A Social Security number is a US number that many people outside the US do not have, and some new arrivals do not have yet. So it is fair to ask whether a US phone number needs one. For the TripoSIM US number, it does not. Here is what you need instead, who this suits, and what the number can and cannot do once you have it.

Do you need an SSN to get a US phone number?

Not for the TripoSIM US Virtual Number. To sign up you need:

  • An email address and a free TripoSIM account.
  • A payment card for the yearly or monthly plan.
  • A short ID check with your passport or ID card and a selfie, about 2 minutes.
  • An iPhone or Android phone with an internet connection.

You do not need a Social Security number, a US address or a US phone number to sign up. People in almost any country can buy and use the number, except sanctioned countries.

Who needs a US number without an SSN?

  • People who live abroad and want US clients, customers or family to call a +1 number. A freelancer in Lisbon or a consultant in Dubai gives clients one number to call, answered in an app. See the freelancer page.
  • Students before arrival. Landlords, campus offices and summer employers often want a +1 number in the months before you fly. The students page has a timeline.
  • New arrivals who do not have an SSN yet and need a number for forms, landlords and new contacts in the first weeks.
  • Expats who left the US and want people and services there to keep reaching them. See the expats page.

What do you do instead of giving an SSN?

You prove who you are with a photo ID and a selfie. TripoSIM requires an identity check for every US number. Here is how it works:

  1. It comes right after payment, before you choose your number.
  2. You photograph your passport or ID card, then take a selfie, so the check can match the two.
  3. It takes about 2 minutes. A verification partner runs the check for TripoSIM.
  4. TripoSIM keeps only the result and your name, never your document photos.
  5. If the check fails, you get a full refund.

Have your ID ready and use good light for the selfie. That is the whole check: no SSN, no US address and no US phone number.

What are the steps from checkout to your first call?

  1. Choose a plan: $100 a year or $12.99 a month, with the same number, minutes and app.
  2. Pay and complete the ID check.
  3. Choose your number by US state or area code from the numbers available, for example New York 212 or Miami 305.
  4. Install the app. On iPhone, add the TripoSIM web app to your Home Screen. On Android, install the TripoSIM app.
  5. Allow notifications and the microphone, so calls can ring.
  6. Test it. Call a US number, ask someone to call you back, and leave yourself a voicemail. The ten-check reliability test has the full list.

The how it works page walks through each step.

What does the number do?

  • Calls in: anyone can call your +1 number, and you answer in the TripoSIM app over Wi-Fi or mobile data. Incoming calls are included with a fair use of 300 minutes a month.
  • Calls out: 300 minutes a month to US and Canadian numbers. Each outgoing call is rounded up to the next full minute; unanswered calls are free.
  • Voicemail: messages up to 2 minutes, up to 30 a month, kept 30 days.
  • Texts: texts from US and Canadian senders arrive in the app.
  • Verification codes: the number receives verification codes (OTP SMS) from apps. TripoSIM tested 22 apps, including WhatsApp, PayPal and Wise; the list shows examples, not a limit. See the tested apps or check one app.

What does it not do?

  • It does not send texts. You receive texts but cannot answer from the number, so give contacts an email address too.
  • It cannot call 911 or any emergency service. Keep a local line for that.
  • It does not call numbers outside the US and Canada. Anyone can still call it.
  • It does not work offline. Calls and texts need the app and an internet connection; when you are offline, callers can leave a voicemail.
  • It is not an SSN substitute. A phone number is just a phone number. It does not stand in for an SSN on any form that asks for one.

It is also for personal and small-business use only. Spam, robocalls and call centers are not allowed.

A worked example

Take a hypothetical student who starts a master’s degree in Boston in September and has no SSN. In June she gets a TripoSIM number on the monthly plan, picks a Boston area code, and puts the number on her housing applications.

Over the summer she calls landlords and the housing office about four times a week, 10 minutes each. That is about 174 minutes a month, inside the 300 included minutes. Calls landlords make to her do not use those minutes. Three months on the monthly plan cost $38.97, and she can cancel the renewal anytime.

Once she arrives, she decides whether to keep the number as a second line. If she lets it go, the number is kept 90 days after the monthly plan ends, then released. She moves her accounts and logins to her new number before that. Our guide on number recycling explains why.

When is another option better?

  • You live in the US and want one line for everything. This number cannot send texts or call 911, so you will want a local phone plan as well.
  • You need to call numbers outside the US and Canada. Calls out reach US and Canadian numbers only.
  • A team needs to share one line. Each number is one person’s line in an app. Business phone systems built for teams fit better.

The bottom line

You can get a US phone number without an SSN. For the TripoSIM number you need an email address, a payment card and a short ID check with a photo ID and a selfie. The number takes calls, makes calls to the US and Canada, takes voicemail and receives texts and verification codes, all in an app over the internet. Compare the two plans on the plans page, and read before you move if you are heading to the US.