SSN No Match: What "SSN Not Issued" Really Means

Sometimes the SSN Address Trace search will reveal "SSN Not Issued." This is what we refer to as a No Match result. This does not necessarily mean the SSN was not issued to your applicant — the SSN Address Trace does not validate whether an SSN was issued to someone.

The SSN Trace / Address History search is trying to determine if the name / SSN entered into our system matches the name / SSN that's on file with the three credit bureaus. If a match exists, we can then run a county criminal search in the counties the credit bureaus list as current and prior addresses for this person.

Common Causes of a No Match

• Applicants between the ages of 18 and 24 who don't yet have any credit history
• Recent name change (maiden to married, married to maiden, etc.) or use of a nickname
• Name or SSN entered into the system is off by even one letter or one number
• Co-signer name showing instead of the applicant's name
• A creditor incorrectly entered the SSN when creating a new credit file entry
• Identity theft, where the SSN is now associated with someone else's name in credit bureau files

How Applicants Can Investigate

To discover whether identity theft is involved, the person would need to open an investigation directly with the credit bureaus:

• Equifax: 1-888-548-7878 (Press 3)
• TransUnion: 1-800-916-8800 (Press 1 for English, say "dispute credit report," don't press anything for zipcode, wait to be transferred)
• Experian: 1-800-493-1058 (Enter SSN and ZipCode, say "Credit Questions," then "Different Question")

What Happens to the Criminal Search?

When you get an SSN Not Issued result, the county criminal search will run in the applicant's current county of residence based on the home address entered in the online invitation portal — or the home address you entered if you placed a manual order. You can also ask the applicant what counties they've lived in during the past 7 years and manually order county criminal searches in those locations.