You can get a social number in Armenia without first obtaining a residence permit, provided you are legally in the country. For the usual in-person route without Armenian residence status, prepare your passport and its notarised translation, then book the appropriate Migration and Citizenship Service appointment. The service's official requirements distinguish this route from the one for residence-status holders.
The document you are looking for is a certificate of your Public Services Number, often called a social card. You are not applying for a bank card. If a number is already recorded on your Armenian residence document, start by checking that number rather than asking for another one.
TL;DR
- A lawfully present foreigner without residence status can apply with a passport and notarised translation. A foreigner with Armenian residence status has a different listed document requirement.
- The government PSN certificate is free, according to the Migration and Citizenship Service. Translation and private assistance are separate expenses.
- Book through the official service page. Each visitor, including family members, needs an individual appointment under the portal's rules.
- Online certificate requests require YesEm digital identification. An email code used to book a visit does not provide that access.
- Appointment availability, first assignment of a number and issuing proof of an existing number are different timing questions. Do not plan around a guaranteed instant result from the moment you decide to apply.
Sources checked on 24 October 2026. This guide explains the ordinary routes in the official instructions. We inspected the empty booking screen without submitting personal details or making an appointment. Unusual identity, citizenship or document issues need an individual assessment by the service.
What is the Armenian social number?
It is your Public Services Number, or PSN. You may also see SSN, “social card” and the Armenian abbreviation ՀԾՀ. The official English service page describes a unique 10-digit identifier and a certificate confirming it.
Keep the name of the number separate from the document proving it. Government Decision 419-N, Annex 3, describes recording the number in certain identity or residence documents and issuing a certificate where it is not recorded. A request for proof is not necessarily a request to assign a new number.
The PSN does not extend your permission to stay, register your address or open a bank account by itself. For those separate questions, use our length-of-stay guide and account-opening instructions. Here we focus on obtaining the number or its certificate.
Do you need a residence permit or address registration first?
A residence permit is not a universal prerequisite. The official service expressly includes foreigners legally present in Armenia, separately from foreigners with residence rights.
Nor should every newcomer be told to obtain an address-registration stamp before applying. Decision 419-N, Annex 3, paragraph 10.1, specifically addresses assigning a PSN to someone not registered by place of residence: their details are entered into the population-register system during assignment.
That does not cancel any separate address-registration obligation that applies to your circumstances. It means the sequence “first get an address stamp, then you can request any social number” is too broad. The application still asks for your place of residence, so give accurate information about where you live.
For a newcomer, the distinction is practical: identify the document category that applies to you before booking. Do not prepare a residence-card application merely because an older guide assumes every reader already has one.
Which documents should you bring?
For a foreign adult legally present without Armenian residence status, the official list names a passport and its notarised translation. For a residence-status holder, it names the document confirming that status and a copy. Use your own category rather than combining every row into a compulsory pack.
Table caption: Documents listed for the main in-person applicant categories| Your situation | Published document requirement | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign national legally in Armenia without residence status | Passport and notarised translation | Prepare the translation for this procedure; do not assume a bank's language policy applies here |
| Foreign national with Armenian residence status | Document certifying that status and a copy | Check whether your PSN is already recorded on the document |
| Stateless person permanently residing in Armenia | Residence certificate issued by the competent Armenian authority and a copy | Use the category for your actual status |
| Person with refugee status | Convention travel document and a copy | The service lists this separately from a foreign-passport application |
| Child under 16 | Birth certificate and a copy if no Armenian passport is available; parent or legal representative applies | Foreign-child documents and representation need to be considered together |
Source: Migration and Citizenship Service requirements. The service's under-16 row is not a complete instruction on translating or legalising every foreign birth certificate. Do not treat it as permission to arrive with an untranslated foreign document in an unusual family case.
Does every adult need a birth certificate and parents' documents?
No, they are not the ordinary foreign-adult checklist. The service has a specific citizenship-clarification condition: where Armenian citizenship status needs clarification, foreign applicants born after 28 November 1981 must also provide parents' identity and family-status documents. The official page describes the alternatives where a parents' marriage certificate is unavailable.
