We welcome those of you who wish to help another person apply for disability, retirement, spouse's, or Medicare benefits. You may be a friend, relative, attorney, paralegal, employer, or member of an advocacy group or organization.
When you fill out the application, we may ask for information about you (the person completing the form), your relationship to the person you are helping to apply, if applicable, and the organization you work for.
The person you are helping will be asked to agree to a ‘Terms of Service Agreement’ and create or log in to their personal my Social Security account. If we are not able to process their request, they will receive specific information on how to contact us by phone or schedule an appointment.
If the person you are helping is, or will be, immediately available to sign the completed application on his or her own behalf, please answer the questions as that person would answer them.
Authorized Representatives
But if the person you are helping wants to officially appoint you as the authorized representative to do business with Social Security, you must submit Form SSA-1696-U4 (Appointment of Representative).
Visit our Representing Social Security Claimants website to get a copy of the form and an explanation of the representative process.
Who Can "Sign" the Application
If the person you are helping is, or will be, with you and able to sign the completed application, he or she must be the one to sign it (i.e., electronically apply). The application will then be automatically forwarded to us and we will begin processing.
However, if the person is not with you or not able to sign the application, we will mail it to him or her for verification and signature.