We welcome those who wish to help another person file an application for retirement, spouses or Medicare benefits. You may be a friend, relative, attorney, paralegal, employer, or member of an advocacy group or organization.
We may ask for information about you (the form completer), your relationship to the person for whom you are applying (i.e., the claimant) and, if applicable, the organization for which you are working.
Authorized Representatives
You do not need to be appointed as the claimant's representative in order to help the claimant apply for benefits. But if the claimant wants to officially appoint you as his authorized representative to do business with Social Security, you must submit form SSA-1696-U4 (Appointment of Representative).
To get a copy and an explanation of the representative process, visit our Representing Social Security Claimants web page.
Who Can "Sign" the Application
If the claimant is, or will be with you and able to sign the completed application, he or she must be the one to sign it (i.e., electronically file). The application will then be automatically forwarded to us and we will begin processing.
However, if the person is not with you or not able to sign the application, we will mail it to the claimant for verification and signature.
It is important that the claimant sign the application - not the person who is helping him or her.
Please tell us who you are helping:
I am helping someone who wants to apply for retirement, spouses or Medicare benefits who:
