Getting a US phone plan without an SSN
Prepaid works on day one. Here is what each carrier's own page does and does not say.
Quick answer
Yes — on a prepaid plan, on the day you land, with a passport and a payment method. Verizon Prepaid publishes "no credit check, no deposit, no annual contract"; AT&T Prepaid publishes "No annual contracts. No credit checks." Neither page mentions an SSN either way, and T-Mobile's prepaid fine print says credit approval and a deposit may be required. Postpaid is the tier that generally wants an SSN or a credit check. Do the phone before the bank: online account openings text a code to a US number.
Do this before the bank, not after
Most online bank account openings send a verification code to a US number, so the phone comes first. Prepaid is the path that works on the day you land: no credit check, no SSN, a passport and a payment method. That last sentence is our own experience in San Francisco in August 2026 — below is what each carrier actually publishes, which is narrower.
What the carriers publish, and what they leave out
- Verizon Prepaid. "There's no credit check, no deposit, no annual contract." Read 2026-09-01. Neither of the two Verizon pages we fetched mentions an SSN at all — so we say no credit check, and we do not say no SSN.
- AT&T Prepaid. "No annual contracts. No credit checks." Read 2026-09-04. The page says nothing about what ID you bring or how you pay in store.
- T-Mobile Prepaid. "No compromises, no contracts." Read 2026-09-04. Note what is missing: this page has no "no credit check" wording, and its fine print says "Credit approval & deposit may be required". So for T-Mobile we claim no contract, and nothing more.
- Mint Mobile runs on the T-Mobile network and prices by prepaid term rather than by data: $45 for three months, $90 for six, $180 for twelve. Staleness flag: when we tried to re-verify on 2026-08-30, mintmobile.com returned a Cloudflare 403 to both our fetcher and a real browser, so this pricing has not been re-confirmed since. Treat it as indicative and check the site.
- Cricket and Metro. Both charge an in-store activation fee of $25 per line, per their own terms, read 2026-09-04. Neither page states ID requirements or an SSN policy.
Where postpaid stops. A personal monthly (postpaid) plan generally wants an SSN, or a deposit plus a credit check. Fresh off the plane with neither an SSN nor a US credit file, that door is usually closed — which is fine, because prepaid gives you a working number the same day.
Sources: Verizon Prepaid · AT&T Prepaid · T-Mobile Prepaid · Mint · Cricket · Metro. Fetched between 2026-08-29 and 2026-09-04. Whether a store asks for extra ID when you have no SSN is not stated on any official page we found, so we do not answer it here.
The business tier, if you have a company
If you registered a company and have an EIN, the business tier is cheaper at four lines. AT&T Business's Standard 3.0 promotional price is $30 per line when you get four lines — $120 for four. Our own account was opened as a business, and it went through without an SSN.
T-Mobile for Business does not have an equivalent $120 four-line price, and the confusion is common: their CoreMobile tier is $120 for three lines, and four lines is $140. Their tiers, as tabulated on their page on 2026-08-30: CoreMobile $65 / $100 / $120 / $140 for one to four lines; ProMobile $85 / $150 / $180 / $210; SuperMobile $100 / $170 / $210 / $250, plus a $35 device connection charge per line.
AT&T Business Standard 3.0 pricing cross-checked against our own AT&T business account (firsthand) and the official page; T-Mobile for Business tiers fetched 2026-08-30. eSIM support: we could not find a statement on any of these official pages, so we make no claim about it.
Side by side, with what each page leaves out
| Carrier | What their page says | SSN mentioned? | What can stop you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verizon Prepaid | "no credit check, no deposit, no annual contract" | No | Nothing on the page; the store decides on the day |
| AT&T Prepaid | "No annual contracts. No credit checks." | No | ID and in-store payment are not described |
| T-Mobile Prepaid | "No compromises, no contracts." | No | Fine print: "Credit approval & deposit may be required" — no "no credit check" wording at all |
| Mint Mobile (T-Mobile network) | $45 / 3 months, $90 / 6, $180 / 12 | Not seen | Pricing unverified since 2026-08-30: the site returned a Cloudflare 403 to us |
| Cricket, Metro | $25 in-store activation per line | No | Neither page states ID requirements |
| AT&T Business (Standard 3.0) | $30 per line at four lines | Opened without an SSN, first-hand | You need a registered company with an EIN |
| Any postpaid personal plan | — | Generally required, or a deposit plus a credit check | Closed on day one for most newcomers; prepaid is the workaround |
If you are coming straight from the airport
Prepaid at Verizon or AT&T, whose pages state no credit check. Bring a passport and a payment method, and have your handset unlocked and supporting US bands before you fly — that is our own checklist item, not a carrier rule.
If you registered a company and have an EIN
The business tier is cheaper at four lines: AT&T Business's Standard 3.0 promotional price is $30 per line when you take four. Our own account was opened this way without an SSN. T-Mobile for Business has no equivalent $120 four-line price; their $120 is three lines.
If the store contradicts the page
The counter decides on the day. For T-Mobile that can be true even on prepaid, because their fine print allows a credit check. Walk to the next carrier rather than arguing the page.
How we checked
- Carrier lines are quoted from their own pages, fetched between 2026-08-29 and 2026-09-04, linked above. "The page does not say" is reported as exactly that.
- The "passport and a payment method" experience is first-hand, San Francisco, August 2026, and is labelled as first-hand wherever it appears.
- Mint's prices carry a staleness flag because the site blocked our re-check; we would rather show you an old number marked old than a fresh-looking guess.
- Whether a store asks for extra ID when you have no SSN is not stated on any official page we found, so we do not answer it.
- No carrier named here pays us.
Common questions
What is the best phone plan for someone who just moved to the US?
Prepaid, on the day you land, then reconsider once you know where you live and work. Verizon Prepaid states plainly that there is no credit check, no deposit and no annual contract; AT&T Prepaid states no annual contracts and no credit checks. Mint runs on T-Mobile's network and charges by prepaid term rather than by data. Coverage varies a lot by neighbourhood, so treat the first month as a trial rather than a commitment.
Can I get a US SIM card without an SSN?
Yes on prepaid. That is our own experience — a passport, a payment method and a US shipping address for the SIM. What we will not tell you is that a specific carrier's official page promises it: Verizon and AT&T publish "no credit check" but never mention an SSN, and T-Mobile's prepaid page does not even claim no credit check. Postpaid is the tier that generally requires an SSN or a deposit plus a credit check.
Should I get a prepaid SIM or an eSIM when I move to the US?
They are not alternatives — prepaid is the billing tier and eSIM is the delivery method, and a prepaid eSIM is a normal combination. The decision that matters for a newcomer is prepaid versus postpaid, because that is the one gated by an SSN and a credit check. On which of these carriers supports eSIM, we could not find a statement on their official pages, so we do not answer it; ask the store or check the carrier's site the day you buy.
Why did the store mention a credit check for a prepaid plan?
Because it can be true for T-Mobile. Their prepaid page carries no "no credit check" wording and its fine print says credit approval and a deposit may be required, attached to device offers. Verizon and AT&T's prepaid pages do state no credit check. If a store contradicts the page, the counter decides on the day — bring your passport and a payment method and be ready to walk to the next carrier.
Once you have a number, the account is next: bank accounts without an SSN. Our no-SSN index carries these carrier lines with their sources and dates.