Social Security Number Trace Reports
A social security number trace report (SSN trace report) is a core component of a background check and one of the first places we start when conducting the background screening process. It gives us a snapshot of all names used, previous address history and date of birth used.
Let’s talk about why the SSN trace report is so important to the background screening process. SSN trace reports are great for revealing alias names used by your applicant. These could be prior married names, AKA’s (also known as) or nicknames an applicant may be using or have used in the past. For example, if a female has used her maiden or prior married name(s) during the arrest process that name will be associated with the criminal record on file. Another example is a male who has legally changed his name and has a prior arrest history under his birth name. Unfortunately, this is a very common occurrence when someone is seeking employment and wants to conceal their criminal past.
The information obtained by the SSN trace report allows us to expand your applicant’s criminal history search at the State, County or Federal level based on the history of addresses. This is extremely important when determining where to search for an applicant’s criminal history.
So, let’s recap what a Social Security Number Trace Report reveals and why they are so important.
- The SSN trace report will reveal the state of issue and the year the number was issued.
- Confirms the address history of the applicant.
- The SSN trace report will identify any names used- including maiden names, aliases and nicknames. This can help to identify aliases that could be searched when conducting a criminal search or background checks.
- Reveals the date of birth previously used.
Keep in mind, if you are not running the SSN trace report as part of your background check process, you could be missing out on all the things mentioned above and it’s an essential part of a due diligence background check.