Keep that condition attached to the request. It does not mean every foreign adult must bring a family archive, and it should not be ignored if the service identifies a citizenship question in your case.
For the ordinary visit, keep the originals, required copies, translation and booking confirmation together. Compare the name and passport number in the translation with the passport before the appointment. That is a useful error check, not an extra statutory document requirement.
Where can you apply in Yerevan or another city?
The Migration and Citizenship Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs provides the service through its subdivisions, including its main office. For a planned visit, choose a location offered for the service and use the address in your booking confirmation.
The following addresses come from the official territorial-division directory, checked on the article date. They help orient you; they do not prove appointment availability.
Table caption: Selected addresses in the official Migration and Citizenship Service directory| City | Address in the directory |
|---|---|
| Yerevan | 1 Mamikonyants Street |
| Yerevan | 3 Aharonyan Street |
| Yerevan | 27 Garegin Nzhdeh Street |
| Yerevan, Davtashen 4th district | 31/2 Tigran Petrosyan Street |
| Gyumri, division 1 | 17 Shirakatsi Street |
There are more regional offices in the directory. Do not assume every police station provides the service because another article calls the office “OVIR” or a “passport office.” Choose the actual Migration and Citizenship Service location.
There is a particularly easy address mix-up in Davtashen. The service platform gives 17/10, Davtashen 4th district as the provider's contact address. The territorial directory lists 31/2 Tigran Petrosyan Street for a different entry. Your appointment determines which address to use; the contact address in a footer is not a substitute.
How do you book the appointment?
Open the official “Reference on provision of social services number” page and select Book an appointment. Read the rules and continue to the form. During our check, that official button led to appointment.e-gov.am, with the PSN service already selected.
The first screen is titled Certificate on provision of public services number. If it opens in another language, use the language menu and select ENG. It asks for email and phone details and offers a country-code selector; no identity document was uploaded during our inspection.
Official appointment entry screen, saved 24 October 2026. Open the image to read it. No contact details were entered and no slot was booked.
Hartak's official visit instructions describe the remaining sequence:
- Enter email and phone details and confirm the code sent to your email.
- Select a region or community, then an offered visit location.
- Complete the personal details, spelling the name as in the passport.
- Choose an available date and time.
- Retain the finished confirmation, location and appointment details.
We inspected the entry screen; these later steps are described from the government instructions, not a completed test booking. Do not mistake the contact screen for a reserved slot.
Does one booking cover the whole family?
No. The portal's booking rules require individual queuing for each visitor, including each family member regardless of age. They also limit registrations using the same email to four within 30 days. This is a booking rule, not a limit on how many people can receive a PSN.
As a hypothetical example, two parents and their adult daughter applying in person need three individual bookings, not one family ticket. Each applicant needs the relevant documents. The parent's certificate does not become a shared family number.
For a child under 16, Hartak says the parent or legal representative applies and directs the visit to the passport department at the child's place of registration. Establish that location and the child's document requirements when arranging the case; do not apply the ordinary adult choice-of-office instruction without that qualification.
What happens during the visit?
Present the documents for your category and explain whether you need a first assignment or proof of a number you already have. If an old certificate or residence document contains a PSN, show it at the start.
The assignment procedure in Decision 419-N, Annex 3, provides for an application recording personal details, place of residence and identity-document information, followed by checking the information against the documents. You can prepare those details without writing an invented application template.
Before leaving with the certificate, check the spelling of your name, passport details and the number itself. Keep a clear digital copy with the original. If a detail is wrong, point to the particular mismatch rather than starting another application for a different number.
If the file is incomplete or inaccurate, paragraph 9 of the same procedure provides for correcting deficiencies within a one-day period and addresses refusal if they are not remedied. It also provides for a written response about the refusal reason and reapplication procedure within one working day. Read any notice you receive; do not assume you can leave a correction indefinitely.
The procedure also addresses refusal where the foreigner is in Armenia unlawfully. A social-number application is not a way to repair an expired permission to stay.
How much does it cost, and how long does it take?
