Widowed person or surviving civil partner

'W' Personal Public Service Numbers (PPSNs)

If you have a ‘W’ Personal Public Service Number (PPSN) and your husband has died, it is important to get a replacement PPSN. This will avoid any unnecessary tax issues that may arise in the future. The Department of Social Protection (DSP) will issue you with a new PPSN.

What you need to do

If you have received a replacement PPSN from the DSP, you should contact Revenue to register the new PPSN for tax purposes.

If you have not received a replacement PPSN, you will need to contact the DSP. You can contact the DSP’s Client Identity Section on (01) 704 3281 or 0818 927 999 to arrange a replacement PPSN. The DSP will provide you with either:

• a new PPSN
• or
• re-instate your old PPSN, if you were issued a PPSN after 1979 and before you got married.

Applications and queries to the DSP regarding this matter should include your:

• 'W' PPSN
• birth surname
• mother's birth surname
• date of birth
• pre-marriage PPSN, if known.

When you have received your replacement PPSN, you should contact Revenue to register the new PPSN for tax purposes. You should also contact any other organisation that may have your old ‘W’ PPSN, for example, your employer or pension provider.  

For more information, please see the DSP's website.