# Get your W-2 filing status from SSA BSO through an API

> Read your W-2 submission statuses, employer report errors and SSNVS results from SSA Business Services Online with one API call each. A workflow can check Submission Status every weekday and email you each WFID whose status changed.

Page: https://fous.com/automate/ssa-business-services-online
Updated: 2026-11-12

Works with your own SSA Business Services Online account. Fous is an independent product.

## What you can build on BSO

### Check W-2 submission status

Reads the Search Results page of View Submission Status for a receipt year: each WFID, its version, status and any resubmission notice.

- Takes: Receipt year, WFIDs (optional, up to 5)
- Returns: WFID, version, status, receipt date, status date, filing method, resubmission notice

### Get employer report status and errors

Reads View Employer Report Status for a tax year: the reports a third party filed for you, with each report's summary and error counts.

- Takes: Tax year
- Returns: Status, receipt date, report method, report type, W-2 count, critical errors, informational errors, totals

### Verify employee names and SSNs

Enters up to 10 names and SSNs on the SSNVS SSN Verification page and reads the SSN Verification Results table.

- Takes: EIN, list of SSN, first name, middle name, last name, suffix, date of birth
- Returns: Name, SSN as shown, result (verified, failed code 1, 3, 5 or 6, deceased), totals

### Request a resubmission extension

Requests an extension to file a resubmission, with the EIN, WFID and receipt year from a resubmission notice.

- Takes: EIN, WFID, receipt year
- Returns: WFID, request accepted or refused, message shown

## Automate BSO with a workflow

A [workflow](/product/workflows) runs your methods as one process, with nobody at the screen. A schedule or a call from your own system starts it, the steps run in order, and the result arrives in your inbox or in the systems you already use.

### Returned W-2 submissions, checked every weekday

Starts: Every weekday at 8:00

1. Check W-2 submission status for receipt year 2026.
2. Keep the WFIDs whose status changed since the last run.
3. Email you each one, with Return and its resubmission notice listed first.

### New hires checked against SSA records

Starts: When your HR system calls the workflow's webhook with the day's new hires

1. Verify the new hires' names and SSNs in SSNVS, 10 at a time.
2. Keep the employees whose result is a failed code or deceased.
3. Post them, with name and result, to your HR system's webhook.

### Weekly check of reports your payroll provider filed

Starts: Every Monday at 9:00

1. Get employer report status and errors for last tax year.
2. Keep reports that are new or whose status or error count changed since the last run.
3. Email you each one with its report method, W-2 count and critical errors.

You can run a workflow by hand on every plan, Free included. Schedules and webhook triggers come with the paid plans, from $29 a month.

## Once built, one call from your code

Once you have built a [method](/product/methods), it is one POST to /v1/runs from your backend, or a tool an AI agent calls over MCP. This is what “Check W-2 submission status” would look like.

Example request:

```
curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "method": "secure.ssa.gov/check_w2_submission_status",
    "input": {
      "receipt_year": 2026
    }
  }'
```

Example response:

```
{
  "status": "completed",
  "data": {
    "receipt_year": 2026,
    "submissions": [
      {
        "wfid": "K7M2Q9",
        "version": 1,
        "status": "Complete",
        "receipt_date": "2026-01-22",
        "status_date": "2026-02-18",
        "filing_method": "Wage File Upload",
        "resubmission_notice": false
      }
    ],
    "count": 1
  }
}
```

An example with invented data, not a ready-made endpoint. The method exists in your organization once you build it, and its name, inputs and fields follow your request.

## BSO’s own options

SSA's Electronic Wage Reporting Web Service lets payroll software submit EFW2 wage files and retrieve their status, but SSA says it is not accepting new EWR Web Service users. Employers file through BSO itself: W-2 Online, Wage File Upload and the status pages. Free SSN checks are in SSNVS, and the fee-based CBSV gives automated verification to enrolled companies.

| Option | What it covers | What it takes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| EWR Web Service | Submits EFW2 wage files from payroll software as a consolidator and retrieves the status of those submissions. | Existing consolidators only: SSA is not accepting new users. |
| Consent Based SSN Verification (CBSV) | Instant automated SSN verification that handles large volumes of requests. | A fee and enrollment, for private companies and state and local government agencies. |
| BSO by hand | W-2 and W-2c Online, Wage File Upload, Submission Status, Employer Report Status, AccuWage Online and SSNVS. | An account through Login.gov or ID.me, your REO's registration with a mailed code, and an SSNVS activation code. |

Read on November 12, 2026: [Electronic Wage Reporting Web Service (EWRWS)](https://www.ssa.gov/employer/EWRWS.htm), [Verifying Social Security Numbers](https://www.ssa.gov/employer/verifySSN.htm), [Business Services Online](https://www.ssa.gov/bso).

