E-Verify requirements fall on employers in two situations: when a federal contract with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) E-Verify clause obligates you to participate, or when a state or local law requires it. If either applies, you must enroll in the free federal system, run an electronic work-authorization check on every new hire’s Form I-9 data within three business days of their start date, handle any mismatch result on strict deadlines, and follow the anti-discrimination and recordkeeping rules that come with participation. E-Verify sits on top of Form I-9; it does not replace it.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 1.2 E-Verify: The Web-Based Verification Companion to Form I-9
Who Must Use E-Verify
Most private-sector employers are not required to use E-Verify under federal law. Participation becomes mandatory in two situations.
Federal Contractors
Federal contracts over $150,000 that contain the FAR E-Verify clause require the contractor to enroll in and use E-Verify.2E-Verify. Who Is Affected by the E-Verify Federal Contractor Rule The clause is inserted into qualifying solicitations and contracts, with limited exceptions for work performed entirely outside the United States, contracts under 120 days, and contracts for commercially available off-the-shelf items.3eCFR. 48 CFR 22.1803 – Contract Clause
A covered contractor must verify all new hires working in the United States, not only those assigned to the contract, plus existing employees assigned to work on the covered contract.4Acquisition.GOV. FAR Subpart 22.18 – Employment Eligibility Verification The clause flows down to subcontractors performing services or construction work under the contract.5Acquisition.GOV. FAR 52.222-54 – Employment Eligibility Verification
A contractor not already enrolled has 30 calendar days from contract award to enroll, and 90 calendar days after enrollment to begin verifying new hires. Existing employees assigned to the contract must be verified within 90 calendar days of enrollment or within 30 calendar days of their assignment to the contract, whichever comes later.6E-Verify. Timeframes for Enrollment and Use
State Mandates
A majority of states have enacted their own E-Verify laws, and they vary widely. Some require all employers to use the system. Others limit the mandate to businesses above a certain size, to state agencies, or to companies holding public contracts. Non-compliance with a state mandate can result in fines, loss of a business license, or loss of eligibility for state contracts. Because these laws differ by state, check your state’s specific rules.
Enrolling in the System
Enrollment happens on the E-Verify website. Most companies register under Employer Access, which lets you create and manage cases directly for your own employees. Larger companies with multiple sites, third-party service providers, and employers building custom software into E-Verify use other access methods.7E-Verify. Quick Reference Guide for E-Verify Enrollment
You will need your company’s legal name, Employer Identification Number (EIN), primary physical address, the hiring sites that will participate, your total current employee count, and your North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code. You designate a program administrator who runs the account and registers other users. Federal contractors subject to the FAR clause also need their Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).8E-Verify. Enrollment Checklist
Before you can run cases, you electronically sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with DHS and SSA that lays out your responsibilities.9E-Verify. E-Verify Memorandum of Understanding for Employers There is no fee to enroll or to submit cases.10E-Verify. Is There a Cost to Use E-Verify+?
Running a Case on Every New Hire
The employee completes Section 1 of Form I-9 no later than their first day of work for pay.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification You examine their identity and work-authorization documents and complete Section 2 within three business days of the hire date.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Completing Section 2, Employer Review and Attestation You then create the E-Verify case using the Form I-9 data, no later than the third business day after the employee starts work for pay.13E-Verify. 2.2 Create a Case Enter the data exactly as it appears on the form and documents.
If the employee presented a U.S. passport, U.S. passport card, Permanent Resident Card, or Employment Authorization Document from Form I-9 List A, E-Verify shows you a photo from government records that you compare visually to the photo on the physical document.14E-Verify. 2.2.2 E-Verify Photo Matching The system does not do facial recognition. The check is yours.
Most cases return “Employment Authorized” within seconds and close automatically.15E-Verify. 4.1 Close Case Record the E-Verify case number on the employee’s Form I-9, or attach a printout of the case details page.
