Death Master File
Encyclopedia
The Death Master File is a computer database file
made available by the United States Social Security Administration
since 1980. It is known commercially as the Social Security Death Index
(SSDI). The file contains information about persons who had Social Security number
s and whose deaths were reported to the Social Security Administration from 1962 to the present; or persons who died before 1962, but whose Social Security accounts were still active in 1962. As of 2009, the file contained information on over 83 million deaths.
The data include:
The Death Master File is a subset
of the Social Security Administration's Numident
database file, computerized in 1961, which contains information about all Social Security numbers issued since 1936. The Death Master File is considered a public document under the Freedom of Information Act, and monthly and weekly updates of the file are sold by the National Technical Information Service
of the U.S. Department of Commerce. It is used by financial and credit firms and government agencies to match records and prevent identity fraud
.
The Death Master File, in its SSDI form, is also used extensively by genealogists. Lorretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargraves Luebking report in The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy (1997) that the total number of deaths in the United States from 1962 to September 1991 is estimated at 58.2 million. Of that number, 42.5 million (73 percent) are found in the Death Master File. Other research published by the Social Security Administration in 2002 suggests that for most years since 1973, 93 percent to 96 percent of deaths of individuals aged 65 or older were included in the DMF. Today the number of deaths, at any age, reported to the Death Master File is around 95 percent.
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
made available by the United States Social Security Administration
Social Security Administration
The United States Social Security Administration is an independent agency of the United States federal government that administers Social Security, a social insurance program consisting of retirement, disability, and survivors' benefits...
since 1980. It is known commercially as the Social Security Death Index
Social Security Death Index
The Social Security Death Index is a database of death records created from the United States Social Security Administration's Death Master File Extract. Most persons who have died since 1962 who had a Social Security Number and whose death has been reported to the Social Security Administration...
(SSDI). The file contains information about persons who had Social Security number
Social Security number
In the United States, a Social Security number is a nine-digit number issued to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and temporary residents under section 205 of the Social Security Act, codified as . The number is issued to an individual by the Social Security Administration, an independent...
s and whose deaths were reported to the Social Security Administration from 1962 to the present; or persons who died before 1962, but whose Social Security accounts were still active in 1962. As of 2009, the file contained information on over 83 million deaths.
The data include:
- Given nameGiven nameA given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
and surnameSurnameA surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
; and since the 1990s, middle initial - Full date of birth
- Month and year of death; or full date of death for accounts active in 2000 or later
- Social Security numberSocial Security numberIn the United States, a Social Security number is a nine-digit number issued to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and temporary residents under section 205 of the Social Security Act, codified as . The number is issued to an individual by the Social Security Administration, an independent...
- State and year (or year range) in which the Social Security number was issued
- Last ZIP codeZIP CodeZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
of the person while alive - ZIP codeZIP CodeZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
to which the lump sum death benefit was sent, if applicable
The Death Master File is a subset
Subset
In mathematics, especially in set theory, a set A is a subset of a set B if A is "contained" inside B. A and B may coincide. The relationship of one set being a subset of another is called inclusion or sometimes containment...
of the Social Security Administration's Numident
Numident
Numident is an acronym for "Numerical Identification System," the Social Security Administration's computer database file of an abstract of the information contained in an application for a United States Social Security number . It contains the name of the applicant, place and date of birth, and...
database file, computerized in 1961, which contains information about all Social Security numbers issued since 1936. The Death Master File is considered a public document under the Freedom of Information Act, and monthly and weekly updates of the file are sold by the National Technical Information Service
National Technical Information Service
The National Technical Information Service is an agency within the United States Department of Commerce that serves as the U.S. government repository for research and development results and for other information produced by and for the government as well as a variety of public and private sources...
of the U.S. Department of Commerce. It is used by financial and credit firms and government agencies to match records and prevent identity fraud
Identity theft
Identity theft is a form of stealing another person's identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name...
.
The Death Master File, in its SSDI form, is also used extensively by genealogists. Lorretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargraves Luebking report in The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy (1997) that the total number of deaths in the United States from 1962 to September 1991 is estimated at 58.2 million. Of that number, 42.5 million (73 percent) are found in the Death Master File. Other research published by the Social Security Administration in 2002 suggests that for most years since 1973, 93 percent to 96 percent of deaths of individuals aged 65 or older were included in the DMF. Today the number of deaths, at any age, reported to the Death Master File is around 95 percent.