Changes Are Coming to How You Access Social Security’s Online Services
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: January 22, 2025
We’re making changes to the way you access Social Security’s online services, including your personal my Social Security account. The changes will simplify your sign-in experience and align with federal authentication standards. At the same time, we’re continuing to provide safe and secure access to our online services.
If you created your my Social Security account before September 18, 2021, you will still be able to use your username and password to sign in. However, you will not be able to do so for much longer.
In the near future, all users will need to have an account with one of our two Credential Service Providers (CSP) – Login.gov or ID.me – to access your personal my Social Security account and other online services.
To learn more, read our press release. If you have an existing Login.gov or ID.me account, you do NOT need to create a new one. And, if you can access your personal my Social Security account through Login.gov or ID.me, you don’t need to take any action.
If you don’t have a Login.gov account
To avoid any disruptions in accessing Social Security’s online services you may want to transition your account now by signing in with your Social Security username. Our online instructions will guide you through the process of creating a new account with Login.gov. Once you successfully link your personal my Social Security account with your new Login.gov account, you’ll get a confirmation screen and have immediate access to our online services. In the future, you’ll sign in to your account with Login.gov and not your Social Security username.
Login.gov offers 24/7 customer phone and chat support to answer your questions.
We encourage you to make the transition to Login.gov or ID.me now before the username option goes away later this year.
You’ll find more helpful information here.
Please share these important upcoming changes with your family members, friends, and colleagues.
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Tags: General Information, my Social Security, online services
See CommentsAbout the Author
Dawn Bystry, Associate Commissioner, Office of Strategic and Digital Communications
Deputy Associate Commissioner, Office of Strategic and Digital Communications
Comments
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Heather C.
Keeps telling me to try again later even though my form with activation code states it will expire on September 24…I have tried several times…keeps telling me to try again later!!
Steph
I can’t sign in using my existing Login.gov account even after I enter the verification code sent to my phone as I had already set up. It’s almost like the code has timed out the second it is sent (not 10 mins like it says in the text)
T.Y.
Hello, Steph. Thank you for reading our blog. We encourage you to visit our Frequently Asked Questions for Transitioning Your Social Security Username to Login.gov. We hope this information is helpful.
Ted B.
I have tried to log in numerous times today to change to the new format. System does not recognize my email address nor my password.
But yet I get emails telling me to change to the new system.
T.Y.
Hello, Ted. Thank you for reading our blog. We encourage you to visit our Frequently Asked Questions for Transitioning Your Social Security Username to Login.gov. We hope this information is helpful.
Caesar A.
I had a SSA login and password which work till the end of this month.
I had a ID.me login and password which are currently not working even though I have a document with logins and passwords that I keep up to date.
Does your transition to Login.gov mean that I will need to create yet another account with them?
What will happen to my current SSA login and password? Should I delete them from my document with over 112 logins and passwords?
T.Y.
Hi, Caesar. Thank you for reading our blog. We encourage you to visit our Frequently Asked Questions for Transitioning Your Social Security Username to Login.gov. We hope this information is helpful.
Erci
Id.me can be used for mySSA accounts, but this can be a problem for people who live or travel abroad since they need to receive a verification code at each signon.
There is no support for id.me. Questions can be posed on their web site Help Center, but if the e-mailed answer is wrong or irrelevant, users are told to reply to the e-mail and they will get live support. Instead, they receive an e-mail saying that the mailbox to which they were sent no longer exists and they should go back to the Help Center and go in circles.
Id.me has no phone number, no chat and this dysfunctional “help” system. Millions of people now depend on id.me for access to gov’t services, and there is zero support.
What is the list of countries to which verification codes can be sent by [international] phone call or text? Login.gov publishes such a list. It is impossible to even contact id.me about this.
George D.
I got the ID.me account. I live outside of the US. The reason I went with ID.me was they will take foreign phone numbers. I can log into my ID.me account without any problem. I can’t log into my SSA Account yet using ID.me or the with my SSA username and password.
T.Y.
Thank you for reading our blog, George. We encourage you to visit our Frequently Asked Questions for Transitioning Your Social Security Username to Login.gov. We hope this information is helpful.
Anthony f.
I am not receiving verification code through my email. I eventually receive message on SSA website that tells me to “try again later”. This has been happening for the last week.
T.Y.
Hi, Anthony. Thank you for reading our blog. We encourage you to visit our Frequently Asked Questions for Transitioning Your Social Security Username to Login.gov. We hope this information is helpful.
Doris B.
I’m trying to log in and it keeps saying it’s trying to identify me. I have tried this and now it says again wait 24 hours and try again. I’m so tired of TRYING to login. I know who I am but apparently you don’t. This is so frustrating to create another account and still doesn’t recognize me. I’m the same person who has done this so many times it’s ridiculous. I even waited a month and it still doesn’t recognize me. SS put my name on my card wrong to begin with but I guess when you mess up it’s okay.
T.Y.
Hello, Doris. Thank you for reading our blog. We encourage you to visit our Frequently Asked Questions for Transitioning Your Social Security Username to Login.gov. We hope this information is helpful.
Chris C.
Okay, so I set up my login.gov sign in account. I was able to see my SSA and see my statement, and I signed out.
I signed back in to login.gov and it only shows my account profile, no way to navigate to ssa.gov??? How do I get there now? This isn’t user friendly.
-Joe
Ditto — someone dropped the ball with planning for this.
T.Y.
Hi, Chris. Thank you for reading our blog. We encourage you to visit our Frequently Asked Questions for Transitioning Your Social Security Username to Login.gov. We hope this information is helpful.
Richard P.
I can’t sign in using my existing Login.gov account even after I enter the verification code sent to my phone as I had already set up. Then it asks me if I’d received a verification code rather than letting me go to my Social Security account, having just VERIFIED who I am via SMS to my phone.
T.Y.
Hi, Richard. Thank you for reading our blog. For step-by-step instructions on how to make the transition, watch our 3-minute video. We also encourage you to visit our Frequently Asked Questions for Transitioning Your Social Security Username to Login.gov. We hope this information is helpful.
Steven M.
I entered my and my wife’s users and password. It said they would send a code to my email. I have tried this many different times and no pass code was ever sent. So, I can’t even get into my current account. Totally messed up.
T.Y.
Hello, Steven. Thank you for reading our blog. For step-by-step instructions on how to make the transition, watch our 3-minute video. We also encourage you and your wife to visit our Frequently Asked Questions for Transitioning Your Social Security Username to Login.gov. We hope this information is helpful.