–before I had a set signature. Since then I developed an actual one and it’s nothing like the one on my SS card. Anyone know if this would be an issue? Will this be an issue for jobs if the signature on my card doesnt match the signature that I sign paperwork with? If so, should I get a new one and then use my “real”/current signature?
Children eligible for the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend need the social security card to apply for the dividend and to file the subsequent federal tax return on the income.
Thanks for the help. I guess I’ll request a replacement and then have her sign it when she starts work. In response to Hank’s comment, I got our daughter a delayed birth certificate after her dad passed away , as I needed to apply for benefits for her. It is a huge ordeal. Took about 5 months. Getting a ss# when you haven’t had one takes about 3 months.
My signature is different than how it appears on my card. Do I have to sign it the way it appears on the card or can I sign it the way I sign everything else? Thank you for your time.
Does the middle name need to be written on a social security card if it comes printed on the card.
Is it okay to have a picture of your social security card if the card is lost or stolen? I am going to go test for my knowledge test and idk if it’ll be fine to use the picture of my full SSN instead. I don’t have the original card.
Your child doesn’t need an SSN to get medical insurance coverage. Neither of our children has an SSN and insurance works just fine. There is no requirement for a US Citizen to have an SSN.
What if your son is 29 years old, is disabled and I am his appointed legal guardian. He does/can’t sign documents. Do I sign SS card on his behalf?