U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
                              Washington, D.C. 20410-8000

                               November 18, 1991

OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY
FOR HOUSING-FEDERAL HOUSING COMMISSIONER                        TI-414

    MEMORANDUM FOR:  ALL TITLE I LENDING INSTITUTIONS
                     Attn:  Installment Loan Department
    SUBJECT:  Verification of Borrower's Social Security Number
 
         In the final rule published in the FEDERAL REGISTER on
    October 18, 1991 (56 FR 52414), § 201.22(a)(2) was amended to
    require that the lender verify that the Social Security Number
    (SSN) furnished by the borrower on the credit application is
    valid.  This provision was added to implement section 165 of the
    Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 (P.L. 100-242),
    which authorizes HUD to require that applicants and participants
    in any HUD program disclose and furnish documentation to verify
    their Social Security Numbers as a condition of eligibility.
 
         This letter provides lenders with guidance on the types of
    documentation that are acceptable for verifying that an SSN is
    valid, and those that are not acceptable.  Also included are
    instructions for lenders on retaining evidence that the SSN was
    verified.
 
         This verification requirement applies to any new loan for
    which a credit application is approved by the lender on or after
    December 16, 1991, and to any refinancing or assumption of an
    existing loan approved by the lender on or after December 16,
    1991.  On loans originated by a loan correspondent, compliance
    with the requirement is the responsibility of the loan
    correspondent.
 
    Acceptable Documentation
 
         In most cases, the borrower should be able to provide the
    lender with a valid Social Security card issued by the Social
    Security Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human
    Services.  If the borrower is unable to produce a valid Social
    Security card, the lender may accept one or more of the following
    documents as verification of the SSN and the borrower's identity:
 
     .    A driver's license that uses the SSN as the license
          number.
 
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                                2
 
     .    An identification card issued by a Federal, State, or
          local governmental agency.
 
     .    An identification card issued by the borrower's
          employer, trade union, or medical health insurance
          company.
 
     .    A computerized earnings statement, payroll stub, or
          bank statement which shows the borrower's name and
          address.
 
     .    A Federal or State income tax return with a preprinted
          address label.
 
     .    An IRS Form W-2 or Form 1099 which shows the borrower's
          name and address.
 
     .    A benefit award letter from a governmental agency,
          employer, or life insurance company.
 
     A borrower who has applied for legalization under the
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 will have an SSN, but
will not be able to furnish a valid Social Security card.
However, the borrower should have a letter from the Immigration
and Naturalization Service (INS), stating that an SSN has been
assigned and may be used until the applicant is granted temporary
lawful resident status.  This letter from the INS is considered
acceptable documentation of the borrower's SSN.
 
     If the lender has any doubts about the acceptability of a
document being used for verification, alternative documentation
shall be requested from the borrower.
 
Unacceptable Documentation
 
     The following types of documents are not considered
acceptable for verifying the validity of a borrower's SSN:
 
     .    Documents that are produced for or completed by the
          borrower, such as wallet identification cards or
          plastic or metal facsimiles of Social Security cards
          purchased from stores or mail order firms.
 
     .    Documents that have little or no official status, such
          as club membership cards or library cards.
 
     .    Documents on which the name, address, age, physical
          description, or SSN of the bearer has been altered.
 
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                                  3
 
     .    Documents using invalid SSNs taken from sample Social
          Security cards put in new wallets or pocketbooks.  The
          most common of these so-called "pocketbook" numbers are
          as follows:
 
               022-28-1852    141-18-6941    212-09-7694
               042-10-3580    165-16-7999    219-09-9998
               062-36-0794    165-18-7999    306-30-2348
               078-05-1120    165-20-7999    308-12-5070
               095-07-3645    165-22-7999    468-28-8779
               128-03-6045    165-24-7999    549-24-1889
               135-01-6629    189-09-2294    987-65-4320
 
Retaining Evidence of SSN Verification
 
     The lender (or the dealer, in the case of a dealer loan)
shall make photocopies of the documents used to verify the
borrower's SSN and attach them to the credit application for
retention in the loan file.
 
     The Department is in the process of revising the credit
applications for both the property improvement and manufactured
home loan programs.  The revised credit applications will provide
a place for the lender to indicate what documentation was
furnished as evidence that the borrower's SSN is valid.
 
For Further Information
 
     If you have any questions about this letter, please write to
Robert J. Coyle, Director, Title I Insurance Division, Room 9158,
451 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20410, or call the
Department toll-free at 1-800-733-HOME (1-800-733-4663).
 
                           Sincerely yours,
 
                           Arthur J. Hill
                           Assistant Secretary for
                           Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner