Is ssa.gov legit?

67
/ 100
Mostly Safe
Industry: Government

This site receives a 'Mostly Safe' verdict, primarily due to the critical issue of an invalid SSL certificate. Despite its strong historical presence and robust email authentication, the certificate problem severely impacts trust and accessibility, preventing secure connections.

Government average: 83/100 · based on 33 sites

Checked: April 28, 2026 at 12:54 PM UTC

Is ssa.gov a scam? Here's what we found.

Security 40/100

The invalid SSL certificate is a major security flaw, rendering the site unreachable and preventing secure data exchange. While Google Web Risk reports no threats, the certificate issue itself is highly concerning.

Identity 90/100

With a domain age approaching 29 years and a high Tranco rank, the site demonstrates a very strong and established identity, indicating a long-standing official presence. The registrar get.gov further confirms its governmental nature.

Reputation 80/100

The website has a very high Tranco rank, indicating significant traffic and recognition. The short domain expiry, while noted, is likely an administrative oversight given the domain's long history and governmental registrar.

Transparency 75/100

The missing favicon is a minor aesthetic and brand consistency issue. The nature of a government site means it's unlikely to have a Trustpilot profile, which is not a negative indicator for transparency in this context.

Compliance 85/100

While specific legal documents aren't examined by these signals, the governmental nature of the domain and its long operational history strongly suggest a high degree of regulatory compliance, even if directly verifiable signals are missing.

Infrastructure 85/100

The site has robust DNS resolution and excellent email authentication with SPF and DMARC records, indicating a well-managed and secure backend infrastructure. DNSSEC is also properly configured.

Signals Detected

[+]
Tranco Rank: Rank #2500

This is a well-known, high-traffic website

[?]
Website: Connection timed out

Website did not respond in time — likely bot protection or a CDN blocking automated requests. The site may be online for regular browser visitors.

[?]
Trustpilot: No Trustpilot profile

This business has no Trustpilot presence — not unusual for smaller or newer companies

[+]
DNS Resolution: 4 IP(s)

Resolves to: 2001:1930:d07::37, 2001:1930:e03::16, 137.200.4.21, 137.200.39.62

[+]
Email (MX Records): 8 record(s)

Mail servers: mailin2.ssa.gov., mailin4.ssa.gov., mailin1.ssa.gov., mailin1b-ssc.ssa.gov., mailin1b-nsc.ssa.gov., mailin3.ssa.gov., mailin2b-nsc.ssa.gov., mailin2b-ssc.ssa.gov.

[+]
SPF Record: Present

Domain has SPF email authentication configured

[+]
DMARC Record: Present

Domain has DMARC email authentication configured

[?]
Name Servers: 4 server(s)

DNS providers: dns6.ssa.gov., dns1.ssa.gov., dns2.ssa.gov., dns5.ssa.gov.

[?]
Certificate Transparency: Unable to check

crt.sh returned status 502

[+]
Domain Age: 28 years, 11 months

Domain created 1997-10-02T01:29:30Z (28 years, 11 months ago)

[?]
Registrar: get.gov

Registered through get.gov

[~]
Domain Expiry: 2026-07-14T12:25:51Z

Expires in 76 days

[+]
DNSSEC: signedDelegation

DNSSEC status from WHOIS

[~]
Branding: Missing

No favicon found — unusual for an established business

[~]
Site Reachable: Unreachable

Could not reach site: Head "https://ssa.gov": tls: failed to verify certificate: x509: certificate signed by unknown authority

[+]
Google Web Risk: Clean

No threats detected by Google Web Risk

[-]
SSL Certificate: Invalid

SSL certificate is invalid: tls: failed to verify certificate: x509: certificate signed by unknown authority

[~]
Certificate Issuer: DigiCert Inc

Issued by DigiCert Inc (but certificate is invalid)

[?]
Sitemap: Not found

No sitemap found — common for smaller sites

[?]
robots.txt: Not found

No robots.txt file — common for small sites

[+]
DNS Blacklists: Clean

Not found on any DNS blacklists

[?]
Web Archive: Unable to check

Could not query Wayback Machine

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Stay Safe Online

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Use a password manager

Never reuse passwords across sites.

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Always verify unfamiliar stores before entering payment info.

When evaluating a government website like ssa.gov, the expectation is typically one of unwavering reliability and security. Users rely on these platforms for critical services and information, making any technical lapse a serious concern. While ssa.gov has an impressive track record, evidenced by its nearly 29-year domain age and top-tier traffic ranking, current signals paint a troubling picture. Government sites are expected to maintain the highest standards of security. The fact that ssa.gov is currently unreachable due to an invalid SSL certificate is a significant red flag. An SSL certificate is foundational for secure communication, encrypting data between your browser and the website. Without a valid certificate, your connection isn't secure, making it impossible (or extremely risky if overridden) to access the site safely. For a government entity responsible for sensitive personal data, this is an critical failure that users should not ignore. While its email infrastructure appears solid with SPF and DMARC, and it clears Google Web Risk, the core website access issue is paramount. Before attempting to transact or share any personal information, it's crucial that ssa.gov resolves these fundamental technical problems. A legitimate government website should always present a fully functional and securely encrypted connection. Always verify the padlock icon in your browser's address bar to confirm a secure connection before proceeding on any site, especially one handling personal data.