What Is E-Verify? Complete Employer Guide (2026)

What Is E-Verify?

E-Verify is the federal government's free online system that checks a new hire's Form I-9 information against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) records to confirm the person is authorized to work in the United States. USCIS runs it, and most cases come back within seconds.
E-Verify doesn't replace Form I-9. The employer completes the I-9 first, then creates an E-Verify case no later than the third business day after the employee starts work for pay, and only for people who've accepted a job offer, never to screen applicants.
Under federal law, E-Verify is voluntary for most private employers. It's required for federal contractors whose contracts include the FAR E-Verify clause, for employers of students on a STEM OPT extension, and for employers covered by a state E-Verify law.

Step 1: Complete Form I-9

The employee fills out Section 1 on or before their first day of work for pay. The employer completes Section 2 within three business days by examining the identity and work authorization documents the employee chooses from the Lists of Acceptable Documents, either one List A document or one List B plus one List C document. E-Verify employers have two extra rules, because the employee must give a Social Security number in Section 1 (optional for other employers) and any List B document must have a photo.

Step 2: Create an E-Verify case

Enter the employee's I-9 information in E-Verify no later than the third business day after they start work for pay. Create a missed case as soon as you find it, and E-Verify will ask you to pick the reason it's late.

Step 3: Photo matching (when triggered)

When the employee presents a U.S. passport, passport card, Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551), or Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766), E-Verify shows the photo on file for that document. Compare it to the photo on the document the employee gave you, not to the employee's face, and keep a copy of the document with the employee's Form I-9.

Step 4: E-Verify checks government records

E-Verify compares the information against DHS and SSA records, and USCIS says most cases get a result within three to five seconds.

Step 5: Receive a case result

The six possible results are Employment Authorized, E-Verify Needs More Time, Tentative Nonconfirmation (Mismatch), Case in Continuance, Close Case and Resubmit, and Final Nonconfirmation, and the table below explains what each one asks of you.

Step 6: Resolve any mismatches

A mismatch result means you notify the employee privately within 10 federal government working days. An employee who decides to take action then has eight federal government working days from the referral to contact DHS or visit an SSA field office, and you can't fire, suspend, or take any other adverse action while the mismatch is open.

Step 7: Close the case

E-Verify closes Employment Authorized cases automatically, and you close the rest yourself. Every case that ends in Final Nonconfirmation or Close Case and Resubmit has to be closed, and it's good practice to note the E-Verify case number on the Form I-9 or keep the case details with it.

Form I-9 vs. E-Verify: Key Differences

Form I-9

E-Verify

Legal status

Required for every U.S. employer

Voluntary for most private employers; required for federal contractors with the FAR clause, STEM OPT employers, and employers covered by state law

What it does

Records identity and work authorization from the documents the employee shows

Checks the I-9 information against DHS and SSA records

Social Security number

Optional (the employee may leave it blank)

Required

List B documents

Photo not required

Photo required

Document examination

In person, or by live video under the DHS alternative procedure

Only E-Verify employers in good standing can use the alternative procedure, at their E-Verify hiring sites

Reverification

Done on Supplement B when temporary work authorization expires

Never used for reverification

Scope

Every employee hired after Nov. 6, 1986

New hires only (existing employees only for certain federal contractors)

Source: USCIS I-9 Central, "Special Rules for E-Verify Users"

Case Result

What It Means

Employer Action

Employment Authorized

The information matched DHS and/or SSA records.

None. E-Verify closes the case automatically.

E-Verify Needs More Time

DHS needs more time and referred the case automatically.

Check E-Verify daily. DHS answers most within 24 hours and some within 3 federal government working days. No adverse action.

Tentative Nonconfirmation (Mismatch)

The information didn't match records. It doesn't mean the employee can't work.

Notify the employee privately within 10 federal government working days. No adverse action.

Case in Continuance

The employee contacted DHS or SSA, and more time is needed.

Keep checking. The employee keeps working. No adverse action.

Close Case and Resubmit

DHS or SSA needs a new case, often because U.S. passport, passport card, or driver's license information was wrong.

Close the case and create a new one.

Final Nonconfirmation

E-Verify couldn't confirm eligibility after the employee contacted DHS or SSA.

