Medicare enrollment only takes about 10 minutes if you do it online. As a bonus, you can also sign up online 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you call in, you're limited to normal operating hours. 

Gather your information

To sign up for Medicare online, most people only need the following information:

• Date of birth 
• Place of birth 

If you have health insurance or are a permanent legal resident of the United States, you'll also need the following: 

• Permanent resident card number 
• Medicaid card number (if you have Medicaid) 
• Group health insurance number (if you have group health insurance) 
• Employment information (if your group health insurance is through an employer) 

That's all the information you need to sign up for Medicare. 

Sign up through Social Security

Medicare enrollment occurs through the Social Security Administration (SSA). You have three options: 

• Online at https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/medicare/ 
• Via phone at 1-800-772-1213 
• At your local Social Security office (you can find your local office here) 

Create your my Social Security account

You also need to create your my Social Security account. We walk you through that process here.