Effective Dates: 09/18/2025 - Present Previous | Next

TN 125 (09-25)

GN 00301.286 Electronic Evidence Documentation and Retention

A. Background for submission, certification and retention of evidence

The policies described below pertain solely to how we store documentation. They do not change specific documentation requirements in other POMS sections nor do they change the general evidence policies in GN 00301.010 through GN 00301.115.

The claimant is still required to furnish us with acceptable evidence described in GN 00301.010B. as proof of an issue, entitlement or eligibility factor or SSI payment amount factor. Electronic evidence certified by the custodian of the record meets this requirement. The procedures for evaluation of evidence in GN 00301.015B remain the same. The evidence must contain sufficient audit trail information as specified in GN 00301.015A.2.

B. Policy for retention of evidence

We retain evidence electronically in the Modernized Claims System (MCS), Consolidated Claims Experience (CCE), the Evidence (EVID) screen, or the Certified Electronic Folder (CEF). For faxing documents into the Certified Electronic Folder (CEF), see DI 81010.090.

C. Definitions

1. Domestic document

A domestic document is one that:

  • •

    pertains to an event that occurred in the United States (U.S.) as defined in GN 00303.100B.6. and was recorded in the U.S.; or

  • •

    was issued by an U.S. Embassy or Consular Office, e.g., Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the U.S.

NOTE: Bilingual documents that are issued in the U.S. as defined in GN 00303.100B.6. are considered domestic records.

2. Foreign document

A foreign document is a document issued by an agency, individual or religious authority of a foreign country.

3. Claims file and supporting material

The claims file and supporting material consists of the entire collection of electronic and paper records pertinent to the person's claim, e.g., MCS, CCE, EVID, Online Retrieval System (ORS), and Certified Electronic Folder (CEF).

D. Procedure for documenting evidence in MCS and Person Information in CCE

1. Documenting evidence in MCS and Person Information in CCE claims - general

When an individual presents U.S. public documents as proof of age, death, marriage, divorce or citizenship, code the document information on the MCS application screens and in Person Information for CCE. For SSI wage verification, see SI 00820.135.

a. Discrepancies or insufficient audit trail data exists

If MCS or Person Information in CCE does not collect sufficient information to redevelop the issue for an audit or any discrepancies exist, record the document on the EVID, e.g. military service following GN 00301.288G.4. Resolve material discrepancies between allegations on the MCS or Person Information in CCE and the information on the document following GN 00301.040.

b. Additional evidence must be obtained

If the individual does not present preferred evidence of an issue or entitlement at the initial interview and additional evidence must be obtained, retain photocopies of submitted evidence in a temporary development file until an initial determination of the issue or factor is made. Destroy the temporary development file after adjudication.

2. Documenting evidence in MCS and Person Information in CCE - initial claims

The following chart summarizes how and when to code the claims screens. When a document is used for more than one claimant or for multiple purposes, see GN 00301.287A.2.

Evidence of

MCS

CCE

Age

  1. 1. 

    If the IDENTIFICATION (IDEN) screen shows a U.S. BIRTH CITY and BIRTH STATE and the CLAIMS APPLICATION (APPL) shows the date of birth PROOF as B (primary proof) and PROOF TYPE of P (pre-age 5 State or local public birth certificate), H (hospital birth record), or N (notification of birth registration), there is sufficient audit trail information to retrieve the document from the custodian.

    Otherwise, code EVID. Also, code EVID if a child's birth certificate is used to establish relationship.

  2. 2. 

    Where age was previously established on SSA records, refer to GN 00302.011 for the correct PROOF code to use for the current claim and show “O” as the PROOF TYPE. Annotate the RPOC screen “Proof of age established on the _______(MBR, SSR, or Numident).

  1. 1. 

    If the Person Information Identity Information screen on the Person Information on Record for page shows a U.S. BIRTHPLACE CITY and STATE and a BIRTHDATE PROOF code of B (primary evidence) and PROOF TYPE of P (pre-age 5 State or local public birth record), H (hospital birth record), or N (notification of birth registration), there is sufficient audit trail information to retrieve the document from the custodian. Otherwise code EVID.

  2. 2. 

    Where age was previously established on SSA records, refer to GN 00302.011 for the correct PROOF code to use for the current claim and show “O” as the PROOF TYPE. Annotate the Report of Contact page in the Consolidated Claims Experience (CCE) “Proof of age established on the _______(MBR, SSR, or Numident).

Death

The DECEASED (DECD) screen captures the number holder (NH) death information. When a public death certificate or DD-1300 is presented as proof of death, and both the PROOF field and TYPE OF PROOF field equal “P”, sufficient documentation exists. Other data in file (e.g., the presence of a military service screen with recent ending date) will help ascertain whether the death document was military or civilian.

