An employment verification letter is a short, signed letter from an employer confirming that someone works there, or used to. It states the job title, start date and whether the job is full or part time, and sometimes the pay. Landlords, lenders and new employers use it to check an applicant’s details.
The letter only confirms facts already in the employer’s records. It is written by the employer, or by someone the employer authorizes, on company letterhead, and it gives a phone number the reader can call to check it. Below is a template you can fill in, a finished example, and the rules that apply.
What to include in an employment verification letter
Keep it to one page and to facts you can stand behind. Most requests are answered with these:
- Company details: the legal business name, address and main phone number, usually as a letterhead.
- Date and recipient: the date you sign it and who asked for it, such as a leasing office or a bank.
- The employee’s name and job title, exactly as they appear in your payroll records.
- Dates of employment: the start date, and the end date for a former employee.
- Status: full time or part time, with typical weekly hours if the reader needs them.
- Pay, only when the employee agrees: the salary or hourly rate and how often it is paid.
- A contact for questions: a named person and the company’s main number, not a personal cell phone.
- A signature, printed name and title of the manager, owner or HR person who wrote it.
Leave out opinions about performance, the reason someone left, health or family details, and anything you would not want quoted back to you. A verification letter is not a reference letter. If the reader wants a recommendation, that is a separate request.
Employment verification letter template
Copy the text below, or download it as a Word file. Replace everything in brackets and delete any line that does not apply, such as the end date for a current employee or the pay line when the employee has not agreed to share it.
[Company legal name]
[Street address]
[City, State ZIP]
[Main phone number]
[Date]
To: [Person or organization requesting verification]
Re: Employment verification for [Employee full name]
This letter confirms that [Employee full name] [is employed / was employed] by [Company legal name] as a [job title] in our [department] department.
[Employee first name]'s employment began on [start date] [and ended on [end date]]. [Employee first name] works [full time / part time], about [number] hours a week.
[Include only with the employee's written permission:] [Employee first name]'s current [annual salary / hourly rate] is [amount], paid [weekly / every two weeks / twice a month / monthly].
This letter confirms employment as of the date above. It is not a promise of continued employment.
To confirm any of this information, please call [name] at our main number, [phone], or email [address].
Sincerely,
[Signature]
[Printed name]
[Title]
Print it on letterhead if you have it, sign it by hand or with a secure e-signature, and send it straight to the person who asked when you can. A letter that goes from your office to the leasing office or lender is harder to question than one passed along by the applicant.
A filled-in example
Here is the template completed for an invented veterinary clinic in Raleigh, North Carolina. The employee is applying for an apartment and asked in writing for their hourly rate to be included.
Cedar Hollow Veterinary Clinic
2410 Wade Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 555-0164
October 20, 2026
To: Leasing office, Oakwood Commons Apartments
Re: Employment verification for Jordan Ellis
This letter confirms that Jordan Ellis is employed by Cedar Hollow Veterinary Clinic as a veterinary technician in our surgery department.
Jordan's employment began on March 7, 2022. Jordan works full time, about 40 hours a week.
At Jordan's written request, we can also confirm that Jordan's current hourly rate is $23.75 an hour, paid every two weeks.
This letter confirms employment as of the date above. It is not a promise of continued employment.
To confirm any of this information, please call Dana Morales at our main number, (919) 555-0164, or email office@example.com.
Sincerely,
(signed)
Dana Morales
Practice Manager
Notice what the letter does not say: nothing about reviews, schedule changes or plans for the future. The line about continued employment matters because a landlord or lender may read the letter months later, and it keeps the letter to what was true on the day it was signed.
Who asks for one, and how they check it
The same letter serves several readers, but each looks for slightly different things and checks them in their own way.
| Who asks | What they usually need | How they check |
|---|---|---|
| Landlord or property manager | Job title, start date, whether the job is full time, and often pay | Usually a phone call to the number on the letter, so give the main company line |
| Mortgage lender | Employment and pay, often on its own form (Fannie Mae's Form 1005), signed by the employee to authorize you | Fannie Mae loans need a fresh check that the person still works there, no more than 10 business days before closing |
| New employer or background screener | Dates of employment and job titles, to match the resume | Calls or emails HR; some ask the former employee to sign a release first |
| Former employee | A letter stating the job held and how long | In Missouri, Kansas and Minnesota, state law can require one on request (see below) |
Mortgage lenders are the strictest. For a loan Fannie Mae buys, the lender must confirm the borrower still works for you no more than 10 business days before closing, or up to 15 in some cases. Expect a phone call or a form even after you have written a letter.
Lenders often send their own Request for Verification of Employment, Fannie Mae’s Form 1005, which the employee signs to authorize you to answer. Fill in that form rather than writing a separate letter, and send it back to the lender directly.
Should you include salary?
Only with the employee’s permission, and preferably in writing. Many employers confirm pay only when the employee asks them to, because the letter will be read by people outside the company. A short email from the employee saying “please include my pay” is enough to keep on file.
When you do include it, give the current rate and how often it is paid, as it stands in payroll, rather than a yearly estimate that includes overtime or bonuses you cannot promise. If the reader needs pay history, the employee’s pay stubs or Form W-2 show it with the withholding alongside.
Our pay stub generator makes stubs for real payments you have made, if your payroll process does not produce them. The pay rate in the letter and on the stubs should always agree.
When a state requires a letter
Writing a verification letter is generally voluntary. A few states do require a written statement of employment for a former employee who asks for one, called a service letter.
| State | Who can ask | How to ask | Employer must answer within | What the letter states |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri RSMo 290.140 | Employees of a corporation with seven or more employees, after at least 90 days of service, who were discharged or quit | In writing by certified mail, citing the statute, within one year of leaving | 45 days | The nature and character of the service, how long it lasted, and the true cause, if any, of the discharge or quitting |
| Kansas K.S.A. 44-808(3) | Any employee whose services have been terminated | Written request | Not set in the statute | Tenure of employment, occupational classification and wage rate paid |
| Minnesota Minn. Stat. 181.933 | Employees who were involuntarily terminated | In writing within 15 working days of the termination | 10 working days | The truthful reason for the termination |
These laws cover former employees and say exactly what the letter must state, sometimes including the reason for leaving. If a request in one of these states cites the statute, answer it on time. Elsewhere, writing a verification letter is your choice, though refusing one can make life hard for a good employee.
How to handle a request, step by step
- Confirm who is asking. If the request comes from a third party, check with the employee before you answer, and ask whether pay should be included.
- Pull the facts from your records, not memory: the title, dates and pay rate in payroll.
- Fill in the template and remove any line that does not apply.
- Sign it and send it to the requester directly, or give it to the employee if they asked for that.
- Keep a copy with the employee’s file, along with their permission to share pay.
Be ready for a follow-up call. Answer only what the letter already says, and if a caller asks something new, check with the employee first.
Sources: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.1-04, Verbal Verification of Employment and B3-3.2-01, Standards for Employment and Income Documentation; Missouri RSMo 290.140; Kansas K.S.A. 44-808; Minnesota Statutes 181.933; USCIS, Form I-9. Checked October 24, 2026.
