Where to get certified marriage certificate for Social Security survivor benefits application?

I'm sorry for your loss. You need to contact the vital records office in the county where you got married. Most counties have this service available online now where you can order certified copies for around $15-25 each. If you tell me which state/county you're in, I can try to point you to the right website. When I applied for survivor benefits last year, I needed two certified copies - one for SSA and one for my husband's pension administrator.

The decorative one from the wedding isn't good enough??? That's ridiculous, it's from the SAME PLACE! They just want to make everything difficult and charge us more money for paperwork we already have. Classic government bureaucracy.

For Franklin County, Ohio, you can order online through VitalChek (they're the official partner) or visit the Franklin County Probate Court in person. Here's the website: https://probate.franklincountyohio.gov/departments/marriage/copies-of-marriage-records I think they charge about $20 per certified copy. Get at least 3 copies - you'll need them for SS benefits, insurance companies, property transfers, etc.

does anyone know how long it takes to get survivor benefits once you apply? my mom been waitn 3 months and still nothin

I went through this last year and it was a NIGHTMARE trying to get through to SSA on the phone to check on my application status. I kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. I finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual SSA agent in under 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Saved me so much frustration during an already difficult time. Might be worth keeping in your back pocket for when you need to follow up on your application.

Small tip: when you're applying for survivor benefits, make sure to ask about the one-time death payment of $255 too. It's not much, but many people don't know to claim it. Also, if your husband was already receiving Social Security retirement benefits, you might be eligible for his last check if it wasn't deposited before he passed. So sorry about your loss - the paperwork can feel overwhelming but take it one step at a time.

Just adding that if you can't find your marriage certificate, you can sometimes get help from funeral homes too. When my husband passed they helped me get copies of our marriage certificate and his death certificate as part of their services. might be worth asking if you used a funeral home.

One last thing - when you do apply for survivor benefits, bring both your marriage certificate AND your husband's death certificate to your appointment. If you're applying online, you'll need to upload both. Sometimes they also want to see your birth certificate to verify your age, so have that ready too.