Social Insurance Number

Social Insurance Number

A social insurance number (SIN) is a number issued in Canada to administer various government programs. The SIN was created in 1964 to serve as a client account number in the administration of the Canada Pension Plan and Canada's varied employment insurance programs. In 1967, Revenue Canada (now the Canada Revenue Agency) started using the SIN for tax reporting purposes. SINs are issued by Human Resources and Social Development Canada (previously Human Resources Development Canada).

The SIN is formatted as three groups of three digits (e.g., 123–456–789).

The top of the card has displayed has changed over th eyears as the departments that responsible for the card has changed:

  • Manpower and Immigration
  • Employment and Immigration Canada
  • Human Resources Development Canada
  • Government of Canada

In 2012 the Government of Canada announced plans to stop production of physical SIN cards, citing problems with identity theft.

Read more about Social Insurance Number:  Functionality, Organization, Validation, Geography

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