Pay Stub Laws by State

There's no federal pay stub law. The U.S. Department of Labor puts it directly: the FLSA requires employers to keep accurate records of hours worked and wages paid, but doesn't require them to give employees pay stubs. Whether an employee must receive one, and what it must show, depends on the state.

The map and table above summarize every state and D.C. as of November 1, 2026, each with the statute or rule and an official source. This is general information, not legal advice.

The three categories

Category	What it means	Count
Itemized statement required	A statute or rule requires a statement with each payment, or each pay period, itemizing at least gross pay and deductions. Most also require hours, rates, net pay and dates	29, including D.C.
Limited statement required	A statement is required only in a narrower form: a list of deductions, only on request, only for some employers, or only for some payment methods	12
No general requirement	No state statute or rule requires private employers in general to provide pay statements	10

No general requirement: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas. Indiana and Texas each have a stub statute, but it applies only to employers not covered by the federal FLSA. Since FLSA coverage is broad, most employers in those states have no state stub duty.

Limited statement required: Arizona (only when wages are paid by direct deposit or payroll card, plus paid sick time totals), Idaho, Kansas (on request), Kentucky (employers of 10 or more that take deductions), Missouri (corporations, at least monthly), Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming. Most of these require an itemized list of deductions rather than a full stub.

Itemized statement required: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

What "itemized" usually requires

The lists differ, but the same items recur across the itemized states:

Item	Where it's commonly required
Employer's name and address (sometimes phone)	California, New York, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon and others
Employee's name and an identifier	California requires the last four SSN digits or an employee ID
Pay period dates and pay date	Most itemized states
Hours worked, with overtime hours separate	Most states for non-exempt or hourly workers
Rates of pay, including the overtime rate	California, New York, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon and others
Gross pay	Nearly all itemized states
Each deduction	Every state on this page that requires any statement
Net pay	Most itemized states
Year-to-date totals	Illinois, since January 2025
Paid sick leave used or balance	California and Alaska; Arizona requires sick time totals

A few states go further. New York requires a written explanation of how wages were computed on request. California requires each hourly rate in effect and the hours worked at each one.

Recent changes worth knowing

• Ohio — the Pay Stub Protection Act, Ohio Rev. Code § 4113.14, took effect April 9, 2025. It requires itemized statements, delivered on paper, electronically or through access.
• Illinois — since January 2025, the law defines a pay stub's contents, including hours, rate, overtime, gross wages, deductions and year-to-date totals, and requires copies on request.
• Maryland — expanded pay stub contents took effect in October 2024.
• District of Columbia — since January 1, 2026, statements must also list sources of compensation such as bonuses and commissions.
• Connecticut — from October 1, 2026, employers with 100 or more employees must include a link to a guide to their pay codes on every wage statement.
• Virginia — a 2026 law reorganized § 40.1-29, so the pay stub rule is now subsection (D).
• Alaska — stubs must show sick leave used and the remaining balance (2025 rule change).

Bills to create pay stub laws in Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee did not pass.

Electronic pay stubs

Most itemized states allow electronic statements, usually with conditions:

• Consent: Connecticut and Hawaii, for example, allow electronic statements with the employee's consent.
• Access and printing: Iowa, Maine, Washington and Wisconsin focus on the employee being able to view, and often print, the statement at no cost.
• Paper on request: Rhode Island allows electronic statements but requires paper if the employee asks.

If you deliver stubs as PDFs, a downloadable file the employee can save and print meets the spirit of most of these rules. Check your state's conditions in the table.

Building a stub that satisfies any state

The safest approach is to include everything the strictest states require. Every PayStubShop stub carries the employer's name and address, the employee's name with the last four SSN digits or an ID, pay period dates and the pay date, rates and hours, gross pay, each tax and deduction, net pay, and year-to-date totals. Each also includes a free direct deposit advice slip. If your state requires extra items, such as a sick leave balance or an employer phone number, confirm they appear on the preview before you download.

State deep dives: California · New York · Texas. For what happens when employment ends, see final paycheck rules by state.