How to get an SSS Number and My.SSS Account

Your SS number is your lifetime membership number with the Social Security System. It is what lets you pay contributions and later claim sickness, maternity, disability, retirement, death, funeral, and unemployment benefits, and take out loans. My.SSS is the free online account where you check your contributions, pay, and file claims.

The three ways to get it

Online

Yes

Online registration has been required since 15 July 2020 for people about to be employed, self-employed, non-working spouses, and OFWs. This is the normal way now.

To use My.SSS fully you also need at least one posted contribution. If the 30-day activation link expires, register at My.SSS again using the Transaction Number shown on your E-1 form.

Go to www.sss.gov.ph/ and click 'Apply for an SS number online'.
Read the instructions and click Start.
Fill in the Registrant Record Verification. Tick 'I'm not a robot' and 'I certify that the above information are true and correct', then click Submit.
Check your email and click the link inside. That link only works for 5 calendar days. If it expires you must apply again. Check your spam or junk folder too.
Fill in your basic information, contact details, home address, and your Purpose of Registration. Save, then Next.
Fill in your social status and place of birth. Save, then Next.
Add your beneficiaries: father, spouse, children, and any others. Save, then Next.
Choose your My.SSS User ID and type your height in cm and weight in kg. Save, then Next.
Read everything again very carefully. Then click Generate SS Number and confirm.
Upload one supporting document if you want the better tagging. You may skip it, but uploading helps.
Check your email for the confirmation, which includes your SS Number Slip, Transaction Number Slip, and the E-1 or E-6 form. Download and keep all of them.
Click the separate SSS Web Registration activation link in your email to set your My.SSS password. That link is valid for 30 calendar days.

Walk-in

Partly

There is no pure paper walk-in application anymore. The E-Center is still the same online system, just with staff helping you.

If you have no internet or no device, go to the E-Center (electronic center) inside any SSS branch and apply for your SS number there.
Bring your PSA birth certificate and a valid ID.
Staff will help you use the same online form on their computer.
You still get the same SS Number Slip, Transaction Number Slip, and E-1 form by email.
You also need to visit a branch in person to change a temporary ss number to permanent. Bring your PSA birth certificate or another primary document.
You also need a branch visit to correct any wrong detail, since once the SS number is generated you cannot fix mistakes online.
To switch your membership type to Self-Employed, submit a Member Data Change Request (SS Form E-4) at the branch.

Representative

Partly

This is one of the clearest representative rules of any Philippine agency. If your LOA or SPA is older than 6 months, SSS will refuse it.

You should apply for your own SS number. It is your own email, your own camera check, and your own details.
For SSS branch transactions that someone else does for you, they must submit a Letter of Authority (LOA) or a Special Power of Attorney (SPA).
That LOA or SPA is valid for 6 months if signed in the Philippines, or 1 year if signed abroad, counted from the date you signed it, unless you stated a different period or cancelled it.
They should bring a valid ID for both of you, original and photocopy.
The IDs must show your complete name, a clear signature, and a clear photo. If a document is from a foreign government and in another language, it needs an official English translation from the Philippine Embassy or Consulate.
A company representative uses an Authorized Company Representative (ACR) Card. With an ACR Card they no longer need an LOA or SPA.
Expired IDs are only accepted for retirement, disability, death, funeral, and pension administration transactions.

What to bring

A working email address that is not already used for another SSS account
A phone with a camera (the site asks you to turn on the camera and copy a hand gesture, to prove you are a real person)
Your personal details written exactly as they appear on your PSA birth certificate
Your birth certificate. In its absence you may use a baptismal certificate or its equivalent, or any government ID such as a Driver's License, Passport, National ID or ePhilID, PRC card, SSS Digitized ID, Seaman's Book, or UMID card
If you have none of those, any two other documents that show the correct name, and at least one showing the date of birth
Details of your beneficiaries: father, spouse, children, and others if any
Your height in centimeters and weight in kilograms (asked in the Personal Record form)
Optional but recommended: a clear colored scan or photo of one supporting document, in jpeg or PDF, no bigger than 3MB

Fill this in before you go

Straight from the agency. Print it and bring it filled in.

The details

Who can apply

Any Filipino who does not have an SS number yet. This includes people about to be employed, self-employed people, freelancers and virtual assistants, non-working spouses, and overseas Filipino workers.

Freelancers and VAs normally register as self-employed. If you already have an SS number under another type (for example employed), do not make a new one.

Just file a Member Data Change Request (SS Form E-4) to switch to Self-Employed.

Cost

Free. Getting an SS number is free and opening a My.SSS account is free.

The official SSS Citizen's Charter shows the total standard fee as None. Do not pay anybody who says they can 'process' an SS number for you.

You only start paying when you pay your monthly contributions.

How long it takes

The SS number itself is generated in a few minutes while you are still on the website. If you upload supporting documents during the application, the SSS Citizen's Charter gives the total as 2 working days and 10 minutes.

If you upload nothing, it is only about 10 minutes. The email link to continue your application is valid for 5 calendar days.

The separate link to set your My.SSS password is valid for 30 calendar days.

How long it lasts

For life. Your SS number never expires and never changes.

You should only ever have one. Note the difference between temporary and permanent tagging: a temporary number can only be used to pay contributions.

To claim benefits or loans, your number must be tagged permanent, which needs a PSA birth certificate or another primary document.

Tips

Register only once. Having two SS numbers causes real problems later with benefits and loans, and you have to file a request to cancel the extra one.
Type your name, birth date, and place of birth exactly as they appear on your PSA birth certificate. Once the SS number is generated, you can only correct mistakes by going to a branch in person.
Watch the two deadlines. The email link to continue your application dies in 5 days. The link to set your My.SSS password dies in 30 days.
Use an email address that is not linked to any other SSS account, and one you will keep for years.
For freelancers and VAs: register as Self-Employed so you can pay your own contributions using a Payment Reference Number (PRN) from My.SSS or the SSS Mobile App. If you already have a number under Employed, file SS Form E-4 to change it rather than making a new number.
Make your number permanent early. A temporary number can only receive contributions. You cannot claim any benefit or loan until it is permanent.