Verifying employee Social Security numbers

We recommend that you verify your employees' Social Security numbers (SSNs) with the Social Security Administration (SSA) before you create your W-2 forms. If you submit incorrect names and SSNs on your W-2 forms, the SSA may fine your company or reject your file completely. SSN verification is a free service available from the SSA.

Before you verify Social Security numbers with the SSA, you must have a Requester ID Code from the SSA. See Appendix C: Government resources.

  1. Select Payroll.
  2. Select Administration.
  3. Click the Reports tab.
  4. In the Regulatory pane, click Social Security Number Verification.
  5. Click Generate SSN Verification Report.
  6. Select Legal Entity or Report All as the run option.
    • Legal Entity: This run option processes all employees in the specified legal entity and all the legal establishments under it. If you select this run option, you must also specify a valid legal entity in the Legal Entity field.
    • Report All: This run option processes employees in all legal entities in the organization. If you select this run option, you must leave the Legal Entity field blank.
  7. Specify this information:
    Eligibility Group
    Optionally, specify an employee eligibility group. If an eligibility group is specified, SSN Verification records are created for all employees who meet the criteria of that group.
    Start Begin Date
    Optionally, specify a start begin date. Employees with a start date or adjusted start date that is equal to the specific date specified or that falls within the specified range are included on the report. A start begin date cannot be specified if a year is specified in the Payroll Year field.
    Start End Date
    Optionally, specify a start end date to create a date range.
    Note: A start end date cannot be specified if a payroll year is specified.
    Date Selection Indicator
    If you specified a start begin date or a start date range, you must select a date selection indicator. The date selection indicator defines which date on the employee record is used to determine inclusion in the report.
    • Either Start Date or Adjusted Start Date: If the start date or the adjusted start date is equal to the specific date or falls within the specified range, the employee is included in the report.
    • Start Date Only: Only the start date determines whether the employee is included in the report.
    • Adjusted Start Date Only: Only the adjusted start date determines whether employee is included in the report.
    Payroll Year
    Optionally, specify a payroll year to select all employees with earnings for the payroll year to include in the SSN Verification Report.
    Note: If you specified a start begin date or a date range, you cannot specify a payroll year.
    File Creation Setup
    Specify a file creation setup.
  8. Click Submit to generate the file and create a link to the file in the transmitter header record.
    The payroll administrator can click the link to view and download the file.
  9. Send the electronic file to the Social Security Administration to be verified and returned.
    See Follow up tasks.