This article explains the purpose and process of the Social Security Death Master File (SSDMF) check, which identifies whether a Social Security number matches those of deceased individuals. It provides guidance on handling matches and clarifies that a lack of a match does not confirm the validity of a Social Security number.
Understanding SSDMF (Social Security Death Master File) Matches
The Social Security Death Master File (SSDMF) is used to compare an individual's Social Security number against a list of numbers associated with deceased individuals.
When there’s a match, the results will display the Social Security number, name, and the individual’s date of birth and death as recorded in the SSDMF.
A match could indicate the use of a fraudulent Social Security number. However, in many cases, we find that SSDMF matches result from simple typos in original HR paperwork. We recommend reviewing the employee’s information or speaking with them directly to confirm their Social Security number is accurate.
Important Note: If no match is returned from the SSDMF, this does not confirm that the provided Social Security number is valid—it simply means it was not found in the SSDMF database.