Charging Standard Administrative Fees for Non-Program Information
On August 22, 2012, we announced in the Federal Register a schedule of standard administrative fees we charge to the public for routinely requested records. When authorized, we ...
Notice of updated schedule of standard administrative fees.
SUMMARY:
On August 22, 2012, we announced in the
Federal Register
a schedule of standard administrative fees we charge to the public for routinely requested records. When authorized, we charge these fees to recover our full costs when we provide information and related services for non-program purposes. We are announcing an update to the previously published schedule of standard administrative fees. The updated standard fee schedule is part of our continued effort to standardize fees for non-program information requests. Standard fees provide consistency and ensure we recover the full cost of supplying information when we receive a request for a purpose not directly related to the administration of a program under the Social Security Act (Act).
DATES:
The changes described are applicable for requests we receive on or after October 1, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Stephen Hull, Social Security Administration, Accounting, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401, (410) 966-1890. For information on eligibility or filing for benefits, visit our website,
www.ssa.gov, or
call our national toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213 or TTY 1-800-325-0778.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Section 1106 of the Act and the Privacy Act [1]
authorize the Commissioner of Social Security to set fees for and promulgate regulations regarding the fees related to providing information. Our regulations and operating instructions identify when we will charge fees for information.[2]
Under section 1106(c) of the Act, whenever we determine a request for information is for any purpose not directly related to the administration of Social Security programs, we may require the requester to pay the full cost of providing the information.[3]
We may also charge fees in response to records requests when otherwise authorized by law, such as when authorized for certain program requests under section 1106(b) of the Act. To inform the public of the standard fees we charge to recover our costs for routinely requested records, we announced in the
Federal Register
a schedule of standard administrative fees we charge to the public on August 22, 2012.[4]
We last updated the schedule of standard fees on August 23, 2024.[5]
New Information:
We are required to review and update standard administrative fees at least every two years.[6]
Based on the most recent cost analysis, the following table provides the new schedule of standard administrative fees [7]
per request:
Copying an Electronic Folder:
$75.
Copying a Paper Folder:
$151.
Field Operations Headquarters Certification:[8]
$65.
Form SSA-7050, Request for Social Security Earning Information:
$49.
Requests for Copy of Original Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card:
$23.
Requests for Copy of Numident Record (Computer Extract of the SS-5):
$22.
A requester can obtain certified and non-certified detailed yearly Social Security earnings information by completing Form SSA-7050,
Request for Social Security Earning Information.
We charge $49 for each Form SSA-7050 for detailed yearly Social Security earnings information. We will certify the detailed earnings information for an additional $30. Detailed earnings information includes the names and addresses of employers. Yearly earnings totals are available in two ways, depending on the requester's need for certification. A requester can continue to obtain non-certified yearly earnings totals using Form SSA-7004,
Request for Social Security Statement
or through our free online service portal, my Social
( printed page 59833)
Security, at
www.ssa.gov/myaccount,
by creating a personal online account for Social Security information and services. Online Social Security Statements display uncertified yearly earnings, free of charge, and do not show any employer information.
We will continue to evaluate all standard fees at least every two years to ensure we capture the full costs associated with providing information for non-program-related purposes. We require nonrefundable advance payment. We can accept check, money order, or credit cards. We do not accept cash. We will accept only one form of payment in the full amount of the standard fee for each request and will not divide the fee amount between more than one form of payment. If we revise any of the standard fees, we will publish another notice in the
Federal Register
. For other requests for information not addressed here or within the current schedule of standard administrative fees, we will continue to charge fees calculated on a case-by-case basis.
2.
See 20 CFR 401.95, 402.70, and 402.80 (explaining fee charging practices in response to requests under the Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA); Program Operations Manual System (POMS) GN 03311.005.
3.
See 42 U.S.C. 1306(c) and 20 CFR 402.80 (explaining SSA exercises its authority to charge full costs under Section 1106(c), which applies notwithstanding FOIA).
4.
77 FR 50757. Please note that this fee schedule sets costs only for commonly requested records, which could be sought under a privacy or FOIA request. SSA may also charge full costs based on Section 1106(c) for fulfilling other records requests, such as FOIA requests outside these records. See 20 CFR 402.80. When records are sought under FOIA, a requester could also seek public interest waiver under 20 CFR 402.85. When SSA charges under Section 1106(c), even where public interest waiver has been sought, the FOIA does not apply to SSA's fee-related determinations.
7.
Fees may differ for processing of records depending on applicable fee authorities and actions needed to respond to a records request, such as whether redactions are necessary and whether special services have been requested.
www.ssa.gov
42 U.S.C. 1306
20 CFR 401.95