## Signing in to BSO

BSO signs you in with Login.gov or ID.me, and access requires multifactor authentication. Wage reporting also needs your organization registered by its REO, and SSNVS needs an activation code mailed to the employer. With Fous you sign in through BSO's own sign-in with your own account: the login is sealed with AES-256, never returned by the API or written to logs, and code and AI agents never see it.

## Worth knowing

- **New registration since November 7, 2026**: Wage reporting services now need a Responsible Entity Officer to register the EIN and enter a code that takes 15 to 20 days to arrive by mail. SSNVS is not affected.
- **Final status takes one to six weeks**: Final submission information appears one to six weeks after you submit. Errors from Wage File Upload are not listed in Submission Status: you upload the same file again to see them.
- **45 days to resubmit a returned file**: A resubmission notice gives you 45 days to fix and upload the file. An extension cannot be requested once you have resubmitted for that WFID or after the 45 days.
- **Ten SSNs per online request**: The SSN Verification page takes up to 10 names and SSNs at a time, with no limit on requests per session. Larger batches go as a file for overnight processing.

## More in Government: US federal

- [BSA E-Filing System](https://fous.com/automate/bsa-e-filing-system.md)
- [FINRA Gateway](https://fous.com/automate/finra-gateway.md)
- [PostalOne](https://fous.com/automate/postalone.md)
- [USPS Business Customer Gateway](https://fous.com/automate/usps-business-customer-gateway.md)
- [Invoice Processing Platform](https://fous.com/automate/invoice-processing-platform.md)
- [FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse](https://fous.com/automate/fmcsa-drug-and-alcohol-clearinghouse.md)
- [Wide Area Workflow](https://fous.com/automate/wide-area-workflow.md)
- [E-Verify](https://fous.com/automate/e-verify.md)
- [EPA Central Data Exchange](https://fous.com/automate/epa-central-data-exchange.md)
- [SAM.gov](https://fous.com/automate/sam-gov.md)
- [CM/ECF](https://fous.com/automate/cm-ecf.md)
- [EFTPS](https://fous.com/automate/eftps.md)
- [FBI NICS E-Check](https://fous.com/automate/fbi-nics-e-check.md)
- [FLAG](https://fous.com/automate/flag.md)
- [HUD Secure Systems](https://fous.com/automate/hud-secure-systems.md)
- [USCIS online account](https://fous.com/automate/uscis-online-account.md)
- [IRIS Taxpayer Portal](https://fous.com/automate/iris-taxpayer-portal.md)
- [Motus](https://fous.com/automate/motus.md)
- [TRACS / iMAX](https://fous.com/automate/tracs-imax.md)
- [USPTO Patent Center](https://fous.com/automate/uspto-patent-center.md)
- [EDGAR Filer Management](https://fous.com/automate/edgar-filer-management.md)
- [COD](https://fous.com/automate/cod.md)
- [IRS e-Services](https://fous.com/automate/irs-e-services.md)
- [IRS Tax Pro Account](https://fous.com/automate/irs-tax-pro-account.md)
- [EIV](https://fous.com/automate/eiv.md)
- [USPTO Trademark Center](https://fous.com/automate/uspto-trademark-center.md)
- [NetDMR](https://fous.com/automate/netdmr.md)

Other industries: [BidNet Direct](/automate/bidnet-direct), [Ohio Business Gateway](/automate/ohio-business-gateway), [myEDD e-Services for Business](/automate/myedd-e-services-for-business), [Rexel France](/automate/rexel-france), [ShiftWise Flex](/automate/shiftwise-flex), [Cardinal Health Order Express](/automate/cardinal-health-order-express).

## Frequently asked questions

### Does SSA Business Services Online have an API?

Not one new users can get. SSA's EWR Web Service submits EFW2 wage files and retrieves their status, but SSA is not accepting new EWR Web Service users. SSN verification in SSNVS is free on screen or by file, and CBSV is a separate, fee-based service for enrolled companies.

### How do I know if SSA returned my W-2 file?

Open View Submission Status and look for the status Return, with a View Notice link in the Resubmission Notice column. You then have 45 days to correct only the reports marked Return and resubmit, leaving the Complete ones unchanged.

### Can I see W-2s my payroll provider filed for my company?

Yes, in View Employer Report Status, if your role includes viewing wage report status or name and SSN errors. It shows each report's status, report method, number of W-2s and errors, and the reported and processed totals. SSA says these figures are not for reconciliation.

### Why can I no longer reach W-2 Online after November 7, 2026?

SSA introduced a new authorization process for wage reporting on that date. Your organization's REO registers the EIN, a code arrives by mail in 15 to 20 days, and the REO can then delegate access to other users. Organizations that completed the January 2026 limited release need nothing more.

### Is Fous affiliated with the Social Security Administration?

No. Fous is an independent product. You use it with your own BSO account, and a method reads and does only what that account can.

Fous is an independent product: it is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the operator of SSA Business Services Online (Social Security Administration). The name is used only to say which system this page is about. Something here wrong or out of date? Write to legal@fous.com.