TN 3 (12-85)

NL 00711.140 Confidentiality Paragraphs

7301. GENERAL — ATTORNEYS — NON-SOCIAL SECURITY MATTER

Section 1106(a) of the Social Security Act prohibits the disclosure of information in the social security records except as prescribed by regulations. Regulation No. 1 of the Social Security Administration does not permit us to disclose information to you for the purpose you described.

7303. PLEDGE OF CONFIDENTIALITY

The Social Security Administration is required by law to preserve the privacy of its records. Therefore, we have assured the public that personal information furnished in connection with the administration of the social security program will be held in confidence.

7305. NO AUTHORIZATION OR ADDRESS FURNISHED

The information you requested from the social security record of    (a)     is confidential and cannot be released to you without a statement from    (b) him, her    authorizing us to send you the information.

If you will send us    (a)'s    address we will be glad to send the information to    (b) him, her    . If however,    (c) he, she     prefers that we send it to you, please send us the required authorization with your next request.

7307. NO AUTHORIZATION BUT ADDRESS KNOWN

The information you requested from the social security earnings record of    (a)    is confidential. It cannot be released to you without a signed statement by    (b) him, her    authorizing us to send you the information. We have, therefore, sent it directly to    (c)    .

7307.1 INFORMATION REQUESTED BY THIRD PARTY

Enclosed is the information from your social security record that was requested by
   (a) requestor's name and address    .

   (a) Requestor's name and address    has requested that we furnish    (b) him, her (c) give nature of request    . Information in the social security files is confidential by law; therefore, we could not send    (d) name of requestor    the information without a statement from you authorizing us to do so. We have notified    (e) him, her    that the information    (f) he, she    requested has been sent directly to you.

7310.1 WE HAVE ADDRESS

We are willing to try to forward a letter from you to    (a)    . If you want us to do so, you may send us the letter in a plain unsealed envelope showing only    (b)    name. Do not enclose anything of value.

If we forward your letter, we will not be able to tell you whether it was delivered.

7310.2 LETTER FORWARDED AS RESULT OF OUR OFFER — HUMANITARIAN PURPOSE

We have forwarded the letter you sent us to the latest address we have for    (a)    . However, we cannot assure you that    (b)    will receive it.

7310.3 REQUEST FOR WHEREABOUTS — MEETS HUMANITARIAN TEST

While we can understand your desire for information about    (name or relationship)    , we are not permitted to give you the information you requested. Social security records are confidential and information from them may be disclosed only as provided by law and regulations.

We may, however, try to forward a letter from you to    (a)    . If you want us to do so, you may send us your letter to    (b)    in a plain unsealed envelope showing only    (c)    name. Do not enclose anything of value.

If we forward the letter for you, we will not be able to tell you whether it is delivered.

7310.4 ADVISING REQUESTER WE HAVE SENT MESSAGE — MEETS HUMANITARIAN TEST

Information from the social security record is confidential by law and may be disclosed only as provided by regulations. Under our regulations, we are not permitted to give you information about    (a)    .

We have, however, written to    (b)    saying that you wish to get in touch with    (c)    . We can give no assurance that our letter will be received or that you will get a response. In any case, we will not send a second letter.

7310.5 MESSAGE TO MISSING PERSON

Name, address, wishes to get in touch with you. Since the records of the Social Security Administration are confidential, we have not revealed your address, nor will we inform    (a)    whether this letter is actually delivered. Therefore, you may get in touch with    (b)    or not, as you choose. You need not notify us of your decision.

7310.6 FORWARDING SERVICE REFUSED — HUMANITARIAN PURPOSE DOES NOT MEET TEST

While it is true that we forward some letters, we do so only in very restricted circumstances. We must consider the person's right to privacy when we are asked to help get in touch with him. As a service to him, we would forward a letter when he is apparently unaware of a matter of considerable significance to him. Thus, our policy is limited to forwarding only those letters containing information of great importance about which the persons would want to be notified.

Since your letter to    (a)    does not meet our forwarding requirements, we cannot help you get in touch with    (b)    . We are sorry that we cannot be helpful.

7310.7 REQUEST FOR FORWARDING — DOES NOT MEET HUMANITARIAN TEST

We are sorry we cannot help you by forwarding the enclosed letter to     (a)    .

While it is true that we forward some letters, we do so only in very restricted circumstances. We must consider the person's right to privacy when we are asked to help get in touch with him. As a service to him, we would forward a letter when he is apparently unaware of a matter of considerable significance to him. Thus, our policy is limited to forwarding only those letters containing information of great importance about which the persons would want to be notified.

We can understand your desire to reach    (b)    , but, since your letter does not meet our forwarding requirements, we cannot help you get in touch with    (c)    .

7310.8 REQUEST FOR FORWARDING — DOES NOT MEET MONETARY TEST

We are unable to help you by forwarding the enclosed letter to    (a)    .

We can forward letters only in very restricted circumstances. We will forward a letter only as a service to the missing person and only when it is clear that he is unaware of a matter of great importance to him.

We can understand your desire to reach    (b)    , but, since your letter does not meet our forwarding requirements, we cannot help you get in touch with    (c)    .

7310.9 FORWARDING SERVICE REFUSED — MONETARY PURPOSE DOES NOT MEET TEST

We can forward letters only in very restricted circumstances. We will forward a letter only as a service to the missing person and only when it is clear that he is unaware of a matter of great importance to him.

Since your letter to    (a)    does not meet our forwarding requirements, we cannot help you get in touch with    (b)    . We are sorry that we cannot be helpful.

7311.1 REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION CONCERNING DEATH OF MISSING PERSON

Our records do not show that    (a)    has died. This fact alone should not be taken as proof that    (b)    is alive because we are not always told of a person's death. Therefore, we are unable to tell you whether    (a)    is dead or alive.

7311.2 NO SSN FURNISHED

If our records show that    (a)    has died, we may give you this information. But first, we must identify    (b)    social security record. (Add A or B.)

7311.2.A IDENTIFYING INFORMATION REQUESTED

Please enter    (b)    social security number, if known, on the bottom of this letter and return it. If you do not know the number, give us the date and place of    (b)    birth, and parent's names. With this information we will try to locate    (b)    record and see if we have any information that we can give you.

7311.2.B INSUFFICIENT INFORMATION PROVIDED

To do this, we need    (b)    social security number, or the date and place of    (b)    birth and    (b)    parent's names. Since you could not give us the information we need to check the records, we cannot determine whether we have the requested information.

7314. ADVISING REQUESTER OF A FORMAL ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW BASED ON DENIAL OF REQUEST

If you disagree with this decision, you have the right to request a formal administrative review. To obtain the review, you should submit a written request indicating why you believe you are entitled to the information. You will receive notice of the result of the review from our headquarters staff.


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http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0900711140
NL 00711.140 - Confidentiality Paragraphs - 05/04/1999
Batch run: 05/04/1999
Rev:05/04/1999