The Social Security Administration now charges $49 for a detailed earnings record and $23 for a copy of an original Social Security card application. The new fee schedule covers requests the agency receives on or after October 1, 2026, according to a notice published September 21 in the Federal Register. Social Security says the fees recover its full cost of providing records.
Most people on Social Security will never pay either one. The fees apply when someone asks for information for a purpose not directly related to running Social Security programs. Anyone who only wants to look at their own yearly earnings has a free route, so the first thing to settle is whether a fee applies to your request at all.
Retirement deadlines, in your inbox: Miss an enrollment or claim deadline and the money can be gone. The Retirement Money Brief keeps you ahead of the ones that matter, every weekday.
Get the Retirement Money Brief →
We may earn a commission from links on this page.
The full price list from October 1
The notice sets ten fees for records people ask for most often. Social Security lists each one per request:
- Form SSA-7050, detailed yearly earnings information: $49
- Copy of an original Form SS-5, the application for a Social Security card: $23
- Copy of a Numident record, the computer extract of that application: $22
- W-2 or W-3 copies: $54 for each one requested
- Copying an electronic folder: $75
- Copying a paper folder: $151
- Third-party manual Social Security number verification: $74
- Field Operations Headquarters certification: $65
- Record extract, received and processed in a field office: $46
- Central Processing certification: $30
A footnote warns that fees can differ depending on the legal authority behind a request and the work involved, such as blacking out information or special services. Requests the schedule does not cover are priced case by case, the notice says, so a request for an unusual record may not match any line above.
Certified earnings cost more than $49
Form SSA-7050 is the agency’s Request for Social Security Earning Information. It returns detailed yearly earnings, including the names and addresses of employers. The notice puts that at $49 and says certification adds $30, which brings a certified earnings record to $79.
Certification also appears as its own line in the schedule, priced by where the request lands. Social Security lists $30 for a request received in Central Processing and $65 for one received in a field office, regional office or headquarters component.
The two card-application records are close in price but not the same thing. A copy of the original SS-5 costs $23. The Numident record is the computer extract of that same application, and it costs $22. Anyone ordering one should name the right document on the request, because the money is gone either way.
Copies of a whole case file are the costliest items on the list. A paper folder runs $151 and an electronic folder $75, so the format of the copy changes the bill by $76. The card-application records and the earnings form cost far less, which is why the card-application copies run $22 and $23 and the earnings form runs $49.
Where yearly earnings are still free
Social Security says uncertified yearly earnings totals cost nothing. They are available on Form SSA-7004, the Request for Social Security Statement, or through my Social Security, the agency’s free online account. Online statements show earnings year by year, without employer information.
So the paid request adds two things: employer names and addresses, and the option of certification. Someone who just wants to review their earnings history does not need the $49 form to see the yearly totals. For benefit questions, Social Security takes calls at 1-800-772-1213.
Who pays, and how
The fees fall on people asking for information for purposes not directly related to administering Social Security programs. Under Section 1106(c) of the Social Security Act, the agency may require full cost recovery for those requests. The schedule covers records that could be sought under the Privacy Act or the Freedom of Information Act.
Requesters can ask for a public-interest fee waiver under 20 CFR 402.85. The notice adds that FOIA rules do not govern the agency’s fee decisions under Section 1106(c), so a waiver request does not settle the matter. The comment period on the notice has closed.
Every fee is due in advance and is nonrefundable. The agency accepts a check, a money order or a credit card. It does not accept cash. A single request has to be paid in full with one form of payment, so a fee cannot be split between a card and a money order.
The notice does not list the old prices, so it does not say how much any single fee rose. It does say the agency last updated the schedule on August 23, 2024, and that the first schedule came in 2012. Federal budget rules require agencies to review fees like these at least every two years.
General Counsel Mark Steffensen signed the notice. Questions about it go to Stephen Hull in the agency’s accounting office at 410-966-1890. Any future change to the schedule will be published in the Federal Register, according to the notice, and the official PDF carries the full text.
Is your records request one Social Security bills for?
The detail people miss is that these fees are paid up front and never come back. An order for the wrong record, or for one the free account already shows, is money Social Security keeps.
The Social Security Check Protection Kit is built for anyone who gets a Social Security notice, letter or service change and has to answer it. It includes the 2026 payment calendar, so you know when your real payment is due, plus a first-24-hours plan if a payment is late or missing.
Keep the 2026 Social Security payment calendar and a late-payment plan in one kit →
More Financial Reading
- 21 Ways to Stretch a $2,087 Social Security Check
- 15 Places to Find Your Share of the $4.25 Billion States Give Back
- 15 Steps to Stop the Scams That Took $7.7 Billion From Seniors
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
