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Generally, the US Social Security system requires all people living abroad receiving Social Security benefits to file a form SSA–7162 annually.
These are known as the proof of life forms. Failure to submit form SSA-7162 to the Social Security Administration with these forms means you could lose your benefits.
So we want to show you what you must do so you don’t accidentally stop receiving your payments.
Who is required to file?
All people receiving Social Security benefits with foreign addresses registered with the SSA. It does not matter if your check is deposited in the USA or to a foreign bank account because it’s all about your mailing address on file with the SSA.
How To File Form SSA-7162 or SSA-7161
To reinstate the benefits, you must take the following actions:
- Complete the SSA-7162 form (Pdf-59Kb) if you receive payments in your name.
- Complete the SSA-7161 form (Pdf-74Kb) if you receive payments through a representative payee.
- Please make sure to include the following:
- Social Security Number;
- Signature (Note: we cannot accept digital or electronic signatures)
- Date
You will need to send the original document (no copies) physically to one of the following addresses:
US Embassy Mexico City (Cd. de México, Edo. de Méx, Guanajuato, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Campeche, Querétaro, Veracruz, Guerrero, Tlaxcala, Michoacán, Morelos, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, Yucatán, Puebla, Quintana Roo, Tabasco)
Federal Benefits Unit
Reforma 305-123
Col. Cuauhtémoc
06500 CDMX
U.S. Consulate General Guadalajara (Jalisco, Nayarit, Colima, Sinaloa, Baja California Sur, Aguascalientes, Zacatecas)
Federal Benefits Unit
Progreso 175
Col. Americana
44140 Guadalajara, Jal.
U.S. Consulate General Ciudad Juarez (Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, and Durango)
Consulado General Americano or U.S. Consulate General
Oficina de Beneficios Federales Federal Benefist Unit
Paseo de la Victoria 3650 PO Box 17000
Fracc. Partido Senecu El Paso, TX 79917
32543 Cd Juarez Chih., Mexic
Social Security Administration
Wilkes Barre Data Operations Center
Attention: FEQ Analyst, FEQ Forms 7161-7162
1150 E. Mountain Dr.
Room 341
Wilkes Barre, PA 18702-7997
Remember that if you live in Mexico, you may need to send this form through DHL or FedEx with tracking. I would not recommend sending these through Mexico’s postal service since you cannot request a tracking number.
Download Forms 7162 and 7161
Form 7162
Form 7161
When To Submit It?
Form SSA-7162 (Foreign Enforcement Questionnaire) typically needs to be submitted once a year, but only if the Social Security Administration (SSA) sends it to you. The form is sent to verify continued eligibility for Social Security benefits if you live outside the United States.
Key Timing Details:
- Mailing Period:
- The SSA usually mails this form to beneficiaries abroad in May or June each year.
- Submission Deadline:
- You must complete, sign, and return the form within 60 days of receiving it. If the SSA does not receive it within that timeframe, your benefits may be suspended until the form is received and processed.
- Late Submissions:
- If you miss the deadline, you should still complete and return the form as soon as possible to reinstate your benefits.
Important Notes:
- Not All Beneficiaries Receive It Annually:
- The SSA may not send this form every year to all beneficiaries. However, you should always respond if you receive it.
- Methods to Submit:
- Return the form using the pre-addressed envelope provided.
- If no envelope is provided or you’re unsure, you can mail the form to the SSA’s Office of International Operations (or the U.S. Embassy/Consulate in your country).
- Electronic Option:
- SSA does not currently offer an online option for submitting this form; it must be returned by mail.
If you haven’t received the form and suspect an issue, you should contact the SSA or your local U.S. embassy or consulate promptly.
If I download the form, does it matter if the form is one page (front and back) or two pages?
Can I use an American address for the address field?
I would do two pages
Yes you can use your US address- although if you live in the USA most likely they do not need this form. This is for people living outside the United States who are receiving Social Security benefits. I assume they would know if you are no longer alive, if they get return mail to them if they send you something to your USA address.
