TN 2 (02-22)

GN 03913.010 Updates to Representative Registration

The representative is responsible for keeping his or her registration information up to date. Failure to do so may result in incorrect or missing payments, interrupted access to our electronic services and written communications, and errors on Forms IRS 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC.

A representative who needs to update registration information for a particular appointment must contact the field office (FO) or hearing office (HO) that services the claimant’s address, not the representative’s address. See GN 00904.048 for FO jurisdiction when an appointed representative is involved. See GN 03103.040 for HO jurisdiction policy.

Technicians who discover administrative errors with a representative's registration should call the Office of Central Operations Employer Reporting Branch (OCO/ERB) at 1-800-772-6270 (TTY: 1-800-325-0778).

A. Updating personal information

To update his or her registration information, a representative must complete and fax the following parts of Form SSA-1699 to the Office of Earnings & International Operations (OEIO) at 1-877-268-3827:

  • Name, RepID, and any information that has changed;

  • Sections VI and VII (Attestations) in full; and

  • Signature and date under Perjury Statement.

To initiate a name change, a representative must also submit the required forms and evidence to his or her servicing field office as explained in GN 03910.060G.1. See RM 10212.000 for information on legal names and changes to the Numident.

After the representative’s name is updated in our systems, OEIO processes the new Form SSA-1699 and updates the representative’s registration information according to the instructions in GN 03913.012D.

NOTE: We do not update registration information based on phone calls, e-mails, or other correspondence. A representative must personally complete, sign, and submit an SSA-1699 to update his or her registration information.

B. Updating affiliations

When using the SSA-1699 to update employer affiliation information, a representative who works for multiple employers must submit a completed SSA-1699 Section V for each employer affiliation he or she wishes to retain.

1. Deleting an affiliation

A representative who stops working for an entity and wishes to end his or her affiliation with that entity must submit a new SSA-1699 omitting the prior affiliation’s EIN information under a fax cover sheet stating affirmatively in writing that the affiliation has ended. He or she may add another affiliation if necessary.

When a representative ends affiliation with an entity, any claimants who have appointed the representative will no longer be linked with that entity's EIN in our systems.

2. Updating an affiliation

To update an affiliation (including for solo practitioners), a representative must:

  • Submit an updated SSA-1699 to OEIO as described in GN 03913.010A; and

  • Submit updated payment and affiliation information, along with claimants' SSNs, for any pending claims to which the representative is appointed as an employee of the business entity. The representative can use Section 5 (Page 5) of the SSA-1696, or any other writing, for this purpose.

See GN 03910.040B.5 for information on supplemental appointments. For instructions on linking representatives with claimants for direct fee payment, see GN 03913.040.

C. Corrections to Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC

The IRS requires us to issue Forms 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC to each attorney and eligible for direct payment non-attorney (EDPNA) we directly pay fees totaling $600 or more in a calendar year.

We issue forms reporting income for the prior calendar year to registered representatives and business entities beginning in January of the current calendar year. We report fees we directly paid in Box 10 of the IRS 1099-MISC (for representatives affiliated with law firms and registered business entities), and Box 1 of the IRS 1099-NEC (for business entities themselves, as well as for sole proprietors and representatives whose employers are not registered with us), as appropriate.

NOTE: We no longer provide a list of cases with the 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC.

A representative who has questions about a 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC can call the Representative Call Center at 1-800-626-6363.

As noted above, the representative is responsible for updating his or her personal information and affiliations. We will only correct a 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC to account for the following:

  • Name or address changes;

  • Remittances of payments made the same calendar year but not properly posted; or

  • Non-receipt of fees posted to 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC.

We issue corrected statements in the same format (i.e., form number and edition) as we used for the original statement. All corrections for tax years prior to 2020 will appear on a now-discontinued edition of the 1099-MISC, with income reported in either Box 7 (Non-employee compensation) or Box 14 (Gross proceeds paid to an attorney). We will not use the 1099-NEC or revised 1099-MISC to issue corrections for tax years prior to 2020.

We will not correct a 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC to reflect remittances of payments made and properly posted prior to the calendar year the remittances were made, errors due to incorrect affiliations, or any other errors that occur due to the representative’s failure to update personal information timely (i.e., within the pertinent calendar year). In such instances, the representative must contact the IRS or his or her employer to initiate corrections.

