SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS ARE PROHIBITED IN THE AES

Hello, I'm Omari Wooden, Trade Ombudsman for the U.S. Census Bureau's Foreign Trade Division. It's our goal to keep the trade community up to date on changes to our Foreign Trade Regulations.

As of December 3, 2009 the reporting of a social security number in the Automated Export System for identification purposes is prohibited. So, what does that mean for you?

Any company or individual that previously exported and reported a social security number in the Automated Export System or has plans to export must obtain an Employer Identification Number also known as an EIN from the Internal Revenue Service, also known as the IRS. You may apply online by going to the IRS website at www.irs.gov. The process takes approximately 15 minutes.

For additional details on this new requirement or for other information concerning the Foreign Trade Regulations and the Automated Export System, I highly recommend you attend one of our AES Compliance seminars. The schedule is posted on our website. Click below for more details.