When the Division of International Operations (DIO) forwards claims material (such as information about a German claim, certified copies of evidence, or a copy of the worker’s U.S. coverage record) to Germany, the Benefit Earnings Technician (BET) electronically stores the claims material in the Paperless Processing Center (PPC) system in DIO before forwarding the claim to the German agency. The system automatically generates a notice that the BET sends to the applicant. The notice informs the applicant that DIO forwarded the claim to Germany.

If an applicant contacts the Social Security Administration (SSA) for status of his or her claim for German benefits and states that he or she has not received notification that DIO forwarded a claim to the German agency, check the PPC system. NOTE: Field offices are able to check the PPC system through the Evidence Portal (EP) application. See MS 09701.001 for an overview of the EP application, and to access the EP User Guide.