The certificate itself is free. Both the English MCS service page and Hartak's visit listing state this. A notarised translation can cost extra, but we have not treated a notary's state-duty line as a complete quote for translation work.
There are two official timing statements worth reading together. MCS describes the certificate as issued immediately. For assigning a number, Decision 419-N, Annex 3, paragraph 10, specifies within one working day after the required documents are submitted. This distinction is why we do not promise every first-time applicant a finished result the moment they arrive.
Neither statement includes waiting for a free appointment, arranging a translation or resolving a document discrepancy. If your employer needs the number by a particular date, book and prepare before relying on the listed processing period.
The generic appointment warning mentions paying a state fee before a visit. That does not turn this particular free certificate into a paid service. Use the PSN-specific fee statement rather than paying for an unrelated service or assuming a private assistance package is compulsory.
Can you obtain the certificate online or through someone else?
The Migration and Citizenship Service permits personal application, an authorised representative and online access with strong authentication. The online route requires YesEm identification.
Hartak's online instructions describe signing in, completing the applicant information, selecting yourself or a child and submitting the application. They say the result is emailed and appears in the account's Applications section after refreshing the page.
Those instructions describe obtaining a certificate. Their requirements section also discusses people whose PSN is absent from an identity document and requests for children. We have not verified that every newly arrived foreign visitor can obtain YesEm access and complete a first assignment online. If you have no applicable digital identification, the booked in-person route is the practical starting point explained here.
For representation, arrange the authority to act for the particular application. The official procedure refers to a power of attorney for handing the certificate to a representative and to proof of identity and legal representation for the relevant child or guardianship cases. A friend speaking Armenian is helpful, but language help alone does not establish authority to act for you.
What if you already have a number, lose the paper or change your passport?
Ask for confirmation, replacement or correction of the existing record, rather than treating every change as a request for another PSN. Article 2 of the PSN law describes the number as unique and unchanged by changes in the personal data used to form it.
Decision 419-N, Annex 3, paragraphs 14-15, covers a lost certificate, an unusable certificate and changes in its personal details. Paragraph 18.1 also addresses invalidity when the identity-document details recorded on the certificate change. The paper can therefore need replacement even though the underlying number is not being replaced.
For example, after receiving a new passport, take the old certificate and explain which document details changed. If you lost the certificate, say that a number was issued before and provide the available identifying evidence. Do not present a saved photo as guaranteed sufficient for every later institution; obtain the form of proof that the receiving service requires.
Questions before you apply
Can a tourist get a social number without a residence permit?
The official recipient categories include foreigners legally present in Armenia without residence status. The ordinary listed documents are a passport and notarised translation. The application does not itself give a right to stay longer.
Do I need a plastic social card?
The current service is for a certificate confirming the PSN. The number may already be recorded in a relevant residence or identity document. Do not confuse it with a payment card or assume a separate plastic card is the required result.
Does a rental agreement replace my passport translation?
No such substitution appears in the ordinary foreign-visitor document list. The passport and its notarised translation establish identity for this application. A housing document answers a different question.
Is an appointment confirmation my social number?
No, it is proof of a booked visit. The PSN appears in the resulting certificate or relevant document. Do not send a booking reference as your PSN to an employer or bank.
Do I receive a tax number at the same time?
This application concerns the Public Services Number. A taxpayer number and tax registration are different procedures; do not assume the PSN appointment completes them. Keep the name of the document requested by the receiving institution clear.
Is a private intermediary necessary?
No, the official routes include applying in person. You may choose authorised assistance, but its charge is separate from the free government certificate. No paid fast-track or guaranteed appointment is established by this guide.
What should you do next?
Check for an existing PSN, prepare the documents for your actual status and book the correct visit if you are applying in person. Save the certificate and keep its identity details current. Those steps complete this guide's task; bank applications and immigration permissions remain separate.
The evidence comes from current MCS service pages, Hartak, the official booking entry screen and the cited legislation. ARLIS records a conditional transition away from the existing PSN law linked to commissioning a population-register database; it does not supply a fixed abolition date in the cited note. We have not announced a changeover date or replaced the currently published service instructions with a forecast.
