The Death Master File, or DMF, is the master list of citizen deaths known to the Social Security Administration. The file contains over 88 million records of deceased social security number holders, including names, dates of birth, and dates of death, in addition to the social security number of each decedent. Employers, financiers, and security companies utilize the DMF to protect themselves from unscrupulous individuals, employees or borrowers who are operating under an assumed identity. Life insurance firms utilize the DMF to know when to cease paying annuities and are required by law in some states to search the DMF on a regular basis to guarantee that benefits are paid to the heirs of the deceased. Businesses that use consumer reports, under the new rules, must adopt a plan to detect, prevent and mitigate identity theft. In health care, certain institutions must screen names of clients against the DMF as a condition of health plan enrollment.

Companies must be CERTIFIED by NTIS to screen the DMF. OIG Compliance NOW, LLC is certified to provide these services. OIGCN has completed the NTIS certification process; we are an ISO 27001:2022 certified by DNV. Please contact us with any questions. A copy of our certificate is available to clients who are contracted with OIGCN for this service.

OIGCN DMF screening services include a secondary screening of submitted names against the NPPES NPI Registry to identify any inactivated or missing NPI numbers, for situations where deaths are not made available as part of the SSA Public File (i.e., state records) or where deaths may not have been reported to the SSA. This is an optional screening that is provided at no additional cost to client.