Employment Verification Letter: What It Says and How to Get One

An employment verification letter is a short letter from an employer confirming that a person works there. It answers one question for whoever asked for it, a landlord, a lender, an agency or a new employer: is this person employed here, in this role, since this date? Pay details usually belong in a separate proof of income letter, although some requesters ask for both in one document.

What the letter includes

A standard employment verification letter fits on one page of company letterhead and covers:

• The employer: legal business name, address and phone number, ideally on the company's letterhead with its logo.
• The date the letter was written.
• The employee: full legal name, as it appears on their application.
• Job title and department, if relevant.
• Employment status: full-time or part-time, permanent, seasonal or contract.
• Start date, and an end date if the person no longer works there.
• A signature block: the signature, printed name and title of an authorized representative, with a phone number or email for confirmation.

Some letters add the work schedule or average weekly hours. Salary and pay rate are common requests too, but many employers include them only when the employee asks, or put them in a separate income letter.

Who asks for one, and what they check

Landlords and property managers use it with recent pay stubs to confirm that the income on a rental application is real and current. They often call the phone number on the letter. See pay stubs for rental applications for what they look at.

Mortgage lenders document employment with recent pay stubs and W-2s, and may use a written verification form completed by the employer. For loans sold to Fannie Mae, the lender must also confirm employment directly with the employer no more than 10 business days before the closing date, even when the file already has a letter. More in pay stubs for loan applications.

Agencies and immigration offices may ask for a letter that states the job title, duties, schedule and pay, signed by the employer.

New employers sometimes ask for letters confirming past positions and dates, especially when a reference check can't reach a former manager.

How an employee asks for one

1. Ask the right person. HR, payroll or your manager, in writing, so there is a record of the request.
2. Say who it is for and what it must include. A landlord may only need title, status and start date; a lender or agency may also want pay. Forward the requester's instructions if they have them.
3. Give a deadline with some room. Small employers can usually turn a letter around within a few days.
4. Check it before you send it. Names, dates and title should match your application exactly; a mismatch slows everything down.

How an employer prepares one

Keep it factual, short and limited to what was requested and what the employee agreed to share. Use the company's letterhead, include a contact who can confirm the details, and have an authorized person sign it. Keep a copy with the employee's records.

If your payroll records already live in PayStubShop, you can add the Employment Verification Letter when you create the employee's pay stubs. It costs $1.99 and is set on your company letterhead from the details you enter: your company name, address, phone, EIN and logo, and the employee's name, job title, employment status and start date. The letter ends with a blank signature block for your authorized representative to sign; nothing is signed for you and nothing is presented as independently verified. You see the letter in the preview before you pay, and it arrives with the stubs.

Employment verification letter or pay stubs?

They answer different questions, so requesters often want both:

Document	What it proves	Who provides it
Employment verification letter	Current job, title, status and start date	The employer, signed
Proof of income letter	Pay rate, frequency and earnings	The employer, signed
Pay stubs	Each pay period's earnings, taxes and year-to-date totals	The employer's payroll
W-2	A full year's wages and withholding	The employer, each January

When a requester asks for "proof of employment and income," a recent pay stub with year-to-date totals plus a signed letter usually covers it.