The Official Version of the Social Security Administration Death Master File is now
available online in a variety of applications to suit your needs. You no longer need an
IT staff just to maintain and update a large database of deaths reported to the SSA.
You no longer have to deny your organization the ability to use the Death Master File
to verify/validate the death of an individual because of scarce resources. Whether you
need only a limited number of inquiries or an ongoing subscription to search for/match
hundreds or thousands of names and Social Security Numbers your needs can be met
at NTIS.

List Hygiene
The SSA Death Master File is used by direct marketing organizations and others who
have a need to cleanse their mailing lists of those who are deceased. List hygiene using
the Death Master File is also used by police and courts to purge their warrants lists.
Control the data by subscribing to the raw data file or use the online applications to
save scarce resources.

Fraud Prevention
The SSA Death Master File is also used by leading government, financial, investigative,
credit reporting, medical research and other industries to verify identity as well as to
prevent fraud and comply with the USA Patriot Act. To assist in this effort, NTIS and
SSA are working together to offer the SSA Death Master File more frequently, with
fewer delays, and in different formats, including in searchable online applications.

By methodically running financial, credit, payment and other applications against the
Death Master File, the financial community, insurance companies, security firms and
state and local governments are better able to identify and prevent identity fraud. The
USA Patriot Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools
Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001), requires an effort to verify
the identity of customers, including procedures to verify customer identity and
maintaining records of information used to verify identity.

Identity Verification
The Death Master File in an online search application or as raw data on CD is also
important for identification verification other than for preventing fraud. Medical
researchers, hospitals, oncology programs all need to track former patients and study
subjects. Investigative firms use the data to identify persons, or the death of persons,
in the course of their investigations. Pension funds, insurance organizations, Federal,
State and Local governments and others responsible for payments to recipients/retirees
all need to know if they might be sending checks to deceased persons. Individuals may
search for loved ones, or work toward growing their family trees. Professional and
amateur genealogists can search for missing links.

The National Technical Information Service is the federal government’s central source for the sale of scientific, technical, engineering, and related business information produced by or for the U.S. government and complementary material from international sources. NTIS also offers thousands of multimedia, training, and educational programs produced by federal agencies. Approximately 3 million products are available from NTIS in a variety of formats: electronic download, online access, computer products, multimedia, microfiche and paper.