Social Security marriage records question - divorced and remarried same person with 6-month gap

Yes, you'll need to provide documentation for both marriages to the same person. The SSA requires a complete marital history including all marriages, divorces, and dates - even if they were to the same person. Bring your original divorce decree and both marriage certificates when you apply. The 10-year marriage duration rule only applies if you were seeking benefits on an ex-spouse's record, which it sounds like you aren't doing.

same thing happened with my sister lol!!! she had to show all papers when she applied last yr. SSA wants EVERYTHING even if its the same person twice 🤣

The SSA is RIDICULOUS about marriage documentation!! When I applied they made me provide evidence for a marriage that lasted only 11 MONTHS from 1982!!! Like how does that even matter to my retirement?!? I had to postpone my whole application because I couldn't find the paperwork. They treat everyone like we're trying to commit fraud. Be prepared for them to be extremely picky about this!!

To clarify a technical point: SSA needs your complete marital history primarily for two reasons: 1. To verify potential entitlement to spousal or survivor benefits 2. To ensure proper application of the Government Pension Offset (GPO) or Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) if applicable The 10-year duration requirement only matters for divorced spouse benefits. Since you've been married to your current spouse for 40 years and are claiming on your own record, the documentation is mostly procedural. Include Form SSA-3 (Marriage Certification) with your application. You can get replacement vital records from the vital records office in the state where the events occurred if needed.

My cousin got married FOUR times (twice to the same guy!) and she said applying for SS was a nightmare because she couldn't remember all the exact dates and had to hunt down papers from the 70s! I think they're crazy strict about this stuff so definitely get all your docs together before applying.

I had a similar situation trying to reach Social Security about my marriage records. Spent weeks trying to get through on the phone until someone told me about Claimyr. It's a service that calls SSA for you and connects you when an agent is ready - saved me hours of hold time. I watched their video demo (https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU) and tried it. Got through to SSA in about 20 minutes instead of spending days redialing. For marriage documentation questions like yours, speaking directly with an agent at claimyr.com was way more helpful than guessing what I needed.

Just to add a bit of practical advice - I work with retirement planning, and I always tell clients to order certified copies of ALL vital records (birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees) well before applying for Social Security. County records offices can take 4-6 weeks to process requests, especially for older records that may not be digitized. Better to have them and not need them than to delay your benefits while waiting for documentation.

just wondering..... why did u divorce and remarry the same person?? lol thats kinda funny 😂