Not accurate from my recollection. Before I was 16, I applied for a job and lied about my age. The guy told me I needed a SS # before I could start and told me where the SS office was --- about a block away. I walked up there and filled out a form and had a card in about 5 minutes walked back and started working. I didn't show any type of ID at the SS office to get a card issued -- hell I didn't even have any ID then.
I don't think SS cared one way or another how old someone was back then, it was just that few of us ever needed a card before we started working.
That’s odd, because I remember getting mine and it was a bit more to it than that. My Dad took me down to get it, and I am almost positive he had to present my original birth cert at the time.
But you still had to have a SS#, which, unlike today, was not required for your parents to claim you as a dependent and therefore you had to be of a reasonable age to receive one. You didn't get it just because your alleged father was in that state, as 0bama claims.
I was born in ‘71, in Connecticut, and I remember my third-grade teacher taking the whole class to the local Social Security office, where we all got our cards/numbers. I believe I was 9 years old. If I remember correctly, I had to bring my birth certificate (the one with the seal and signature!).