Sorry to bother you again. I have read on some expat forums that Wilkes-Barre will not process SSA-7162 if it does not have the bar code. Another words, filling out a blank SSA-7162 form will not get processed. Am so worried about this as my benefits were suspended in Feb 2023 and cannot get concise information about what to do. I have send a form to my FBU in Manilla but many say they will never get around to it. I have sent one to Wilkes-Barre but it may not get processed. I have searched the internet and this is a huge problem for many many people this year and no one seems to know exactly what to do; receiving conflicting instructions from many sources.
Assuming you are in Mexico, you need to ensure this is sent to the Mexican embassy or consulate in your jurisdiction. I have included those options in this blog post.
For Manila I am not sure sorry
I live in Ajijic. can I send this form to Guadalajara? thanks for the download.
Hi James,
My mother is having the same issue as you. She never received 7162 so I she prints and sends one to Wilkes PA will it get processed. Was yours processed are you getting your benefits now?
So sorry I did not reply. I assume you got your problem resolved. I sent one form to Manila and one to Wilkes Barr address and they reinstated my SS benefits within 4 weeks.
Jim.
My wife and I are receiving SS benefits and are living in the US right now but will be moving to Spain in the near future. Do we need 7162 and 7161 or just 7162?
the difference between 7162 and 7161 is whether someone is acting on your behalf or if you are the person submitting the form.
7161 is for a person handling your funds.
James and Reena, I am a US citz living retired in India several yrs. 7162 has been quite a pain over the yrs for me. 7162 with barcode etc preprinted most yrs never came in my mail in India. Same true for the 1099 and the COLA Benefits stmt. Very disappointing. Foreign address holder, who has more need then domestic, ironically, not allowed to sign up for online ss account. 1800 ssa cust svc cannot answer any ques pertaining to 7162! President Biden, r u listening? Very annoying. I make photocopy of some previous yr’s form 7162 that I have, make changes by pen like date etc, and mail it around Aug or Sep from India to Wilkes Barre. This has worked over the yrs. Sending by fedEx etc costs exorbitant around $40, so I just mail it by REGISTERED POST from the post office in India which cost about $2.5 which is affordable. IndiaPost does give a trkg #, but the trkg stops in mumbai (i live in an interior city), no intl trkg. So I always send a duplicate 7162 in separate envp 5 days later, hoping at least one will make it to ssa. This has worked for me. The wilkes barre address I use is P0 Box 7162, Wilkes-Barre, PA18767-7162, which is different from the one shown on this website. My gameplan is if it doesnt reach ssa in wilkes barre, and my benefits stop on Feb1, I will send the same 7162 jpg to Manila embassy (which serves India) by email, they will reinstate payments and all back payments withheld within 10 business days as per manila website. Yes I worry around Nov and later “Have my mailings reached ssa wb usa?” This is not nice, it shouldnt be this way. Why cant ssa acknowledge receipt of 7162, not by mail, but perhaps by email (no confidential info), or simply put a flag or indication in a field in the computer records for that ssn and when u call ssa 1800 the rep says ” Your 7162 was recvd, processed, and everything looks good”, that would solve all problems. Hope this helped.
Thank you so much for all your help Mr. Johary. Your explanation has really helped. Thanks again for sharing 🙂
Your letter is helpful I hope the Government will make change inorder for better serving their citizens
I too live in India, Three quarters of mail sent from US to me doesn’t arrive. Such a pain.
Good info thanks. My problem is I never get the form in Merida. This year Marzo 2023 I mailed to Embassy in CDMX after I was cut off in February. They were wonderful and I was reinstated in March. My ? is, what month are we supposed to mail them? Thanx, Phil
Same problem. Did you get an answer to your ?
