Separation, divorce, dissolution of civil partnership and civil annulment
'W' Personal Public Service Numbers (PPSNs)
If you are recently divorced or separated and you have a ‘W’ Personal Public Service Number (PPSN), you will need to get a replacement PPSN. This is to ensure that you receive the correct tax credits and rate band. The Department of Social Protection (DSP) will issue you with a new PPSN.
What you need to do
You will need to contact the DSP's Client Identity Section to arrange a replacement PPSN. You can contact them:
- by email at cis@welfare.ie
- or
- by phone at 0818 927 999 (or +353 71 9672616, if calling from abroad).
The DSP will:
- provide you with 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 on this matter should include your:
- 'W' PPSN
- birth surname
- mother's birth surname
- date of birth
- and
- pre-marriage PPSN, if known.
When you have received your replacement PPSN, you should contact Revenue to register the number for tax purposes. You should also contact any other organisation that may have your old ‘W’ PPSN, for example, your employer or pension provider.
Please see the DSP's website for further information.