On November 1st, 2011, the Social Security Administration (SSA) instituted a change on what records will be used as source material for adding records to the Public Death Master File (DMF). It is the DMF information that is used to update the Social Security Death Index (SSDI). The DMF file “is a file of all deaths reported to SSA from sources other than States, beginning around 1936.” Such sources include family members, funeral homes, hospitals, state and federal agencies, etc. The change that the SSA is making is that the agency is no longer disclosing protected State records.
“Section 205(r) of the Social Security Act prohibits SSA from disclosing State death records we receive through our contracts with the States, except in limited circumstances. Therefore, we cannot legally share those State records on the Public DMF.” For information regarding the law, please see Section 205r link – http://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/title02/0205.htm
This change will decrease the number of death records added to the Public DMF. They expect this number to decrease by 1 million on an annual basis, which they are saying will be 4.2 million records. Please click on the following link for a FAQ sheet regarding this change http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/ci/fattach/get/601/
How does this impact genealogy and family history research? It simply means that the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) still is a viable source to check; however, its inclusiveness and effectiveness will dimension to a certain degree over time.
