Social Security - How do I verify with Self-Service?

ID.me works with the Social Security Administration (SSA) to verify SSA users requesting information online. ID.me provides secure digital identity verification to government agencies and healthcare providers to make sure you are you—and not someone pretending to be you. This article explains how to use your government ID and selfie to verify for Social Security.

Before you verify

To verify using self-service, you’ll need:

• A mobile phone that has a camera or a computer with a webcam 
• Email address
• Photo ID (Driver's License, Passport, Passport Card, or State ID)
• Social Security number

Tip: Review our tips and best practices for selecting and uploading acceptable identity documents.

1. Sign in to SSA

To begin the verification process, first sign in to your SSA account:

1. Go to the Social Security login page.
   
2. Select Sign in with ID.me.
3. Select Ok to be redirected to the ID.me Sign in page.
4. Sign in to your ID.me account.​​ If you haven’t created an ID.me account, select Create account and confirm your email to begin.

Note: It’s not possible to create more than one account. If you already have an ID.me account, sign in instead.

Set up multi-factor authentication

If you’re creating a new ID.me account, you’ll need to set up multi-factor authentication (MFA) to continue with verification. For steps to set up MFA, select one of the following MFA methods:

• Text Message or Phone Call
• Push Notification
• Code Generator
• NFC-Enabled Security Key
• FIDO Security Key 

After you’ve successfully set up MFA, continue to verify your identity using self-service.

2. Verify your identity using self-service

After you’re signed in to your ID.me account, you can verify your identity with a video selfie, or over a video call with a live agent. To verify your identity with a government ID and selfie:

1. Select Self-Service, then select Continue. Self-service is an automated process where you'll need your Government ID and a selfie.
   
2. Select the document type you want to upload. You can take a photo of the document with your smartphone or upload one from your computer. 
3. Take and submit a video selfie. Your selfie will only be used to confirm that the person in the selfie matches your government ID. You may request that ID.me delete your Biometric Data at any time.
4. Enter your Social Security number.
5. Review and confirm that all of your information is accurate, then select Yes. After ID.me verifies your identity you will receive a confirmation message as a way to protect you from fraud.
6. Select Allow to finish your identity verification process. This step securely shares your identity information with the SSA.