EXAMPLE: A representative calls us in June 2020 to request that we correct her 2019 1099-MISC to reflect the remittance of a payment. We would honor the request if we issued the payment in question on January 2, 2019. We would not honor the request if we issued the payment on December 30, 2018.

IMPORTANT: Information on the 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC is protected Personally Identifiable Information (PII). When responding to an inquiry from a representative or business entity regarding the 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC, the technician must follow disclosure policy in GN 03300.000.

D. Direct-pay eligible representative dies following fee authorization but prior to payment issuance

If we authorize a fee for an eligible representative who was registered for and requested direct payment, and the representative dies before we make the payment, we will issue direct payment to the representative's estate.

To properly update a deceased representative's registration, take the following steps:

1. Verify the representative's estate

Before we issue payment to a representative’s estate, we must first develop for the identity and address of the executor (or other individual recognized by the State as the representative of the estate).

NOTE: Do not initiate development until 60 days after the representative's death. If you learn of a representative's death after we have already authorized a fee, and 60 days have not yet elapsed, set a diary for the 61st day following the date of death, and develop upon maturity.

  • Go to https://www.unitedstateszipcodes.org. Enter the ZIP Code of the representative's home address and click Search. The County will be listed at the top of the page.

  • Go to https://www.referenceusagov.com.

  • Click the Start Search button next to U.S. Businesses.

  • Select the Advanced Search tab below the Enter Search Criteria header.

  • Check the following criteria from the side bar: Company Name (under Company Name/EIN); County (under Geography); and Government Office (under Ownership).

  • Under the Company Name header, type court in the text box and click the Add button.

  • Under the County header, select a state from the drop-down box, and click the appropriate county from the list.

  • Under the Government Office header, select County and Municipal. Return to the top of the screen and click the View Results button.

    NOTE: The term court may not always return results. If you receive a “0 records found” alert when you run your search, return to the Company Name section, type the word clerk, click the Add button, and search again. It is not necessary to remove the word court from the list.)

  • Find the Probate Court entry and call that number in order to determine if an estate exists. If there is no entry for the Probate Court, click on the general County Court or County Clerk listing. If there is a link to the County's official web site, click through and look for the Contact section. There may be a direct line for the Probate Court listed.

  • If you are still unable to find contact information for the Probate Court, call one of the other court numbers provided in the search results. The County Clerk, if listed in the results, will be able to direct you to the appropriate office.

Make up to three calls at different times of day on separate days. Document each contact attempt in report of contact screens in the Modernized Claims System (MCS) or Modernized Supplemental Security Income Claims System (MSSICS), as appropriate.

After verification, contact the estate executor with instructions to complete and fax an SSA-1699 on behalf of the deceased representative to OEIO at 1-877-268-3827. Set a 15-day diary to check whether OEIO processed the registration in RASR, and set 5-day follow-up diaries as needed.

Once the deceased representative’s information is updated, proceed to GN 03913.040D.2 below.

2. Release fees to representative's estate

After OEIO updates the deceased representative’s information in RASR, certify direct payment of the fee following existing procedures.

See GN 03940.009B for information on how we process authorized fees in cases with a valid fee agreement after the representative dies, and GN 03930.020C.6 for cases where the representative dies before filing a fee petition.

3. Development attempts unsuccessful

If all three development attempts are unsuccessful, or if the information on the SSA-1699 does not match the court’s records, release to the claimant all benefits withheld to pay the deceased representative. Update MCS (for Title II and concurrent cases) or MSSICS (for Title XVI-only cases) with a report of contact noting that all development efforts were exhausted.

Prepare a dictated letter to notify the representative’s estate that we released all withheld benefits to the claimant because we were unable to verify the estate’s information, and that payment of the fee is a matter between the claimant and the estate.

NOTE: Never send a copy of an award notice or any other beneficiary letters to a deceased representative’s estate.

4. Unverified estate information in RASR

If RASR has been updated with information for a deceased representative's estate, but there is no documentation in our systems indicating that we developed for this information, you must follow the instructions in GN 03913.010D.1 above and confirm the information, documenting all contact attempts.


To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0203913010
GN 03913.010 - Updates to Representative Registration - 02/04/2022
Batch run: 02/17/2023
Rev:02/04/2022