NOTE: In claims situations, when an SSA-721 is presented as proof of death and proof of death is not already reflected on NUMI, enter an “O” in the TYPE OF PROOF and complete EVID.

When the “SOURCE OF NOTIFICATION” field on the Person Information on Record page equals “3” (MBR) or “4” (TREASURY) sufficient documentation exists. Code EVID when the “SOURCE OF NOTIFICATION” field equals “1” (FO). Complete EVID using the proof information submitted to the FO.

 

U.S. Citizenship

If IDEN shows a U.S. BIRTH CITY and BIRTH STATE and APPL shows the date of birth PROOF code as B (primary proof) and PROOF TYPE as P (pre-age 5 State or local public birth certificate), H (hospital birth record), or N (notification of birth registration), there is sufficient audit trail information to retrieve the document from the custodian; or the claimant is already entitled to uninsured HI/SMI and the Citizenship/Residency (CLCZ) screen shows U.S. CITIZEN is Y. Otherwise, code EVID.

When the U.S. CITIZENSHIP STATUS code on the Person Information Citizenship Information screen is 1 (birth in the U.S.), 2 (U.S. citizen born outside U.S.), or 3 (natural citizen), and the U.S. CITIZENSHIP STATUS is 1, 2, 3 or 5, PROOF field is coded 2 (NUMIDENT (meets criteria for Q citizenship status code), 3 (NUMIDENT (No U.S. place of birth shown)), or 4 (birth baptismal record) sufficient information exists.

Otherwise, code EVID.

Marriage

The BENEFICIARY MARRIAGE (BMAR) and NH MARRIAGE (NMAR) screens captures information about the spouse's name, place of marriage (i.e., city, State/ Foreign Country), date of marriage, and place and date marriage ended. Sufficient information exists when marriage TYPE equals “1” (CLERGY/PUB OFF) and PROOF equals “Y”. Code EVID for all other situations including the city/county/borough.

See SI 00501.150C.

Divorce

The BMAR screen captures information about the spouse's name, place of marriage and date of divorce. Sufficient information exists when reason ended TYPE equals “2”, end of marriage PROOF equals ”Y” or “N” and the REMARKS screen has been annotated with the county as appropriate. Code EVID for all other situations.

 

Military Service

To obtain evidence of military service, See RS 01701.005.

        

Record the evidence of military service on the EVID.

 

Wages

For evidence of lag wages, see RS 01404.018.

 

Use the Wages page to record wages. The source we used to verify the individual's income is not captured on the Wages page. To establish a sufficient audit trail identify the document used.

Claimant Statement

Use the RMKS screen to obtain the claimant's signed statement; unless another POMS section specifically requires retaining a paper copy of the claimant's signed statement.

Use the “STATEMENT OF PERSON” portion of the Person Statement in CCE to obtain the claimant's signed statement; unless another POMS section specifically requires retaining a paper copy of the claimant's signed statement.

Third Party Statement

Use the RPOC screen to satisfy a Report of Contact (RC) documentation requirement or to summarize a signed statement from a third party, unless another POMS section specifically requires retaining the paper copy of the signed third party statement.

CAUTION: When summarizing, be sure to capture completely the gist of the statement, since your summary will be the sole source of the information for future reference.

Use the Report of Contact page in CCE or the “FILE DOCUMENTATION REMARKS” portion of the Person Statement in CCE to satisfy a RC documentation requirement or to summarize a signed statement from a third party, unless another POMS specifically requires retaining the paper copy of the signed third party statement.

CAUTION: When summarizing, be sure to capture completely the gist of the statement, since your summary will be the sole source of the information for future reference.

Child Relationship

Where the DW01 remarks field shows that an EAB NUMIDENT was used per GN 00306.012B.1. and GN 00306.013B.2.a, sufficient information exists to establish a parent-child relationship. Code all the other parent child relationship evidence on EVID.

 

3. Documenting evidence in CCE - Post-Entitlement (PE) situations

Unless another POMS section specifically requires retaining a paper copy of the signed claimant or third party statement, use the Report of Contact page in CCE or EVID screens in PE situations to document evidence, including evidence presented in redeterminations (RZ), including unscheduled RZs, and summaries of claimant and third party statements.

REMINDER: Once you record evidence on the Report of Contact page in CCE, lock the Report of Contact page. For procedures on locking the Report of Contact page in CCE, see MS 04426.001.

4. Title II PE situations and non-CCE cases

See GN 00301.286E.

E. Procedure for documenting evidence on the EVID screen

Record evidence not captured on MCS or Person Information in CCE on EVID using the following instructions.

REMINDER: If an individual brings documents for a Workload Support Unit (WSU) pending claim into the FO, follow the instructions in GN 01070.781.

