Acredito que isso seja " O Certificado " de Avram Davidson (1959), descrito < href="https://klshorts.wordpress.com/2015/02/09/the-certificate-1959-by-avram-davidson/"> aqui como:
Fifty years after the arrival of aliens, one of the small percentage of men left alive enters the alien bureaucracy dreaming of a new overcoat -- or better yet, escape.
Eu não tenho uma cópia da história e posso encontrar apenas citações muito fragmentadas pesquisando no Google Livros, mas o suficiente é sugestivo, no mínimo (os parágrafos abaixo não são necessariamente conectados diretamente):
"Name Roger Freeman. Number 655-673-60-60-2. You have a single time application outstanding. Unpermitted two. You will cancel this one. Or you will cancel that one."
Frantically he searched his mind. What application did he have outstanding? When was this rule made? The overcoat! If he went ahead with this new application and it was refused he'd have to wait till next year to reinstate the one for the coat. And then more years of waiting . . . It was cold, the dormitory was ill-heated, and he had no blanket. His present coat was very worn. Services for humans were minimal.
[. . . .]
A piece of paper slid from the machine. He took it up, waiting for the command to proceed—where? Unless it could be accomplished before ten, there was no chance of escape for him this year. None whatever. He stared dully at the strange characters. The cold indifferent voice said, "Name Roger Freeman. Number 655-673-60-60-2. Declared surplus. Application for death certificate is granted. Proceed for certificate to Office One, Level Five. At once."
Se você a ler nos anos 60 ou início dos anos 70, provavelmente foi em Uma década de fantasia e ficção científica de vários autores, ou Strange Seas and Shores, uma coleção do trabalho de Avram Davidson sozinho.