Can a person LEGALLY have more than one social security number?

Question

My friend says that there are people who have more than one legal SS number, who are not in witness protection programs. I disagree, but cannot find anything on the SS site addressing this.

Answer 1

No they can not!

Kids who have been adopted may have one reissued, but if you have 2 SSN's, you are going to have a hell of a time when you retire!!



Generally, we assign only one Social Security number to an individual. We use that number to record the individual’s earnings so that we can determine future benefits and, eventually, to track benefits paid. Only under the following circumstances can we assign a different number:

Sequential numbers assigned to members of the same family are causing problems;
More than one person has been assigned, or is using, the same number;
An individual has religious or cultural objections to certain numbers or digits in the original number; (See “Can I request a new SSN because I object to digits used?”)
A victim of identity theft continues to be disadvantaged by using the original number; (See Identity Theft And Your Social Security Number, Publication No. 05-10064.) or
Situations of harassment, abuse or life endangerment (including domestic violence). (See New Numbers For Domestic Violence Victims, Publication No. 05-10093.)
When we assign a new number, we do not void or delete the original number. For integrity reasons, we cross-reference all the numbers assigned to the same individual.
To apply for a different number:

Answer 2

You can't have more than one Social Security number with the exception of special circumstances. A SS number is like a fingerprint. You get one, and it's all yours.

Answer 3

No they can not

Answer 4

no, not legally.