IMPORTANT: If the document appears fraudulent or suspicious, see GN 00301.045 and GN 00301.050. Also, see the Documentation Verification Website.

1. Accepting FO certification of evidence

All subsequent claims-handling personnel are to accept the FO certification of evidence for adjudicative purposes unless there is a subsequent indication that the evidence was forged or otherwise fraudulent. For personnel authorized to certify documents and records, see GN 00301.090.

2. Recording document information on the EVID screen

a. Audit trail and supporting evidence

Record sufficient information from the evidence as described in GN 00301.288 to:

  • •

    establish an audit trail and permit obtaining the document; and

  • •

    support the determination made as a result of the evidence when viewed in combination with the MCS/Person Information in CCE detail screens.

REMINDER: Once completed, the EVID screen cannot be updated. EVID can only be deleted by management. Complete all document information; including all pertinent annotations in the free form “COMMENTS” field, e.g., document does not prove issue, discrepancy between document and allegation, claim taken on paper.

b. Conflicting information exists

If the information conflicts with the information on the application, record the conflict in the “COMMENTS” portion of EVID, see GN 00301.288E.5.

NOTE: If additional documentation is needed after completion of the EVID, use the MCS RPOC or the Report of Contact page in CCE as needed for comments.

c. Evidence received via online access to State and local databases

If evidence certified by the custodian of record is received via online access to State or local databases, record online access to State or local databases as the source of the evidence in the “COMMENTS” field of EVID to avoid any future discrepancies that may result from the subsequent submission of a paper document, see GN 00301.288G.6.

3. Documents and forms not to record on the EVID screen

Do not use the EVID to record the documents or forms listed, as follows:

a. Documents not to code on the EVID screen

Do not code the following categories of documents on the EVID:

  • •

    Alien registration document, e.g., I-551, I-766 or I-688. Fax both sides of the alien registration document into the Non-Disability Repository for Evidentiary Documents (NDRed) using the Evidence Portal;

  • •

    Medical evidence of record (MER);

  • •

    Foreign language documents translated by someone other than a SSA employee;

  • •

    Workers' Compensation Public Disability Benefit (WC/PDB) documents must be permanently retained by faxing them into the Certified Electronic Folder to provide the most comprehensive documentation. Annotating the Evidence Screen, or coding proof in Interactive Computation Facility is not sufficient since WC/PDB verification often involves complex State-specific forms and documents that routinely involve a certain degree of interpretation.

  • •

    Extraneous documents, i.e., documents submitted which have no bearing on a determination of the factor of eligibility.

  • •

    Trust language/information, see documentation guidelines in SI 01120.200- SI 01120.203.

b. Forms not to code on the EVID screen

Do not code the following SSA forms on the EVID.

  • •

    SSA- 21, Supplement to Claim of Person Outside the United States

  • •

    SSA-552, Dedicated Account Use of Funds Statement

  • •

    SSA-624-F5, Representative Payee Evaluation Report

  • •

    SSA-662, Reconsideration Determination

  • •

    SSA-723-F4, Statement Regarding Presumed Death Due to Unexplained Absence

  • •

    SSA-753, Statement Regarding Marriage

  • •

    SSA-754, Statement of Marital Relationship

  • •

    SSA-760-F4, Certificate of Support

  • •

    SSA-766, Statement of Self Employment Income

  • •

    SSA-781, Certificate of Care and Responsibility for Welfare of Child Not in Applicant’s Custody

  • •

    SSA-783, Statement Regarding Contributions

  • •

    SSA- 924, Folder Documentation

  • •

    SSA-2514, Claimant's Intent to File

  • •

    SSA-2519, Child Relationship Statement

  • •

    SSA- 2854/SSA- 2855, Statement of Funds You Provided to Another/Statement of Funds You Received

  • •

    SSA-2894, used to adjust Title II income and offset

  • •

    SSA-4162, Child-Care Dropout Questionnaire

  • •

    SSA-4164, Advance Notification of Representative Payee

  • •

    SSA-4169, used to document burial expenses

  • •

    SSA-4345-U2, Record of Manual Title II Offset Computation

  • •

    SSA-4346, SSI Offset Summary

  • •

    SSA- 4968, SSI RMA Payment Worksheet

  • •

    SSA-6233-BK, Representative Payee Report of Benefits and Dedicated Accounts

  • •

    SSA-7104, Partnership Questionnaire

  • •

    SSA- 7156, Farm Self Employment Questionnaire

  • •

    SSA-7157-F4, Farm Arrangement Questionnaire

  • •

    SSA-8019, Third Party Liability Information Statement

  • •

    SSA-8060, used to document claimant's intent to sell excess resources

  • •

    SSA-8102, Advance Payment Receipt and Notice

  • •

    SSA-8450, District Office Record of Reconsideration

4. Evidence to code on the EVID screen

Use the EVID to record the evidence listed in this section.