Enrolled employers in good standing may also use DHS’s alternative procedure to examine Form I-9 documents remotely. The employee sends copies of their documents front and back, and you hold a live video call where they display the same documents on camera. You must retain clear copies, offer the remote option consistently at any site where you use it, and not distinguish among employees based on citizenship, immigration status, or national origin.16USCIS. Remote Examination of Documents
Handling a Mismatch
A mismatch result, formally a Tentative Non-Confirmation (TNC), means the Form I-9 information did not match government records. It is not a finding that the person is unauthorized. It can be a typo, a name change SSA has not yet processed, or a records lag. But the clock starts immediately, and mishandled mismatches are among the most common compliance failures.
You must notify the employee about the mismatch as soon as possible, and no later than 10 federal government working days after E-Verify issues the result. Review the Further Action Notice with them privately, confirm the information on it is correct, and give them a copy.17E-Verify. E-Verify User Manual – 3.3.1 Notify Employee of Mismatch The employee has until the end of that same 10-day window to tell you whether they will contest.18USCIS. E-Verify Requirement – Employer Action Required on Tentative Nonconfirmations Within 10 Federal Government Working Days
If the employee contests, refer the case through E-Verify to DHS or SSA. The system generates a Referral Date Confirmation you print and give the employee, showing the deadline by which they must contact DHS or visit an SSA field office.19E-Verify. Tentative Nonconfirmations (Mismatches) They have eight federal government working days from the referral to make that contact.20E-Verify. DHS and SSA Mismatches
While the case is pending, you cannot fire, suspend, reduce hours, delay training, or withhold pay from the employee. They must continue working under the same conditions until E-Verify returns a final result.21E-Verify. Employee Rights and Responsibilities
If the employee does not respond within the 10-day window, or if the case ultimately results in a Final Non-Confirmation, close the case. At that point you may terminate employment. E-Verify will ask you to indicate whether you are continuing to employ the individual and, if so, why.15E-Verify. 4.1 Close Case
Posters and Anti-Discrimination Rules
Every E-Verify employer must display the E-Verify Participation poster and the Right to Work poster where prospective and current employees can see them, in both English and Spanish. Employers with remote workers should provide copies digitally or with job application materials.22E-Verify. 1.5 User Rules and Responsibilities
Four guardrails trip employers up more often than they should:
- No pre-screening. You cannot create a case before the employee has accepted a job offer and completed Form I-9.
- No document dictation. You cannot tell an employee which Form I-9 documents to present; they choose from the acceptable list.
- No selective verification. You cannot use E-Verify on some new hires but not others based on citizenship, national origin, or appearance. If you use it, you use it for every new hire at that site.
- No reverification through E-Verify. When an existing employee’s temporary work authorization expires, you complete Supplement B of Form I-9. You do not create a new E-Verify case.
Breaking any of these rules can amount to citizenship-status or national-origin discrimination, enforced by the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) of the Department of Justice.21E-Verify. Employee Rights and Responsibilities
Recordkeeping and Privacy
After closing a case, record the E-Verify case number on the Form I-9 or attach a copy of the case details page, and retain it with the Form I-9 for the period required by federal regulations. USCIS disposes of E-Verify records more than 10 years old, so keeping your own copies matters for audits.23E-Verify. E-Verify Records Scheduled for Disposal – Deadline Extended
You are responsible for protecting employee information. Only authorized users should have access, log-in is through Login.gov, and case results, especially mismatches and final non-confirmations, must be discussed privately with the employee and never shared with coworkers or posted publicly.24E-Verify. Privacy and Security Statement
Penalties for Non-Compliance
E-Verify violations overlap heavily with Form I-9 enforcement, and penalties can stack. Failing to properly complete Form I-9 for each employee carries civil fines for paperwork violations whether or not you use E-Verify. Knowingly hiring or continuing to employ unauthorized workers carries significantly steeper fines that escalate with repeat offenses, and a pattern of violations can trigger criminal prosecution.
For E-Verify-specific violations, DHS can suspend or terminate your access. That is particularly damaging for federal contractors, since losing access means losing the ability to perform contracts containing the FAR clause. Participating employers must also complete periodic refresher tutorials, and failing to do so locks you out of the system.25E-Verify. E-Verify MOU for E-Verify Employer Agents At the state level, non-compliance with a mandatory E-Verify law can bring fines, loss of business licenses, and disqualification from state contracts.