Contact Old Age Security

Information about the Old Age Security program

Online

You can complete the following tasks online:

By phone

Service Canada offers an automated telephone service that provides general information about Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), Allowance and Allowance for the Survivor, including how to apply. It is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

When you call, you can also use self-service options to:

  • check your application status
  • confirm your monthly payment amount and date

To get more information or make changes to your account, you may speak with an OAS representative during business hours.

To access information about your account, you will need to provide your Social Insurance Number (SIN) and other personal information.

Canada and the United States Toll-free: 1-800-277-9914
Canada and the United States TTY: 1-800-255-4786
The hours of operation are 8:30 am to 4:30 pm local time, Monday to Friday.

Outside Canada and the United States: 1-613-957-1954 (Call collect)
The hours of operation are 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Eastern time, Monday to Friday.

Average wait times

Our service standard is to answer your call within 10 minutes. Please see below our average wait times for the week of January 16, 2023.

Definition of average wait time

This is the average length of time that callers wait in queue before speaking to an agent.

Days Average wait time
Monday January 16, 2023 31 minutes
Tuesday January 17, 2023 25 minutes
Wednesday January 18, 2023 14 minutes
Thursday January 19, 2023 15 minutes
Friday January 20, 2023 13 minutes
Average wait time for the week of January 16, 2023 20 minutes

To resolve your enquiry without waiting to speak to a representative, you may use one of our online self-service options or one of the telephone self-service options described above.

Weekly average wait times
Weeks Average wait time
The week of January 9 to 13 26 minutes
The week of January 2 to 6 35 minutes
The week of December 26 to 30 18 minutes
The week of December 19 to 23  5 minutes
Monthly average wait times
Months Average wait time
December 2022 18 minutes
November 2022 34 minutes
October 2022 45 minutes
September 2022 45 minutes
August 2022 67 minutes
July 2022 57 minutes
June 2022 36 minutes
May 2022 34 minutes
April 2022 60 minutes
March 2022 75 minutes
February 2022 29 minutes
January 2022 19 minutes

By mail

You can complete the following tasks by mail:

  • apply for OAS and include certified true copies
  • consent to communicate information to an authorized person
  • change or update personal information or direct deposit
  • request various OAS documents including:
    • GIS application
    • Allowance for the Survivor benefits application
    • statutory declarations
    • personal access codes and T4’s
  • request an OAS estimate
  • request or cancel voluntary tax withholds
  • cancel benefits in the case of death

Within Canada, send your documents to the nearest Service Canada Office.

For outside of Canada, mail your documents to a Service Canada Office in the province where you last resided.

In person

Service changes due to COVID-19

We urge you not to visit Service Canada Centres unless absolutely necessary.

Ask us to help you with the following programs by using eServiceCanada:

  • Employment Insurance (EI)
  • Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security (OAS), Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) benefits
  • Social Insurance Numbers (SIN)
  • Veterans Affairs Canada Services

We will call you back within 2 business days.

You can complete the following tasks at a Service Canada office:

  • submit supporting documents
  • use the telephone language interpretation service

To access information on your specific file visit My Service Canada Account

Find a Service Canada office near you

Protecting your information

You now need to show ID and answer verification questions at Service Canada Centres to access your file.

To be accepted, your ID needs to show your legal name, photo, signature and/or date of birth.

Examples of accepted ID include:

  • One of the following:
    • a passport (Canadian or foreign) or permanent resident card
    • a Certificate of Indian Status issued by the Government of Canada
    • a provincial or territorial ID card or drivers license
  • or 2 of the following:
    • a birth certificate (provincial or territorial)
    • a certificate of Canadian citizenship
    • a certificate of registration of birth abroad
    • any other government-issued ID

No ID is required to ask about our programs or services.

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