Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) beneficiaries who live in the United States must periodically complete a QPP life certificate form. The life certificate is a bilingual form used to verify a beneficiary's continuing eligibility for QPP benefits. The beneficiary must have it certified by an acceptable authority who will verify the identity of the beneficiary. SSA is shown on the life certificate form as one of the acceptable certifying authorities.

Periodically, the Quebec Pension Board mails a life certificate form to each QPP beneficiary residing in the United States with instructions on how to complete the form. After completing the form, the beneficiary must take it to an FO, or one of several other approved authorities, to have his or her identity verified. The beneficiary then returns the certified form to the Quebec Pension Board by mail within the time period specified by the Board.

If a QPP beneficiary brings a life certificate form to a FO, someone at the SR level or higher should:

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  help the beneficiary complete the certificate form, if necessary,

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  verify the identity of the beneficiary,

  NOTE: Any proof of identity that satisfies SSA's requirements for issuing an SSN is acceptable.

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  sign the form to certify that the beneficiary appeared and established his or her identity,

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  if the form contains a space for a stamp or seal, use the FO date stamp, and

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  return the form to the beneficiary since he or she is responsible for sending the certificate to the Quebec Pension Board.

If the beneficiary does not have acceptable proof of identity:

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  return the form to him or her and explain that SSA cannot certify the form based on the evidence presented, and

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  advise the beneficiary that he or she may submit additional evidence or take the form to another approved witness shown on the life certificate form.