To check the status of a PERM labor certification, use the Department of Labor’s PERM status checker at flag.dol.gov/case-status-search. The tool is public, no login required, and returns the current status of any case filed on Form ETA-9089 as long as you have the case number. Because a straightforward PERM currently averages around 503 calendar days from filing to determination, most of what you’ll see is a long stretch of “In Process” before anything changes.1
What You Need Before You Search
You need the PERM case number and nothing else. It’s assigned when your employer or their attorney submits Form ETA-9089 through the FLAG system. Current-format numbers look like G-100-12345-123456. Older cases filed before the system was modernized may start with an A (Atlanta processing center) or C (Chicago processing center), followed by five digits, a dash, and five more.
If you don’t have the number, ask your immigration attorney or your employer’s HR contact for a copy of the submitted ETA-9089 or the filing confirmation. There’s no government filing fee for PERM, so you won’t find the case number on a fee receipt the way you might with a USCIS petition.
Using the FLAG Case Status Search
Go to the case status search page on the FLAG site. Type or paste the case number exactly as it appears on your filing, and click search. The system pulls the current status from the Department of Labor’s records and returns the status label, the employer name, and basic case information.
You can enter up to 30 case numbers at once, one per line. That’s useful if your employer has several applications moving through the queue and you want to see them together.
What Each Status Label Means
FLAG uses a short list of labels. What matters is reading them accurately.
- In Process. Your application is somewhere in the certification pipeline. It could be waiting in the queue for an officer to pick it up, or it could be under active review. If the reviewing officer needs additional information, your employer is notified separately. This is the status you’ll see for the longest stretch of time.
- Certified. The labor certification is approved. The Department of Labor sends the certified application and a Final Determination form to the employer or their attorney, and the employer can move forward with filing Form I-140 at USCIS.
- Denied. The certifying officer found the application deficient. The Final Determination letter explains the specific reasons. The employer has 30 days to request reconsideration or appeal to the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals.
- Appeal. The employer has requested reconsideration or BALCA review after a denial. The case is considered back in process during this period, and no new PERM application for the same worker can be filed while the appeal is pending.
- Withdrawn. The employer pulled the application before a final decision. This sometimes happens when a worker leaves the company or the position changes substantially.
One label that isn’t a label: “Analyst Review.” The FLAG processing times page uses that phrase to describe the average number of days to process a standard PERM. It’s a government processing metric, not a status you’ll see on your own case. While the analyst review is happening, your case simply reads “In Process.”
How Long “In Process” Usually Lasts
As of the most recent data published in March 2026, standard PERM applications reaching the analyst review stage take an average of 503 calendar days from filing to determination. That’s roughly 16 to 17 months for a clean case. The Department of Labor updates these averages during the first week of each month on the FLAG processing times page.
Reconsideration requests add another layer of delay on top. As of March 2026, the Department of Labor is adjudicating reconsideration requests that were filed in September 2025, so those cases have been waiting about six months just for the reconsideration review to begin.
The FLAG clock only measures filing to determination. It doesn’t include the prevailing wage determination that has to happen before PERM can be filed, and it doesn’t include the recruitment period after the wage is issued. As of early 2026, prevailing wage requests are taking roughly three to four months. Recruitment typically adds another two to three months of advertising plus a 30-day waiting period. From start to certification, the full timeline often stretches past two years.
When “In Process” Means an Audit
Some cases are flagged for audit, meaning the certifying officer wants to see supporting documents before deciding. Audits can be triggered for specific reasons or selected randomly for quality control. An audited case still reads “In Process” in the checker, so the status alone won’t tell you an audit is underway. The employer receives a separate audit letter listing exactly what must be submitted.
The employer has 30 days from the date of the audit letter to respond. The certifying officer has discretion to grant one extension of up to 30 additional days, but it’s not guaranteed. Missing the deadline entirely results in an automatic denial, and the employer loses the right to appeal that denial to BALCA. If you see “In Process” for many months with no movement, it’s worth asking your employer or attorney whether an audit letter has been received.
What to Do When the Status Changes to Certified
A certified PERM has a 180-day validity period. If the employer does not file Form I-140 with USCIS within those 180 days, the certification expires and the entire process has to start over. This is one of the tightest deadlines in the employment-based green card process, and missing it wastes a year or more of waiting.
Your priority date for immigration purposes is the date the Department of Labor originally received the PERM application, not the date it was certified. That earlier date determines your place in line for an immigrant visa number, which matters especially for workers from countries with long backlogs. Once the I-140 is filed and approved, the priority date follows you even if you change employers later, provided the new employer files a new PERM and I-140 on your behalf.
Checking Bulk Data Instead of a Single Case
Beyond individual lookups, the Department of Labor publishes quarterly spreadsheets containing every PERM case determination for the fiscal year. The files are in Excel format on the OFLC performance data page and cover all cases where a final decision was issued during the reporting period.
The fiscal year runs from October 1 through September 30, and each quarterly release is cumulative. The Q1 FY 2026 file, for example, covers determinations issued between October 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025. A companion record layout document explains every field. Cases still in process, or containing personally identifiable information, may be excluded. These files are more useful for attorneys tracking trends or employers benchmarking against national averages than for a worker checking on a single application, but they’re the only way to see the full picture of what’s actually being certified and denied.