Verify a Social Insurance Number: 1st free online tool!

The Social Insurance Number or SIN is a 9-digit number issued by Service Canada.

It is mandatory to work or receive benefits, and therefore allows a person to be uniquely identified (this is called a “meaningful” number).

So, how do you check a social insurance number?
Find out in this article with the added bonus of our free tool to check the control key!

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The Social Insurance Number (SIN) was created in 1964 to initially serve as a customer account number in the management of pension schemes and the payment of unemployment benefits.

In 1967, the predecessor agency of the Canada Revenue Agency began using the SIN for tax collection.

The Human Resources Development Canada Office is responsible for the issuance of SINs.

Consisting of nine digits grouped into three sets of three (for example, 123-456-789, the last digit of which is a control key to verify a Social Insurance Number), the SIN has become, although it was not originally designed for it, a de facto national identification number, similar to the Social Security number in the United States.

However, unlike the latter, the use of the SIN is limited to specific purposes.
It is mainly used to link a person to financial or tax transactions.

No institution can compel someone to provide it, except within the legal framework provided for this purpose (as stipulated in the Employment Insurance Act and section 89 of the Employment Insurance Regulations).

Its use as an identity document is inconclusive, because the card does not have a photograph.

It also does not have any real security features: it is complicated in these conditions to use it as an identity document, because it is difficult to verify a social insurance number!

The procedures are different depending on each situation, but generally speaking, you must send an application to Service Canada for processing.

Applications can be made in person at Service Canada Centres, by mail or online.

The Social Insurance Number is important for a simple reason: it is mandatory to be able to work!

But that’s not all: it also allows you to benefit from benefits and services from government programs.

Citizens or permanent or even temporary residents, you need a SIN!

A Social Insurance Number is composed as follows:

• First digit : It indicates the province where it was awarded :
• • 1 or 2 : Atlantic Provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador).
  • 2 : Quebec (Canadian citizens).
  • 3: Quebec (permanent residents and naturalized Canadians).
  • 4: Ontario (Canadian citizens, including visiting forces).
  • 5: Ontario (permanent residents and naturalized Canadians).
  • 6 : Prairie provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta), Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
  • 7 : Pacific Region (British Columbia and Yukon).
  • 8 : Not used.
  • 9 : Allocated to temporary residents (such as foreign workers or international students).
  • 0 : Excluded.
• Middle digits (from 2nd to 8th): These digits do not have a specific meaning individually.
  They form a unique sequence for each individual.
• Last digit (9th): This is a check digit used to validate the integrity of the NAS using a specific algorithm.
  This figure ensures that the NAS is dialed correctly and helps prevent transcription errors.
  It can therefore be used to verify a social insurance number.

The main organizations that can ask you for your Social Insurance Number are:

• your employer after you have been hired
• the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on your tax return
• the Canadian government when you apply for government benefits or services (for example, employment insurance services, student loans and grants, and superannuation)
• a financial institution when you open a bank account that generates income

Full details can be found at: SIN best practices, canada.ca

It is essential to protect your Social Insurance Number (SIN), as it is linked to your personal records, tax records, as well as information about your Canada Pension Plan (CPP) pension with Canadian governments.

If you disclose your SIN publicly, you are at risk of identity theft and fraud.
You could then receive bills contracted in your name, suffer the misappropriation of government benefits, or have your SIN used for illegal work activities.

To keep your SIN secure, it’s important to know when it’s mandatory to share it and when it could be a violation of your privacy.

On the employer side, it is important to check a social insurance number collected so as not to have any unpleasant surprises later.

The two main ways to verify a Social Insurance Number are:

– Cross the first digit (province of award) with other documents that may be present in the file

– Using the control key (the last digit) verifies a Social Insurance Number

Much more convenient and faster to check a Social Insurance Number: use our free online tool below!

The Social Insurance Number is assigned to any citizen, permanent or temporary resident in Canada.

It is mandatory to work or carry out other procedures, and allows for individual identification of the person to whom it was issued.

It is therefore important to be careful to share it only with the competent bodies, under penalty of the risk of identity theft.

On the employer or administrative side, it is just as important to check a social insurance number to ensure its validity thanks to the control key, present on the last digit: our free online tool allows you to avoid any unpleasant surprises in a few seconds!

Do you need to check identity documents such as CNI, passports, residence permits or proof of resources (CAF payment certificate / payslip) online in a few minutes?