eCBSV Frequently Asked Questions
Thank you for your interest in the electronic Consent Based Social Security Number Verification (eCBSV) service. We are reviewing questions received and will be posting responses here periodically. Please check this page frequently for updates. You may submit questions to eCBSV@ssa.gov.
Section 3.01 archived. See Archive, Enrollment FAQ.
If you are an individual permitted entity selected for the eCBSV initial rollout in June 2020, we will terminate your CBSV User Agreement as of that date and you will no longer be a CBSV customer. We will provide you a refund of unused CBSV funds at that time.
If you are a service provider permitted entity selected for the eCBSV initial rollout in June 2020, you may remain enrolled in CBSV to service non-permitted entities or during the initial rollout, other permitted entities beyond the 20 limited in the initial rollout.
If you are not selected for the eCBSV initial rollout, you will continue as a CBSV customer and must adhere to all requirements in the CBSV User Agreement.
The substantial difference between CBSV and eCBSV is that the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, Section 215, Reducing Identity Fraud, requires SSA to confirm (or not confirm) to a "permitted entity" the validity of fraud protection data (specific information about an individual, including SSN verification) based on the individual's written consent, including by electronic signature. An SSN verification is verification that a name, SSN, and date of birth combination matches (or does not match) our records. The legislation requires SSA to improve our current verification system to accommodate the much larger anticipated volume of users and verifications as a result of now allowing consumer consent to be received electronically. In addition, the Act defines permitted entities use of eCBSV for specific uses as outlined in the Act. Therefore, for entities that do not qualify as a permitted entity, or entities who use the SSN verification for purposes outside of the Act will continue to obtain a number holder’s wet signature on the consent forms and use the current CBSV at this time.
Sections 6.01-6.08 archived. See Archive, Enrollment FAQ.
Section 8.01 archived. See Archive, Enrollment FAQ.
The annual number of transactions refers to the number of requests for verification that a permitted entity plans to send to SSA annually.
SSA is unable to provide you with any information regarding the IRS TIN Matching program. We can tell you that SSA is the authoritative source for the Social Security Number (SSN). eCBSV will provide SSN verifications to enrolled permitted entities. An SSN verification is verification that a name, SSN, and date of birth combination matches (or does not match) our records.
Sections 9.01-9.02 and 9.04-9.06 archived. See Archive, Enrollment FAQ.