Social Insurance Number Written Request Form

Employers must list the Social Insurance Number (SIN) of employees in Box 12 of the CRA T4 form. Failure to include the SIN may result in penalties of up to $100 per employee whose SIN isn’t listed. The CRA’s Employer’s Guide to Payroll Deductions & Remittances (T4001) specifies that employers must ask new employers for their SIN within 3 days after they start work for the company. Employers face penalties of $100 per employee whose SIN they fail to get. However, employers can avoid penalties by demonstrating that they made “reasonable efforts” to obtain the SIN from the employee. One example of “reasonable efforts” is making a written request of an employee who has failed to produce the SIN after repeated verbal requests. Here’s a template form you can use to make and document such requests. Be sure to keep a copy of the form in the employee’s HR file in case you need it to document reasonable efforts and avoid penalties.

REQUEST TO NEW EMPLOYEE FOR SOCIAL INSURANCE NUMBER

To: [Employee name]

From: ABC Company HR/Payroll Department

Date:

All of us in the HR and Payroll Department are delighted to welcome you to ABC Company. We are sending you this request to resolve an important administrative matter. All employees must have a Social Insurance Number (SIN) to work in Canada and to access government programs and benefits such as Employment Insurance and the Canada Pension Plan. Employees are also required to provide their SIN to their employers.

In that regard, ABC Company has made repeated requests to you for your SIN. [document previous requests, who made them and the dates and times they were made.]

However, you have not responded to these requests and we do not yet have your SIN. Given the importance of this matter, we would like to put our request into writing. Specifically, we would like to request that you come to the HR Department office and provide us your SIN information as soon as reasonably possible. While providing the information in person will best enable us to protect your privacy and verify your identity, please call us if you do not or cannot come by the office in a prompt manner.

If you do not currently have a SIN, you must obtain one. To do this, you can obtain and complete the proper form and return it to: [list the address of your nearest Service Canada Centre]. Please tell us when you have sent the form and present the SIN confirmation letter to us as soon as you receive it.

Please be assured that ABC Company will keep your SIN information private and confidential and not use or disclose except for reporting your earnings information to the government and other legally required purposes.

If you have any questions or require any assistance about the SIN or any other matter affecting your employment, please don’t hesitate to contact [list HR department representative] at [list contact information].

Thank you very much for your prompt attention to this matter and best of luck in your new position.