Close the case. You may terminate. If you keep the employee, tell E-Verify when you close the case.

Handling a mismatch correctly

A mismatch (Tentative Nonconfirmation) is the result that causes the most confusion and the most violations, and handling it comes down to five steps.

Notify the employee privately within 10 federal government working days and give them the Further Action Notice.
Review the notice together, and close the case and create a new one if you entered something wrong.
The employee decides whether to take action on the mismatch and signs the notice.
Refer the case when the employee takes action. They then have eight federal government working days to contact DHS or visit SSA, and they keep working while it's resolved.
The case becomes a Final Nonconfirmation when the employee chooses not to take action, and you may then terminate.

Our guide to handling an E-Verify mismatch covers the Further Action Notice in more detail.

Federal Contractors

Contracts that include FAR clause 52.222-54 require E-Verify, for prime contractors and for subcontractors at any tier. A covered contractor enrolls within 30 calendar days of the contract award and may also have to verify existing employees assigned to the contract, and E-Verify's federal contractor guide covers the clause in detail.

State E-Verify Laws

Most E-Verify mandates come from state law, where some states require it for all or most private employers (often above an employee-count threshold) and others only for public employers and state contractors. California and Illinois go the other way and restrict how employers can use it. Thresholds and penalties change most legislative sessions, so we keep the current list on our E-Verify requirements by state page.

STEM OPT Employees

An employer can only hire a student on a STEM OPT extension if it's enrolled in E-Verify, whatever its size, state, or industry. Many companies find this out when they hire their first STEM OPT employee.

Local Rules

A few counties and cities have their own E-Verify rules, usually for companies that hold local government contracts, and our state guide lists the ones we track.

Safe harbor in an ICE inspection
Using E-Verify correctly and getting Employment Authorized gives you a rebuttable presumption that you didn't knowingly hire an unauthorized worker. Knowing-hire fines run $716 to $28,619 per worker, so that presumption is worth a lot.
Fraud detection beyond the document
‍E-Verify checks the employee's information against DHS and SSA records, and photo matching compares a passport, passport card, green card, or EAD against the photo DHS has on file. A look at the document alone can miss both.
Social Security mismatches caught at hire
E-Verify flags a name or number that doesn't match SSA records during onboarding, when it's easiest to fix, instead of months into employment.
Ready for a federal mandate
Congress has introduced a national E-Verify requirement several times, including the Legal Workforce Act, and employers already enrolled won't have to scramble if one passes.
Remote document review
Only employers enrolled in E-Verify and in good standing can use the DHS alternative procedure to examine I-9 documents over live video, and only at their E-Verify hiring sites. For remote and multi-state hiring, that's often the reason to enroll.

To enroll directly with USCIS instead, follow these five steps.

1. Determine your obligation. Confirm whether you're required to use E-Verify (a federal contract with FAR clause 52.222-54, a state law, a STEM OPT employee, or a court order) or are enrolling voluntarily. That sets your scope, since some mandates cover every new hire and others only employees on a specific contract.

2. Register and sign the MOU. Go to everify.uscis.gov/enroll and enter your company's legal name, address, federal employer ID number, and employee count. You'll sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) electronically, a binding agreement between your company, DHS, and SSA, and choose an access method. Most companies pick Employer and create their own cases; the other options are E-Verify Employer Agent (a third party creates cases for you), Corporate Administrator (a central office manages multiple locations), and Web Services (your own software connects to E-Verify).
‍3. Complete required training. Every user must finish the free online E-Verify tutorial before creating or managing cases, and every account needs at least one program administrator.
‍4. Post required notices. Display the E-Verify Participation Notice and the Right to Work poster, in English and Spanish, where employees and applicants can see them. You can post them digitally, online, in hard copy, or with job application materials.
‍5. Create your first case. Sign in to E-Verify through Login.gov and create a case from the employee's Form I-9. Your E-Verify company ID number, 4 to 7 digits, is on every page of your MOU, below the E-Verify logo.

What about E-Verify+?
E-Verify+ is a newer version where the employee enters their own Form I-9 information and the E-Verify case runs from it. It's only available through the Employer access method, not through employer agents or Web Services, and it runs entirely on the government's system, so when E-Verify goes down, so does your I-9 process. We compare the two side by side in i9 Intelligence vs. E-Verify+.

