The Social Security Administration began charging $49 on October 1, 2026 for a copy of a person’s own earnings record, and $79 when that copy has to be certified. The charges come from a standard fee schedule for what the agency calls non-program information, and they apply to every request SSA receives on or after that date. Free routes to yearly earnings totals remain open, so the choice of request decides whether anything is paid at all.
The same schedule reprices folder copies, W-2 copies and Social Security number verifications for outside parties, and every fee is collected before the work starts.
Form SSA-7050 now costs $49, and certification adds $30
The Federal Register notice published September 21, 2026, filed under docket SSA-2026-0793, sets the earnings information fee at $49 per request on Form SSA-7050. A certified copy costs $30 more, which brings the total to $79. The notice says the agency charges these fees “to recover our full costs when we provide information,” and it states that the changes apply to requests received on or after October 1, 2026.
The notice’s wording turns on receipt: the schedule covers requests SSA receives on or after October 1, 2026, so the date that controls is the day the request reaches the agency. Certification raises the price of the same record by about 61 percent, from $49 to $79. Mark Steffensen, SSA’s General Counsel, signed the notice, which replaces a schedule the agency last updated on August 23, 2024.
Folder copies and number checks run from $22 to $151
Earnings records are one line of a longer list. A paper copy of a Social Security folder is priced at $151 and an electronic copy at $75, a gap of $76 for the same file in a different format. A manual verification of a Social Security number for a third party costs $74. A copy of a W-2 or W-3 is $54 each, so a request covering two years of wages runs $108 before any other item. A copy of the original Form SS-5 application for a card is $23, and a Numident record, the agency’s number-holder file, is $22.
The items stack. A certified earnings record ($79) ordered with an electronic folder copy ($75) comes to $154, and a certified record with a paper folder copy ($151) comes to $230. Every one of those amounts is payable before SSA begins work.
Payment is due first and is not refunded
The notice states: “We require nonrefundable advance payment.” SSA accepts a check, a money order or a credit card, and only one payment method can be used for a single request. A nonrefundable fee has one practical effect for an older reader. A request for the wrong item, such as a $49 earnings record when a $54 W-2 copy was needed, is not credited back against the right one.
The fees follow federal cost-recovery guidance, OMB Circular A-25, and rest on an agency cost analysis from 2026.
The free earnings route is still open
SSA says in the same notice that a requester “can continue to obtain non-certified yearly earnings totals” with Form SSA-7004 or through its free online service, my Social Security. The agency describes the online statements as free of charge. An account is set up at ssa.gov/myaccount with identity verification through Login.gov or ID.me, and the account lets a person review earnings year by year for accuracy.
That route produces yearly totals, not a certified copy. Form SSA-7050 is the product the $49 and $79 fees attach to. Anyone unsure which one a pension office, court or other requester will accept can ask that requester first, since the fee is paid before SSA acts.
SSA can be reached on its national line, 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), and the notice names Stephen Hull at (410) 966-1890 as the agency contact for questions about the fee rule.
The figures in this article come from the notice itself: $49 for the record, $30 for certification, $79 in total, payable in advance for requests received from October 1, 2026.
Earnings totals and the claiming-age decision
The new $49 and $79 earnings-record fees fall at the start of a longer job, which is working out what a person’s earnings history means for a claiming-age decision. Paying in advance for a record the free totals could have covered leaves the real question, when to claim, still open. That comparison is the costly part for most households, and the fee schedule says nothing about it.
The Social Security Claiming & Family Benefits Kit includes a six-tab calculator for claiming age, break-even and survivor benefits and a large-print quick start, which together turn earnings figures into a side-by-side comparison of claiming ages.
Work through claiming ages in The Social Security Claiming & Family Benefits Kit →
This article was produced with AI assistance and checked against the primary sources linked above.
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.
