I have a copy of an old version of the SSDI Master File, purchased (legally!) about a year ago through an online data broker for about $37. From what I can glean, one may either do a one-time purchase of the file OR may become a subscriber to the weekly or monthly updates. To quote from the PDF that was distributed with the file:
It is mandatory that all subscribers of the DMF intending to use its data on a continuing basis must, after receiving an updated complete DMF FULL FILE, keep that file updated by continually purchasing all MONTHLY OR WEEKLY UPDATES (NEW DEATHS/CHANGES/DELETIONS), beginning with the same month as the Full File. If you are not meeting SSA’s requirements because you are not receiving the MONTHLY OR WEEKLY UPDATES ON A CONTINUING BASIS immediately after receiving the FULL FILE, then you are NOT keeping your DMF up-to-date with SSA’s records. Thus, you are working with a DMF with an increased number of unnecessary inaccuracies and possibly adversely affecting an increased number of individuals. NO ONE IS TO SELL THE DMF WITHOUT REQUIRING CONTINUOUS SUBSCRIBERS TO ADHERE TO THIS MANDATORY REQUIREMENT FOR KEEPING THEIR DMF UP-TO-DATE.
Notwithstanding the Social Security Administration's apparent overuse of capital letters, it looks like subscribers are required to keep subscribing, so that their data is never stale, but one-time purchasers are not required to subscribe.
The version of the file I have is from mid-2010, but this is actually better for my (genealogical) purposes, as it contains a number of death records that were initially contributed by individual states, but then scrubbed out of subsequent releases of the database. The "V" or "P" is indeed indicative of "Verified" or "Proof", described in the file like this:
V = (VERIFIED) REPORT VERIFIED WITH A FAMILY MEMBER OR SOMEONE ACTING ON BEHALF
OF THE FAMILY, OR ...
P = (PROOF) DEATH CERTIFICATE OBSERVED.
(NOTE: DMF SUBSCRIBERS MUST NOT TAKE ANY ADVERSE ACTION AGAINST ANY INDIVIDUAL
WITHOUT FURTHER INVESTIGATION TO VERIFY ANY DEATH LISTED, EVEN IF V OR P CODES
ARE PRESENT.
Here is the full data table provided in that PDF explaining the format of the records:
Death Master File Extract Output Record Specification 09/2001
Record Location Field Description Field Size
==============================================================================
01 Blank or A (add) C (change) or D (delete) 1
02-10 Social Security Number 9
11-30 Last Name 20*
31-34 Name Suffix 4*
35-49 First Name 15*
50-64 Middle Name 15*
65 VorPCode (Verify or Proof code) 1*
66-73 Date of Death (MM,DD,CC,YY) 8*
74-81 Date of Birth (MM,DD,CC,YY) 8*
82-83 State/Country Code of Residence /1 2*
84-88 Zip code Last Residence 5*
89-93 Zip code Lump Sum Payment 5*
94-100 Blanks 7
Online and CDROM specifications:
Record Length: 100 - WITH LINE FEED CHARACTER ADDED AT END
**Note: the record length will be 101 because there is a line feed character at the
end of both the ASCII file and the EBCDIC online file, and the ASCII CDROM.
/1 = No new information after 2/88
DMF – STATE/COUNTRY CODE RESIDENCE (09/01)
====================================================================
CODE CODE
 01 ALABAMA 35 NORTH DAKOTA
02 ALASKA 36 OHIO
03 ARIZONA 37 OKLAHOMA
04 ARKANSAS 38 OREGON
05 CALIFORNIA 39 PENNSYLVANIA
06 COLORADO 40 PUERTO RICO
07 CONNECTICUT 41 RHODE ISLAND
08 DELAWARE 42 SOUTH CAROLINA
09 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 43 SOUTH DAKOTA
10 FLORIDA 44 TENNESSEE
11 GEORGIA 45 TEXAS
12 HAWAII 46 UTAH
13 IDAHO 47 VERMONT
14 ILLINOIS 48 VIRGIN ISLANDS
15 INDIANA 49 VIRGINIA
16 IOWA 50 WASHINGTON
17 KANSAS 51 WEST VIRGINIA
18 KENTUCKY 52 WISCONSIN
19 LOUISIANA 53 WYOMING
20 MAINE 54 AFRICA
21 MARYLAND 55 ASIA
22 MASSACHUSETTS 56 CANADA
23 MICHIGAN 57 CENTRAL AMERICA & WEST INDIES
24 MINNESOTA 58 EUROPE
25 MISSISSIPPI 59 MEXICO
26 MISSOURI 60 OCEANIA (AUSTRALIA & ISLANDS IN THE PACIFIC
27 MONTANA 61 PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
28 NEBRASKA 62 SOUTH AMERICA
29 NEVADA 63 AREAS UNDER U.S. ADMINISTRATION: (CANAL ZONE,
CANTON ISLANDS, CAROLINE ISLANDS, MARIANA ISLANDS
(OTHER THAN GUAM), MARSHALL ISLANDS, MIDWAY ISLANDS,
WAKE ISLANDS)
30 NEW HAMPSHIRE 64 AMERICAN SAMOA
31 NEW JERSEY 65 GUAM
32 NEW MEXICO 33 NEW YORK
34 NORTH CAROLINA
(NOTE: IF ANY ALPHA’S/OR OTHER NUMERICS SHOW IN THESE TWO CODE POSITIONS,
YOU SHOULD IGNORE THEM. FOR PURPOSES, IT MEANS THAT SSA DOES NOT HAVE A
STATE/COUNTRY CODE FOR YOU.)