  1. a. 

    domestic evidentiary documents not captured on MCS/Person Information in CCE;

  2. b. 

    evidentiary documents not captured on MCS/Person Information in CCE that are used in a special determination to resolve a material discrepancy or complex entitlement issue, see GN 01010.360;

  3. c. 

    English language documents that originate in one of the countries listed in GN 00301.288D.;

  4. d. 

    evidence certified by the custodian of record obtained through online access to State data; and

  5. e. 

    foreign language evidentiary documents that are:

    • •

      submitted as proof in a domestic claim or are vital statistic documents submitted as proof in a foreign claim;

    • •

      translated by SSA translators other than the adjudicator

    • •

      translated by the adjudicator, see GN 00301.391;

    • •

      created and issued domestically or by one of the countries listed in GN 00301.288D.; or

    • •

      created and issued by a country not listed in GN 00301.288D. If the document is from a country not listed in GN 00301.288D, keep a copy of the original document certified by the custodian of the record system.

NOTE: SSA translators who receive documents for translation can code EVID even if they are not the adjudicator. When the SSA translator codes the translation to EVID, the CR, FR, or CA responsible for the claim may proceed with adjudication. If the SSA translator codes the translation on EVID, they do not need to complete the SSA-533, Translation Request.

5. Recording evidence for concurrent and subsequent claims on EVID

a. It is not necessary to record information twice in EVID

If a concurrent or subsequent claim is filed under a different SSN (e.g., an SSI claim is filed for someone concurrently filing for widows benefits), it is not necessary to record evidence used for both claims twice. Annotate the evidence information on EVID using the claimant's SSN following GN 00301.288. Enter related SSN(s) in the “CROSS REFERENCE SSN” field(s).

If the EVID screen has already been coded and thus is locked, use the MCS RPOC or the Report of Contact page in CCE as appropriate to capture additional information pertaining to the EVID screen.

b. Evidence for concurrent or subsequent claims where one claim is not electronic

In concurrent or subsequent claims situations where the first claim was taken electronically but the other claim(s) cannot be taken electronically, do not retain a copy of evidence documents in the paper file. In these situations, annotate the “REMARKS” section of the paper application with the system (e.g., MCS, CCE, and EVID) and the SSN used to electronically record the evidence.

6. Retrieving a document coded on EVID

When conducting integrity or assessment reviews or possible fraud situations, ask the claimant to resubmit pertinent evidentiary documents or contact the custodian of record and if needed, retain a certified photocopy of the evidentiary documents.

7. Coding proofs previously established on the same SSN

If our system of records shows we previously proved an issue and contains sufficient audit information, do not code the evidence on EVID in claims situations. This includes previously proven issues that do not need to be proven again, e.g., death, and issues previously proven for one program where another program uses the same criteria for proving the issue, e.g., age, see GN 00301.289A.3.

8. Imaging a document

For situations where the imaging of a document is an issue, see GN 01085.030.

F. References

DI 22520.001 through DI 22520.010

DI 81020.140 - Processing Trailer Material for the Certified Electronic Folder (CEF)

GN 00301.010 - What is Evidence

GN 00301.015 - Acceptance of Evidence

GN 00301.030 - Acceptability of Documentary Evidence

GN 00301.045 - Validity of Documents

GN 00301.050 - Special Considerations in Evaluating the Validity of Documents/Records

GN 00301.090 - Personnel Authorized to Certify Documents and Records

GN 00301.095 - SSA Certification of Photocopies

GN 00301.115 - Forms Used for Certification of Contents of Documents or Public Records

GN 00301.280 - Photocopying Process

GN 00301.288 - What Information is Needed on EVID and Report of Contact page in CCE in PE Situations to Identify the Type of Evidence Submitted

GN 00301.289 - Evidentiary Documentation Considerations

GN 00204.055 - Internet Claim (iClaim) Application; and

GN 01070.781 - Field Office and WSU Coordination on Immediate Claims Processing

MSOM EVID 001.001 - Evidence (EVID) Screen

MS 08401.003 - Person Information on Record

MS 08401.006 - Person Information Identity Information Details

MS 08401.007 - Person Information Citizenship Information

G. Related Instructions

  1. 1. 

    Title II Initial Claims Desk Guide for Non-medical Evidence Documentation, or

  2. 2. 

    Title XVI Initial Claims Desk Guide for Non-medical Evidence Documentation

To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0200301286
GN 00301.286 - Electronic Evidence Documentation and Retention - 09/18/2025
Batch run: 09/18/2025
Rev:09/18/2025