Social Security Number on ID Cards

With ID theft on the rise, there is a concern with Social Security numbers being printed on various identification cards. In many states, you had to request that your SSN be left off your driver's license, but The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which went into effect in December 2005, now prohibits printing the number on your license at all. However, other forms of ID may still display your Social Security number. Employee ID cards, student ID cards and insurance cards are a few that may still display your SSN.

Many companies and universities are taking concerns about identity theft seriously. When I worked for a local library as a student, my employee number was not my Social Security number but instead a separate number that was displayed on my time card and pay stubs. And my local university stopped printing SSNs on student IDs in 2000. This doesn't mean that everybody is switching over. Some are still resisting. One particular institution is Ohio University, which is being forced thanks to Chapter 1347.05 of the Ohio Revised Code, to switch over to a new system. It seems the resistance is caused by the inconvenience of changing over. After all, your SSN is your national identifier that is not unique to any state or company, but is unique to you.

I'm sure we'll see more stories like this as more states require protection for your Social Security number.