Are you buying the Social Security Administration (SSA) death records from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS)? COMSERV can sell exactly the same death records at a discounted cost off the NTIS cost. Please see the following table for the cost you would pay NTIS versus our cost. COMSERV can sell the full SSA death master file, or weekly or monthly updates at the discounted cost to U.S. customers only.

DESCRIPTION	NTIS COST	COMSERV DISCOUNT COST
Full File	$1,725	$1,500 Save $225!
Weekly Updates	$7,500	$6,200 Save $1,300!
Monthly Updates	$2,600	$2,090 Save $510!

All death record file deliveries, except the "Full File" (CD only), are handled electronically through the COMSERV Secure File Transfer System (CSFTS).

Why are the SSA death records publicly available?
The SSA maintains an official repository of death information via the Death Master File (DMF). The DMF is part of the Numident, a master file that contains personal identifying information about each individual to whom the SSA has assigned a Social Security number. The SSA created the DMF as the result of a 1978 lawsuit (Perholtz v. Ross, C.A. Nos. 78-2385, 78-2386 D.D.C.) requiring the agency to make death information available under the Freedom of Information Act. Congress also enacted legislation requiring that the SSA provide death information to various federal and state agencies in order to prevent erroneous payments to deceased individuals. The SSA uses the DMF to fulfill these obligations. In addition, an individual’s right to privacy does not apply because all included individuals are deceased.