Welcome to the data page of the Social Security Administration.

On this page there are links to resources related to agency data resources, designated officials and to the federal government policies and direction for opening data to the public. We have been proactive in releasing data to the public because government data has a strategic value. Citizens, businesses, and other governmental and non-profit organizations need data and its related information for:

• Greater transparency and accountability
• Understanding mission and operations
• Economic growth
• Innovation and research
• Education and training
• Making decisions about their lives, businesses, and organizations

The May 9, 2013 Executive Order, Making Open and Machine Readable the New Default for Government Information, establishes the overall direction all federal agencies, including Social Security, must take in moving to an open data environment. The purpose of the order is to make "information resources easy to find, accessible, and usable." The premise is that human readable text is not sufficient for many of the innovative uses of data and that opening up the government's data resources for innovation is best done using machine readable formats and open platforms. Following the executive order, the Office of Management and Budget issued M-13-13, Open Data Policy-Managing Information as an Asset, which provides more detailed agency requirements for implementing open data. The directive explicitly requires agencies to use machine-readable and open formats. All data released to the public may be used without restriction.

In addition to detailing open and accessible requirements, M-13-13 directs agencies to create and maintain an enterprise data inventory and to identify in a public data listing those data resources that have or can be released to the public. Agencies must also create a process to engage with customers to help facilitate and prioritize data releases. All of the open data activities must be carefully performed to ensure that privacy and confidentiality are fully protected and that data are properly secured.

Social Security's public data listing in machine readable format is located at the following address (www.ssa.gov/data.json). Below is the human readable version with filtering and links to additional content where applicable. We will continue to expand the contents of our public data listing regularly as new information becomes available.

We will continue to solicit ideas from our stakeholders and hold public feedback engagements to better understand customer needs. Some engagements have been held via conference call, in person, and via special crowdsourcing tools. We also consider FOIA requests and specialized needs of application developers.

See IdeaScale where we have organized and tracked ideas from the public. If you have a new idea that you do not see, we encourage you to email Open.Government@ssa.gov with your idea and comments.

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