If contact with a collateral source is necessary, the Privacy Act (see GN 03316.001) indicates that the amount of information disclosed should be limited to the claimant's name, Social Security number, the fact that the claimant has filed a claim with SSA, and, as briefly as possible, the reason why the contact is necessary (i.e., information is needed from them to help SSA determine the claimant's eligibility for or entitlement to benefits under the Social Security program). In the course of the contact, do not indicate that the claimant is mentally impaired.

Do not send an SSA-827 when requesting a third party to complete the SSA-3380 (Function Report - Adult Third Party), or any similar form, unless the DDS knows from past experience that the source requires it. Although the Privacy Act permits disclosure of the SSN, in the rare instance in which a third party requests an SSA-827, the DDS should effectively black out the SSN(s) previously entered on the SSA-827.