Here in NJ, the Emergency Service records are all handled via SSN as a person's ID number. So every EMS class I take, I have to put down my name, and my SSN on a sheet of paper that sits at the front of the class... open to anyone who is in the class, or anyone at any of the schools that handles the paperwork (or anyone that sees the paperwork). If I fail to put down my SSN, the course won't go down on my state records, which means I'll be shafted out of class credits needed for various recerts. Often these same sign in sheets ask for phone number and address as well (I now put down the # and addy of my department rather than my own, but most people put down their own). Some even ask for DL #!!! (I never put that down except on classes that involve driving) And I'm still convinced that the time I had my ID stolen was from one of these classes. I use a combination of my name for my EMS records that I don't use for ANYTHING else... and the time I had someone take out a credit card in my name with my SSN, they used that particular combination of my name. Of course, I'll never know for sure, because the local police felt it was too low priority to bother investigating. I pushed them for 6 months on it before I gave up. (meanwhile, the bank told me they had a 2nd address and phone number on the application, but that they couldn't give it to me, but they COULD give it to a police department... so really all the cops had to do was make one lousy phone call!) The state started a new ID system a few years back, but no one (including the state itself) has changed over to it for general use (partly because the ID is only for fire fighters, and they make up only one portion of the EMS personelle... someone that just rides an ambulance has no desire to take a fire fighter class so they can be issued an FFID). I keep hoping the state will expand the FFIDs to a generic EMS-ID, and change over to that for everything... it irks me each time I have to put my SSN down on the sign in sheets. -chris <http://www.mythtech.net>