1. Missing the three-business-day deadline

Create the case no later than the third business day after the employee starts work for pay. It's one of the most-missed rules, especially with seasonal or high-volume hiring, so create any missed case as soon as you find it and pick the reason it's late. The deadline only stretches when E-Verify itself is down, and then it's extended until the system is back.

2. Using it for some new hires and not others

Once you're enrolled, every new hire at your enrolled hiring sites gets an E-Verify case. Running cases on some employees based on appearance, accent, national origin, or perceived immigration status is discrimination under INA section 274B.

3. Acting on a mismatch too early

You can't fire, suspend, cut hours, withhold pay, delay training, or take any other adverse action because of a mismatch. The employee has the right to take action on it, many mismatches resolve with a records fix at SSA or DHS, and acting before a Final Nonconfirmation breaks E-Verify rules and invites a discrimination charge.

4. Using E-Verify to screen applicants

E-Verify can't be used before hiring, so create a case only after the person accepts a job offer and the Form I-9 is complete. Using results to decide whether to make an offer breaks the MOU and federal anti-discrimination law.

5. Assuming E-Verify replaces Form I-9

E-Verify adds to Form I-9; it doesn't replace it. Every U.S. employer completes and keeps an I-9 for each employee, and skipping it because "we run E-Verify" is its own paperwork violation at $288 to $2,861 per form.

6. Assuming a mismatch means the employee can't work

A mismatch means the information didn't match government records, not that the employee isn't authorized. Common causes are a name change the employee never reported to SSA, a typo when the case was created, or a DHS record that hasn't caught up with a status change.

7. Assuming E-Verify increases liability

It's the other way around, because E-Verify used correctly gives you the rebuttable presumption described above and a record of every check. Liability comes from misuse, like checking some employees and not others, acting on a mismatch, or screening applicants.

8. Relying on document copies for protection

Copies of employee documents don't protect you on their own, and since ICE's March 2026 inspection fact sheet a copy no longer excuses a blank document field in Section 2. E-Verify does require you to copy a U.S. passport, passport card, green card, or EAD when it triggers photo matching, and to keep the copy with the I-9.

9. Skipping required training

Every user has to finish the E-Verify tutorial before creating or managing cases, and it's a condition of the MOU. A new user who takes over E-Verify finishes the tutorial before creating a single case.E-Verify is easy to enroll in, and the ongoing work of deadlines, mismatches, and consistent use is where employers slip. Software that ties E-Verify to your I-9s handles most of that for you.

The common thread: E-Verify is simple to enroll in, but the ongoing process — deadlines, TNC handling, consistent application — requires a system, not just a login. Software with built-in automation eliminates most of these risks before they start.

No. E-Verify charges no enrollment fee, no per-case fee, and no subscription. The real cost is the time it takes to run it correctly, and the fines when it isn't.
Staff time and training
Someone has to finish the tutorial, create cases within three business days, watch results, handle mismatches, and keep records, which is manageable at 50 hires a year and a real job at 500.
Fines
Paperwork fines run $288 to $2,861 per form. Knowingly hiring or continuing to employ an unauthorized worker runs $716 to $28,619 per worker and rises with each repeat offense, and an ICE inspection reviews all of your I-9s at once.
Mismatch handling
Each mismatch means notifying the employee, giving them the Further Action Notice, tracking the eight-day window, and recording the outcome. Mishandling one can lead to a discrimination charge under INA section 274B.
For example, a 500-employee company with errors on 5% of its I-9s has 25 forms at risk, or $7,200 to $71,525 in paperwork fines before any knowing-hire penalties.
That's why growing companies get help with E-Verify. The system is free, but the risk of running it by hand grows with every hire, and there are three common ways to share the load.

‍I-9 compliance software that creates E-Verify cases from completed I-9s and tracks every result.
Managed services like remote Section 2 verification for distributed teams.
E-Verify employer agents that create and manage cases for you.

Automatic data transfer

Form I-9 data goes straight into E-Verify, with no retyping and no transcription errors.

Deadline tracking

Cases submit when Section 2 is complete, so the three-day window takes care of itself.

