Black's Law Dictionary (Second Pocket Edition) has this to say about it: "ss. abbr. 1. Sections. 2. Subscripsi (i.e., signed below). 3. Sans (i.e., without)."

Perhaps it is the second definition... But also see http://www.proz.com/kudoz/934199:

"omit it

This term has been discussed here several times before.
I copy below my notes about it.
Best regards,
Manuel
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S.S.: Hace tiempo ya, siguiendo la sugerencia de Bryan Garner, omito esa abreviatura en mis traducciones: “(…) American lawyers have puzzled over its meaning and have even wasted time litigating whether it is necessary in affidavits (…) There are no judicious uses of this legalism.” [Garner’s A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage, Oxford University Press, 1995, ISBN 0-19-507769-5].

He observado que la mayoría de los hablantes nativos del inglés (los legos) no tiene idea de cuál es su significado de esa sigla/abreviatura, y entre los especialistas (abogados, notarios y traductores) no hay consenso sobre su significado o etimología.

En Internet también se consiguen referencias que indican que lo mejor es obviarla porque nadie está seguro de su significado.

S.S.: Garner’s A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage (Oxford University Press, 1995) has a most interesting article on this acronym. I copy below an extract of it: “Many possible etymologies have been suggested for this mysterious abbreviation. One is that it signifies scilicet (= namely, to wit) (…). In fact, though, it is a flourish deriving from the Year Books –an equivalent of the paragraph mark. (…) Mellinkoff suggests that the precise etymology is unknown: “Lawyers have been using ss for nine hundred years and still are not sure what it means.” (…) American lawyers have puzzled over its meaning and have even wasted time litigating whether it is necessary in affidavits (…) There are no judicious uses of this legalism.”

February 10, 2004 WHAT DOES SS MEAN? I know legal terminology tends to the arcane, but this is ridiculous. Apparently in the heading of affidavits there is a line that simply says "ss" between the names of state and county, thus: STATE OF ARIZONA ))ss. COUNTY OF MARICOPA ) And nobody knows what it means. There are, of course, several theories. One is that it means "subsections"; this seems to me shot down by the fact that there are no subsection numbers next to it. Another is that it means scilicet 'namely'; aside from the fact that the normal abbreviation is sc, 'namely' makes no sense here. The explanation that Margaret Marks, from whom I take this item, tentatively prefers (and I'm glad to hear it, because I, a legal ignoramus, like it too) is what Bryan Garner says in Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage: that it was entered once in error and then copied again and again over the centuries. Garner... says it comes from a flourish in the Year Books (unofficial law reports from 1282 to 1537). http://www.languagehat.com/archives/001140.php

February 09, 2004 U.S. LEGAL ABBREVIATION SS./U.S.-ABKÜRZUNG SS. On the pt Yahoo translators group (German), once again the question has been asked: ‘What does SS mean?’ I want to summarize the problem here so I have a summary for next time.

Bedeutung der U.S.-amerikanischen Abkürzung SS in Rechtstexten - oft wird danach gefragt, ganz sicher weiß es niemand. Ich will das Problem hier schildern, damit ich das nächste Mal auf diesen Eintrag verweisen kann. /

1. My latest belief is what Bryan Garner says in Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage: that it was entered once in error and then copied again and again over the centuries. Garner, in his , says it comes from a flourish in the Year Books (unofficial law reports from 1282 to 1537). Example from Garner: District of Columbia, ss.: John Rand, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he has read the foregoing bill by him subscribed and knows the contents… (John Rand, nachdem er beeidigt wurde, gibt eidlich zu Protokoll, dass er das vorhergehende Schriftstück, das von ihm unterschrieben ist, gelesen hat und dessen Inhalt kennt…) http://www.margaret-marks.com/Transblawg/archives/000641.htm...

languagehat.com: WHAT DOES SS MEAN? - [ Traduzca esta página ] ... February 10, 2004. WHAT DOES SS MEAN? I know legal terminology tends to the arcane, but this is ridiculous. Apparently in the heading ... www.languagehat.com/archives/001140.php

languagehat.com: Comment on WHAT DOES SS MEAN? - [ Traduzca esta página ] Comments: WHAT DOES SS MEAN? I couldn't resist and invoked my super Google powers and found an interesting, but small thread on ... www.languagehat.com/mt/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=1140

Transblawg: US legal abbreviation SS./US-Abkürzung SS. - [ Traduzca esta página ] ... On the pt Yahoo translators group (German), once again the question has been asked: ‘What does SS mean?’ I want to summarize the problem here so I have a ... www.margaret-marks.com/Transblawg/archives/000641.html

Irish News - Irish Independent Online - Sunday Independent , Irish ... - [ Traduzca esta página ] ... Wearing my best idiot expression, I asked one of them, ``What does SS mean?'' ``Dunno,'' he said. I doubt if he would have know what RUC stood for either. ... www.unison.ie/irish_independent/ index.php3?issue_id=5521

What Does “SS” Mean To Notaries? ... www.state.nd.us/sec/notaryserv/pdf/nn-102001.pdf



Jamás le encontré un sentido lógico y por éso estoy de acuerdo con lo que dice el Black's Law: ... An early formbook writer incorporated it into his forms, and ever since it has been mindlessly perpetuated by one generation after another." Bryan A. Garner. A dictionary of Modern Legal Usage 825 (2d ed. 1995). Salu2 Pat [Quoted from Patricia Mazzucco in another list]"

;-)