Enumeration is the process for the Department of Human Services (DHS) to establish that every individual applying for or receiving public assistance benefits has a Social Security Number (SSN). The Department uses the SSN for identification and verification purposes, to cross match with other programs, and to obtain income and resource information. This includes State Data Exchange (SDX), Beneficiary and Earnings Data Exchange System (BENDEX), and other Enterprise Data Exchanges (EDX) matches.
Each individual applying for benefits must provide or apply for an SSN as a condition of eligibility. An individual receiving benefits must have proof of the SSN to continue eligibility. The parent or the caretaker/relative is responsible for providing or applying for an SSN for an unemancipated minor child. The exceptions to providing or applying for an SSN are as follows:
Medical Assitance (MA)
An individual eligible for Emergency Medical Assitance (EMA) (see Medical Assistance Handbook, Chapter 322.33 ).
An MA applicant who:
Is not eligible to recieve an SSN:
Does not have an SSN and may only be issued an SSN for a valid non-work reason
Is a member of a recognized religious sect, adheres to the tenets or teachings of the sect, and refuses to obtain an SSN because of well-established religious objections.
Parents who are not applying for MA benefits for themselves. Policy guidance issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on September 21, 2000 stated that for MA, states can ask non-applicant parents for their SSNs to verify income, but to avoid a potential violation of the Privacy Act, they must clearly indicate that the provision of this information is voluntary and that their SSNs will be used, for example, only to verify their income. States also should inform the non-applicant parents that the failure to provide their SSNs voluntarily will not affect the eligibility of their child, if otherwise eligible.
An individual applying for Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)-funded assistance and services.
NOTE: Refugees are not required to apply for an SSN as a condition of eligibility for Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) or Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA). Refugees may not be delayed, denied, or discontinued pending the issuance of an SSN.
NOTE: An SSN must be provided for ongoing MA benefits to continue beyond 120 days if an exception is not met.
If the individual cannot provide their SSN, either because they do not remember the number or because they never had an SSN, they must apply for a number at the local Social Security Administration (SSA) office. The County Assistance Office (CAO) will use the Referral to the Social Security Administration form (PA 1564) to refer them to SSA to apply for an SSN. When the individual verifies that they have applied for a number, the CAO will authorize benefits pending issuance and receipt of the number.
The enumeration requirements of this Chapter apply to the following programs:
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
Medical Assistance (MA), otherwise known as Medicaid.
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
Long Term Care (LTC)
Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA).
State Blind Pension (SBP).
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
State Supplementary Payment – Only (SSP-Only).
NOTE: Through the remainder of this Chapter, the term “cash assistance or benefits” includes TANF, SBP, ESA, and SSP-Only
The enumeration requirements of this Chapter DO NOT apply to the following programs as a condition of eligibility:
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA)
Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA)
Emergency Medical Assistance (EMA)
Expedited SNAP
The CAO will enter the SSN provided by the individual into the electronic Client Information System (eCIS). This process is known as “posting”. The SSN may also be posted to eCIS through an automated match with SSA. See 950, Appendix A, SSN Posting Procedures.
DHS is responsible for verifying the SSN provided by comparing it with SSA records. This process is known as “validation”. The individual must cooperate to verify their number if it cannot be validated. See Section 950.32 , Validation.
An individual is ineligible if they refuse to provide, apply for, or validate the SSN. See Section 950.22 , Refusal to Cooperate in Applying for an SSN, and Section 950.321 , Failure to Cooperate with Validation Requirements.
Updated September 15 2025, Replacing July 17 2018