I didn’t received any SSA 7162 form for 2024 please send me as soon as possible pdf download I live in Myanmar Yangon.7162 is
The same or different 2023 to 2024 form
Best regards
I am now living in the philippines, and regularly update my 7162.
After the covid, they are strictly no long longer accepting digitally signed or e-signature (form). where can i send my signed form? pls help
From here in the philippines, this will be the address i am sending:
Social Security Administration
Wilkes-Barre Direct Operations Center
Attention: FEQ Analyst – Courier Service
1150 E. Mountain Dr. Room 341
Wilkes Barre, PA 18702-7997
U.S.A.
Please, let us know if the physical address you used for the Wikins Barre Pa. Office, was good . I have the same problem. Live in Colombia, DHL or FEDEX can’t make deliveries to PO Boxes. Colombia must report thru Dominican Republic, for any problems with SSA, but they say IT MUST BE RETURNED to the printed address in the envelope. Very problematic and we are exposed to have our benefits suspended at any time. Wonder if anyone has a telephone number for the Wikins Barre, PA. office.
Well it is a new year and I still don’t know the proper procedure. Are we to submit the form every year or every other year? And if we do not get the form in the mail with the barcode, can we fill in and submit a blank 7162 form? And do we send to our embassy (Manila in my case) or Wilkes Barre or both?
Anyone know?
Thanks,
Jim.
Does anybody know when or how often form SSA 7162 must be filed? Is it once or twice a year? And when is it due so as to avoid payment suspension? We live in Mexico and never received form 7162 and our payments were suspended. The American Consul in Guadalajara helped us restore our payments but we don’t want to have to go thru this again. I just need to know WHEN the form is due to avoid suspension. I know how to download the form and where to send it.
Mexico will only accept this 7162 form in after September with out the bar code as per CDMX Embassy.
You must send it each year.
The 7162 was mailed to me in Jamaica seemingly
June 2024 I did not received until July 15 while
conducting PO business & happened to ask if I had
mails I filled out & returned the same day I never knew
I could FedEx to PO box I received no benefit in my
account July 3, I call the 410# & sending email have
resolve nothing I have had to reschedule some
medical appoints, how long will Wilkes Barre take
to do the process for my.reinstatement? Thank you
How can one contact the Federal Benefits unit by phone at the Embassy in Mexico
City from here in Cuernavaca. I have trouble finding the phone number
I live in Mulege, baja sur and we have no mail service here or even a post office. And recently social security doesn’t allow the forms to be emailed. They must be mailed through DHL , FedEx only. We have neither of these services here. I’ve downloaded the forms , but I need to know what month to get them mailed so social security doesn’t cut my check off again. I have a five hour drive to accomplish this.
7162form is2023to2024
The same or different let me know
Hello Mariana Lange,
I sent already FORM SSA-7162 since last September, however a family member leaving in the US sent it for me because DHL or UPS do not deliver to a PO Box #
Again, on Nov 12th, I received a second request dated from October 24th.
Is it possible to have the street address and number of the SSA PO Box 7162 Wilkes Barre PA 1867-7162. Or can I send it to the US Embassy in Mexico City instead?
Thank you for your attention.
Good day-. Looks like a have the same exact problem. I live in Colombia South America and every year I go thru the same pain in the neck. Recived the first request in July 2024. Returned the same via Colombian post office, without any tracking number. It never reached Wilkens Barre. My nephew, traveled to Orlendo FL. at the beginning of October and mailed it from Orlando. USPS recommended to use a first class postage stamp, since it was going to a POBox. I just received a second request dated Oct 24 2024, now I have just 45 days to return the envelope, but I am sure that will be lost again. I need a real physical address in Wilkes Barre Pa. FedEx or DHL refuse to accept envelopes to a POBox in America. Thank you for any advise on this matter. Also, here in Colombia both FEDEX and DHL charges $ 50 Dollars for a simple envelope. Very,very expensive, compared with the charges by the Post Office Services which goes for $ 3 Dls.. but never it gets delivered. Very poor service.