What is an SSA 89 form used for?

The SSA 89 form is an authorization for the Social Security Administration to release your social security information. It authorizes the administration to verify whether or not your name and the social security number you provide to a lender match the information that is in their records. The results of the matching can then be sent to the person or company requesting it.

A lender may use an SSA 89 form in order to prevent identity fraud. Filling out this form is not a requirement to get a loan at all lenders. The government does not require lenders to complete this verification.

The SSA 89 form must be completed by a person who wants to borrow money. It requires a signature and date in addition to the other required information. Lenders can prepare pre-printed sheets with their details. It is the borrower’s responsibility to give the completed form to the lender. Upon receipt, lenders use the consent-based social security number verification service to get the confirmation of matching information.

The government checks the borrower’s social security number, name, date of birth and gender code and returns a “yes” or “no” to whether or not there is a match in the Social Security Administration’s database. Lenders pay an enrollment fee and transaction fee to use the government’s database.

Lenders have the responsibility to make sure that the information they submit matches the information completed by the borrower. If the search turns up any areas that do not match, the lender has the responsibility to investigate. For example, a name mismatch might be due to two transposed letters. It is possible that a person changed their last name for everyday use, but the person might have forgotten to make the name change with the Social Security Administration.

A non-match in the result could also be due to identity theft. An identity thief might not actually know the borrower’s current address or correct date of birth.