What is Being Verified?
- Name of the employer
- Employee’s title or position
- Start date
- Pay ($)
- Status (part or full-time)
5 Ways to Verify Employment
1. Contact the Employer
A common method is to request an individual’s manager or person they report to. Their contact details should be provided so that income, duration of employment, and any other information can be confirmed.
To ensure the manager and the employer are legitimate, a look-up of the business entity should be performed with the Secretary of State’s office.
Business Entity Search (By State)
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
4. Acquire the Past Two Years of Tax Returns
If the gross pay is to be verified, gathering the previous year’s tax return is a better overview of a person’s financial status. Depending on the individual, one of the following forms should be provided:
- For Individuals – Request IRS Form W-2
- *Self-Employed – Request IRS Form 1040
*IRS Income Verification
The requester may also ask the individual to submit IRS Form 4506-T, which asks the federal government to verify the self-employed individual’s income from the previous year. This is a free service and takes one business day.
Sample
Download: PDF, MS Word, OpenDocument
EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION LETTER
[EMPLOYER’S NAME]
[STREET ADDRESS 1]
[STREET ADDRESS 2]
[CITY, STATE]
[ZIP CODE]
[DATE]
RE: Employment Verification
To whom it may concern:
Please accept this letter as confirmation that [EMPLOYEE’S NAME] has and is employed with us under the following details:
- Title: [POSITION]
- Type: ☐ Full-Time ☐ Part-Time basis of [#] hours per week
- Pay: $[AMOUNT] ☐ per Hour ☐ Salary (annual)
- Additional Terms: [DESCRIBE]
If you have any questions or require further information, please don’t hesitate to contact me at [EMPLOYER’S PHONE].
Sincerely,
______________________
Print Name: ______________________
Title: ______________________