SSN Policy Manual

Dealing With Federal Agencies

Most Federal agencies ask people for a social security number but do not actually require an identity number from people. There is usually no issue involved when a person declines to provide a social security number to federal agencies. However, there are a few hard requirements for a social security number that are very difficult, if not impossible to defeat. For example, the most obvious is that a person cannot receive social security benefits without obtaining and using a social security number. Here are few other examples: Section-8 housing assistance Food stamps Government guaranteed loans Student loans Federal crop insurance But even this requirement is not always true because the court has, on occasion, defended an individual's religious right against enumeration. For example, in Bowen v. Roy, 476 U.S. 693 (1986), the court ruled that the public interest in maintaining an efficient and fraud- resistant system could be met without requiring a social security number for the child. The court then enjoined the Secretary of Health and Human Services from using and