Employment Verification Letters

What Is an Employment Verification Letter?

An employment verification form is a brief, employer-provided letter verifying whether an individual is currently employed by (or has been employed with) their company. An employee might request an employment verification letter to verify income level, income stability, employment status, or as supporting documentation for visas or other work authorizations.

When Do You Need to Issue an Employment Verification Letter?

You’ll need to issue an employment verification letter at an employee’s request, usually for loans, mortgages, visa or work permit applications or renewals (such as J-1 Visa, H-1B Visa, or employment-based Green Cards), or when changing jobs.

HR pros should know when and how to issue employment verification letters not only because employees will request them for important life events (such as a mortgage application), but also because it builds trust between your company and staff.

What Should an Employment Verification Letter Include?

Employment verification letters aren’t standardized, so the phrasing can vary. The letter is used to confirm that an individual is employed (and in the case of visas, in the field required for that particular visa), so it should have the following basic information:

• Employee’s name
• Employee’s job title and role
• Employment start and end dates
• Employee’s salary or pay, including frequency
• Employer’s contact details, including address

The letter should also be on the employer’s letterhead, which acts as further proof of authenticity.

What Is Not Included in an Employment Verification Letter?

Employment verification letters shouldn’t include personally identifiable information (PII) like an employee’s Social Security number (SSN). Remember to follow relevant HR compliance laws, even in the case of employment verification, to manage legal risk.

Employment Verification Letter Tip

It’s important to be aware of any restrictions in your state. Some state laws ban pay history questions on job applications, which means you’ll omit the salary information on verification letters for those. This doesn’t apply to employment verification letters for visas, work authorizations, loans, or mortgages.

Types of Documents for Employment Verification

An employment verification letter shouldn’t be confused with an Employment Verification Document (EAD), which is an official document proving an individual is authorized to work in the US for a specific period of time. While an employer supplies an employment verification letter, employees must apply for an EAD using Form I-765.

Employment Verification Letter vs. Employment Eligibility Verification

Employment verification (proof of employment) is sometimes confused with employment eligibility verification (proof of eligibility to work in the US). Employment verification letters don’t require any supporting documentation—they’re usually supporting documents themselves. An employment verification letter is almost always a supporting document to verify income or work status.

Documentation to Verify Work Eligibility or Status

Every new hire and employer must fill out Form I-9 in order for a new hire to get started. The US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) specifies three categories of acceptable documents to support Form I-9, including:

• One document from List A: Documents that verify both identity and employment authorization, such as:
  • US passport, permanent resident card (Form I-551), foreign passport with specific supplemental information, and acceptable receipts
• If you don’t have any List A documents, you’ll need to provide one document from each remaining list (List B and List C):
  • List B: Documents that verify identity only, such as a driver’s license or photo ID, voter registration card, US military card or dependent ID, and more
  • List C: Documents that verify employment authorization only, such as a US Social Security card, birth certificate, Form I-179 or I-197, and more

Documentation to Verify Income

Employees may need to prove their income level for a variety of reasons. Income verification is almost always part of applications for loans, apartment leases, and homeowner’s assistance (HAF) in times of financial hardship.

The following documents are generally accepted as proof of income:

• W-2 or recent pay stub
• Tax filings or returns
• Bank statements
• Employer attestation on official company letterhead (employment verification letter)

Employment Verification Letter Example