SSA's Public Credentialing and Authentication Process

The Social Security Administration's citizen authentication process enables a new user experience and access to more electronic services. Authentication is the foundation for secure, online transactions. Identity authentication is the process of determining, with confidence, that someone is who he or she claims to be during a remote, automated session. It comprises three distinct factors: something you know, something you have, and something you are. Single-factor authentication uses one of the factors, and multi-factor authentication uses two or more of the factors. Social Security's process features credential issuance, account management, and single- and multi-factor authentication. We allow our users to maintain one User ID, which consists of a self-selected Username and Password, to access multiple Social Security electronic services. This process provides the means for authenticating users of Social Security's sensitive electronic services and streamlines access to those services. The respondents are individuals who choose to use the Internet or Automated Telephone Response System to conduct business with SSA. This is a non-substantive change to update the eAccess screens to include updated security based on compliance with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-63-3 guidelines in accordance with M-19-17. We will implement these revisions by December 5, 2020.

The latest form for SSA's Public Credentialing and Authentication Process expires 2021-01-31 and can be found here.

Internet Requestors

Federal Enterprise Architecture: Income Security - General Retirement and Disability