Death Master File contains the Social Security Administration’s death records with name, month/year of birth, date of death, truncated Social Security number, and ZIP code for the last residence of each subject.

The file contains more than sixty-seven million death records compiled by the Social Security Administration with data reliably reported from 1969 forward.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) does not have a death record for all persons; therefore, the absence of a record for a particular person does not prove that the person is alive. Many records, however, are validated by observation of a death certificate or verification by a family member or someone acting on behalf of the family.

Information in this file is selected from the SSA Master Beneficiary Record, the Supplemental Security Record, the Earnings Reference File, and the Black Lung Record.