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By Lisa Wallace
Social Security Public Affairs Specialist in North Carolina

We are pleased to announce that local Social Security offices are offering more in-person appointments and have resumed in-person services for people without an appointment.

To avoid waiting in line, we strongly encourage people, who can, to use our online services at www.ssa.gov/onlineservices, call us, and schedule appointments in advance rather than walking in without an appointment. Phone appointments can save you a trip to a busy office. We thank the public for your patience as we work to increase service.

Customers who walk in without appointments may encounter delays and longer waits at our offices. Before coming to an office, we encourage you to visit our emergency page at www.ssa.gov/emergency to check the office status. Be aware that our offices tend to be the busiest first thing in the morning, early in the week, and during the early part of the month, so people may want to plan to visit at other times.

Given that many of the people we serve have health vulnerabilities, and consistent with our union agreements, we are continuing to require certain safety measures. These include masking regardless of local guidance, physical distancing, and self-health checks for COVID-19 symptoms. We will provide masks to the public and employees if they need them.

Most of our services are available to the public online and with a personal my Social Security account, or by telephone. And most of our services do not require the public to take time to visit an office. People may create their personal my Social Security account, a personalized online service, on our website at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. Many of our services are also conveniently available by dialing toll-free, 1-800-772-1213. People who are deaf or hard of hearing may call our TTY number, 1-800-325-0778.

As we transition to a modern phone system, some people may experience a busy signal or be unintentionally disconnected from their call. We sincerely regret these disruptions and recommend people call when our National 800 Number may be less busy. Less busy times include before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m. local time or later in the week. Like our offices, our waits are generally shorter later in the month.

To learn more, please visit our How to Get Help from Social Security page at
www.ssa.gov/coronavirus/gethelp and our Online Services page at www.ssa.gov/onlineservices.