Executive Order 13478: Amendments to Executive Order 9397 Relating to Federal Agency Use of Social Security Numbers
President: George W. Bush
Made use of Social Security numbers optional rather than exclusive under EO 9397 and emphasized protection of personal identifiers.
Status: In effect. Is Executive Order 13478 still in effect? Yes. Executive Order 13478 remains in effect. See Federal Register record.
What does Executive Order 13478 do?
A 2023 Education Department privacy notice cites EO 9397 as amended by EO 13478 among authorities for collecting SSNs in specified systems.
Before and after
Before the order
The original EO 9397 directed federal agencies to use SSNs as a common identifier.
After the order
A 2023 Education Department privacy notice cites EO 9397 as amended by EO 13478 among authorities for collecting SSNs in specified systems.
A privacy notice lists legal authority for a specific system; it does not itself establish that agencies stopped collecting SSNs.
Who had to do what
Federal agencies carry out the amended identifier policy: Executive Order 13478 makes use of Social Security numbers under Executive Order 9397 discretionary rather than mandatory and exclusive, and says personal identifiers should be protected against unlawful use. Signed Federal Register text
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Later action | A 2023 Education Department privacy notice cites EO 9397 as amended by EO 13478 among authorities for collecting SSNs in specified systems. | July 28, 2023 |
What happened next
EO 13478 signed.
A 2023 Education Department privacy notice cites EO 9397 as amended by EO 13478 among authorities for collecting SSNs in specified systems.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
A privacy notice lists legal authority for a specific system; it does not itself establish that agencies stopped collecting SSNs.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
- GovInfo — official executive-order record (opens in a new tab) Official record
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on September 26, 2026. How we research →