Social Security Card

You can apply for a Social Security number for your baby when you apply for your baby’s birth certificate. Just check the box on the birth certificate worksheet. The state agency that issues birth certificates will share your child’s information with Social Security, and they will mail the Social Security card to you. This process will take approximately six to eight weeks. If you cannot wait that long, please call the Social Security Office at 1-800-772-1213.

You can also apply at any Social Security office. If you wait to apply until after you leave the hospital, you must provide evidence of your child’s age, identity and U.S. citizenship status, as well as proof of your identity. Social Security must verify your child’s birth record, which can add up to 12 weeks to the time it takes to issue a card. To verify a birth record, Social Security will contact the office that issued it.