The online version of a notice contains the same language as the paper version; however, the format could be different.

List of my Social Security Available Online Notices.

Users can receive online notices in their my Social Security account by accessing the Message Center in-box that will have hyperlinks to online notices. Online notices are in the Portable Document Format (PDF).

Users with a Spanish language preference receive Spanish and English versions of online notices.

The user can choose from three options for how to receive notifications when a new notice or message is available.

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  Email only

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  Text message only

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  Both text message and email

We use the email address and phone number (for text messages) from the user's my Social Security account. To use a different email address or phone number, users can update their my Social Security account information.

Courtesy notifications do not contain personally identifiable information because they are not secure methods of communication.

If a user is not sure that a notification is from Social Security, advise them to log into their my Social Security account directly from our website at www.ssa.gov instead of responding to the notification or accessing links or files in the notification.

There are two notice communication preferences.

Do not send a paper copy - For notices that are available online, users receive notices only through their Message Center in-box and will not receive paper notices in the mail. If opting out of paper notices, the user must select a courtesy notification option (email, text, or both).

Send a paper and an online copy - Users will continue to receive paper notices through the mail. If a notice is available online, that notice will also be in the Message Center.

To update notice communication preferences in the Message Center, users complete the following steps.

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  Navigate to the Preferences section

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  Select "Update Preferences"

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  Select a communication preference: "Do not send a paper copy" or "Send a paper and an online copy"

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  If selected "Do not send a paper copy," read and agree with the authorization to stop receiving paper mailings for notices available online.

These are exceptions to the communication preferences.

Social Security Statement - my Social Security account users who choose to receive paper notices can only access their Social Security Statement online. We send a paper statement only to workers aged 60 and over who do not receive benefits; and do not have a my Social Security account.

Users with representative payees- Users with representative payees cannot opt out of paper notices.

When a user deactivates their my Social Security account, Social Security removes the online notice preference, and sends future paper notices through USPS mail. If the user has a previously selected SNO format, they will return to receiving their notice in their preferred SNO format.

When a my Social Security account is reactivated, the user can reselect to opt out of receiving paper notices, and will have access to online notices since the reactivation.

When a user’s my Social Security account is blocked, Social Security removes the online notice preference, and sends future paper notices through USPS mail.

When the account is unblocked, the user can update preferences again to stop receiving paper versions of online notices.