Case management

Every case, mismatch, and Final Nonconfirmation sits in one dashboard with a full audit trail.

Audit-ready documentation

Every I-9 and E-Verify record is stored, timestamped, and ready to export when an auditor asks.

E-Verify is built into every i9 Intelligence plan at no extra fee. Cases submit automatically when Section 2 is complete, results show in the same record as the I-9, and TNC workflows guide your team through each step. For remote hires, our US-based compliance team can complete Section 2 over live video through our remote verification service, and our E-Verify integration page covers how cases flow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use E-Verify before hiring someone?

No. E-Verify can't be used to screen applicants, so you can create a case only after the person accepts a job offer and completes Form I-9. Checking a candidate before a hiring decision breaks the E-Verify MOU and can violate anti-discrimination law under INA section 274B.

What happens if an employee fails E-Verify?

A mismatch, called a Tentative Nonconfirmation, doesn't mean the employee can't work. Notify them privately within 10 federal government working days and give them the Further Action Notice. An employee who takes action has eight federal government working days after the referral to contact DHS or SSA and keeps working while it's resolved, since only a Final Nonconfirmation lets you terminate.

How long does E-Verify take?

Most cases get a result within three to five seconds. A Needs More Time result usually clears within 24 hours, though some take up to 3 federal government working days, and a mismatch the employee takes action on takes longer, since they have eight federal government working days just to contact DHS or SSA.

Can E-Verify be used for existing employees?

Generally no, because E-Verify is for new hires and you can't create cases for employees hired before your MOU took effect. The exception is federal contractors with FAR clause 52.222-54, who may have to verify existing employees assigned to a covered contract. E-Verify is also never used for reverification, which happens on Form I-9 Supplement B.

Is E-Verify available in all 50 states?

Yes. E-Verify is available in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and our state guide shows which states require it.

What is an E-Verify company ID number?

It's the 4- to 7-digit number E-Verify assigns your company when you enroll. It's on every page of your MOU, directly below the E-Verify logo, and program administrators can also find it on the Company Information page under Edit Company Profile.

Does E-Verify replace Form I-9?

No. Every employer completes and keeps a Form I-9 for each employee hired after November 6, 1986, whether or not it uses E-Verify. Form I-9 records identity and work authorization from the employee's documents, and E-Verify then checks that information against government records.

What happens when E-Verify is down?

The three-business-day deadline to create cases is extended until E-Verify is back, as long as you tried in good faith. Form I-9 deadlines don't pause, so Section 2 is still due within three business days of the start date, and the held cases should go in as soon as E-Verify returns. Our guide to the 2025 shutdown covers what employers did during the last outage.

What Is E-Verify? The Complete Employer Guide

What Is E-Verify?

How E-Verify Works: The 7-Step Process

Step 1: Complete Form I-9

Step 2: Create an E-Verify case

Step 3: Photo matching (when triggered)

Step 4: E-Verify checks government records

Step 5: Receive a case result

Step 6: Resolve any mismatches

Step 7: Close the case

Form I-9 vs. E-Verify: Key Differences

E-Verify Case Results: What They Mean

Handling a mismatch correctly

Who Is Required to Use E-Verify?

Federal Contractors

State E-Verify Laws

STEM OPT Employees

Local Rules

Why Use E-Verify Even If It's Not Required

Not sure if you need E-Verify?

How to Enroll in E-Verify

Don't want to manage E-Verify yourself?

9 Common E-Verify Pitfalls and Myths

1. Missing the three-business-day deadline

2. Using it for some new hires and not others

3. Acting on a mismatch too early

4. Using E-Verify to screen applicants

5. Assuming E-Verify replaces Form I-9

6. Assuming a mismatch means the employee can't work

7. Assuming E-Verify increases liability

8. Relying on document copies for protection

9. Skipping required training

Does E-Verify Cost Anything?

E-Verify and I-9 Compliance Software

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use E-Verify before hiring someone?

What happens if an employee fails E-Verify?

How long does E-Verify take?

Can E-Verify be used for existing employees?

Is E-Verify available in all 50 states?

What is an E-Verify company ID number?

Does E-Verify replace Form I-9?

What happens when E-Verify is down?

Need Help with E-Verify?

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