	Origin of the SSN and Federal Government Usage

The social security number (SSN) was first introduced as a device for keeping account of contributions to the Social Security program. Through the years, however, the use of this identifying number has been expanded by government entities and the private sector to keep track of many other government and private sector records. There is no single federal law that comprehensively regulates SSN collection and confidentiality. Use of the SSN as a federal government identifier was based on Executive Order 9397, issued by President Franklin Roosevelt, which provided as follows:
Whereas certain Federal agencies from time to time require in the administration of their activities a system of numerical identification of accounts of individual persons; and ... Virtually all tax matters require the disclosure of one's SSN, as does participation in many government programs, and obtaining a driver's license. Congress has recently restricted access to the DMF, which includes Social Security numbers, in an effort to reduce identity theft. Constitutional Challenges to SSN Collection and Dissemination

Constitutional challenges to the collection of social security numbers by government agencies have, for the most part, been unsuccessful. Thus, various courts have held that requiring an SSN on a driver's license application is constitutional, as is the requirement that persons disclose their SSNs as a condition for receiving welfare benefits or food stamps. In cases where an individual's SSN is publicly displayed or disseminated, court challenges in recent years have been more successful, particularly where fundamental rights such as the right to vote or the right to free speech are involved. With regard to the display of SSNs in online public records, or in cases involving requests for SSNs under federal or state open records statutes, the courts have attempted to balance the public's interest in the transparency of government processes with the private individual's interest in the confidentiality of personal identification and security information. Section 7 of the Privacy Act 1974 and related federal statutes do not impose restrictions on private sector use of the SSN. Chronology of Federal Developments Affecting the Social Security Number

The chronology that follows details various federal developments relating to use of the SSN.
While the social security number (SSN) was first introduced as a device for keeping track of contributions to the Social Security program, its use has been expanded by government entities and the private sector to keep track of many other government and private sector records. Use of the SSN as a federal government identifier was based on Executive Order 9397, issued by President Franklin Roosevelt. Beginning in the 1960s, federal agencies started adopting the SSN as a governmental identifier, and its use for keeping track of government records, on both the federal and state levels, greatly increased.
Section 7 of the Privacy Act of 1974 provided some limits on compulsory divulgence of the social security number to government entities. However, exceptions in that statute and succeeding statutes resulted in only minimal restrictions on governmental usage of the SSN. Today, an individual needs an SSN to pay taxes, obtain a driver's license, and open a bank account, among other things. The continued use of, and reliance on, SSNs by public and private sector entities and the potential for SSN misuse, including identity theft concerns, has led to increasing efforts by governmental entities to limit the use and disclosure of SSNs. However, no single federal law comprehensively regulates SSN collection and confidentiality.
Constitutional challenges to the collection of social security numbers by government agencies have, for the most part, been unsuccessful. Thus, various courts have held that requiring an SSN on a driver's license application is constitutional, as is the requirement that persons disclose their SSNs as a condition for receiving welfare benefits or food stamps. In cases where an individual's SSN is publicly displayed or disseminated, court challenges in recent years have been more successful, particularly where fundamental rights such as the right to vote or the right to free speech are involved. With regard to the display of SSNs in online public records, or in cases involving requests for SSNs under federal or state open records statutes, the courts have attempted to balance the public's interest in the transparency of government processes with the private individual's interest in the confidentiality of personal identification and security information.
The chronology at the end of this report provides a comprehensive list of federal developments affecting use of the social security number from 1935 to the present. This list includes federal statutes regulating the collection and disclosure of SSNs, as well as specific authorizations for the use of SSNs, confidentiality provisions, and criminal provisions relating to SSN misuse.