What Your Social Security Number tells about you!

Your social security number is a unique identification. You are the only person who has that number. But did you ever wonder what the numbers in your social security number mean? This report will tell you exactly what those numbers tell about you, and how to effectively use social security numbers as a means of identifying your customers.

Your social security number is made up of 3 parts called the AREA (XXX), GROUP (XX), and SERIAL(XXXX). I'll explain these parts separately. First, the AREA (XXX) has one of two meanings, depending on when you got your number. If you received your social security card before 1972, the area number shows what state you APPLIED for your card in. If you received your social security card after 1972, the area number shows the state you RESIDED in at the time you applied. Here is a list of the number combinations and their corresponding states.
000 NONE 318-361 IL 521-524 CO
001-003 NH 387-399 WI 525NM
004-007 ME 400-407 KY 528-529 UT
008-009 VT 408-415 TN 530-NV
010-034 MA 416-424 AL 531-539 WA
035-039 RI 425-428 MS 540-544 OR
040-049 CT 429-432 AR 545-573 CA
050-134 NY 433-439 LA 574-AK
135-158 NJ 440-448 OK 575-576 HI
159-211 PA 449-467 TX 577-579 DC
212-220 MD 468-477 MN 580 VI (Virgin Islands)
221-222 DE 478-485 IA 581-584 PR (Puerto Rico)
223-231VA 486-500 MO 585-NM
232-236 WV 501-502 ND 586PI (Pacific Islands - Guam)
237-246 NC 503-504 SD 587-588 MS
247-251 SC 505-508 NE 589-595 FL
252-260 GA 509-515 KS 596-599 PR (Puerto Rico)
261-267 FL 516-517 MT 600-601 AZ
268-302 OH 518-519 ID 602-626 CA
303-317 IN 520 WY

900-999 Were used when state aid to the aged, blind, and disable was converted to federal programs administered by the Social Security Association, not valid social security numbers. You will see that some states have more than one group of numbers. This is because their original group of numbers became exhausted.

The GROUP (XX) has no meaning other than to determine whether or not a number has been assigned. This is important to know, if you want to use social security numbers as identification for your customers. Here's how you should use this information.

Every month, the Social Security Association publishes a list of the highest group assigned for each AREA. The order of assignment is odd numbers under 10, even numbers over 9, even numbers under 9 (except for 00, which is not used), and odd numbers over 10. So, for example, if the highest GROUP assigned for AREA 999 is 72, then a customer who gives you the social security number 999-04-1234 is a fraud, because even GROUPS under 9 have not yet been assigned.

The SERIAL (XXXX) portion has no meaning and is not assigned in strict numerical order. 0000 is never used. If you know what to look for, social security numbers are an important tool for screening customers.