How to Use Equifax Employment Verification?

Use Equifax verification only when you have a permissible purpose under the FCRA and the employee's written consent.

• Verify that a lawful purpose exists (employment decision, loan underwriting, government reporting, etc.).
• Secure the employee's signed authorization before any request.
• Prioritize roles with financial responsibility, regulatory exposure, or high fraud risk.
• Weigh Equifax's cost and timing against cheaper alternatives like direct HR confirmation.
• Check contractual or industry rules that specifically require third‑party verification.
• Remember non‑compliance may trigger civil penalties under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Equifax verification typically costs $7‑$12 per basic employee check and $12‑$20 for premium reports that include salary and tenure details; bulk discounts start around $5 per record once you exceed 100 requests, see Equifax verification pricing details.

Processing time ranges from a few minutes for real‑time API calls to 24‑48 hours for standard web submissions, and may extend to five business days for international or manually‑reviewed cases, so plan verification after you've set up your verifier account and gathered the required documents.

Create your Equifax verifier account through the Employment Verification portal, entering your business information, and completing the required identity checks.

1. Go to the Equifax Employment Verification homepage and click Register as a verifier.
2. Enter your company name, tax‑ID (EIN), and a valid business email address.
3. Confirm the email by clicking the link Equifax sends you within 24 hours.
4. Provide the name and title of the authorized signatory, then upload a government‑issued ID (driver's license or passport).
5. Set up two‑factor authentication using a phone number or authenticator app.
6. Choose a subscription plan that matches your expected verification volume (you can upgrade later).
7. If you plan to run bulk checks, generate an API key in the dashboard and store it securely.

With the verifier account active, you can move on to gathering the employee documents required for verification.

Equifax requires a specific set‑of documents to validate your identity and employment records.

• Government‑issued photo ID (driver's license or passport)
• Recent pay stub, W‑2, or 1099 that lists your employer and pay dates
• Original employment contract, offer letter, or HR confirmation of hire
• Signed authorization form granting Equifax permission to verify your data
• Proof of residence (utility bill or bank statement) if address verification is needed

Gather these files in PDF or high‑resolution image format, then upload them to your verifier account. With the paperwork complete, you're ready to submit your verification request step‑by‑step as outlined in the next section. For more detail, see the Equifax employment verification guide.

Equifax verification requests go through a three‑step flow once you have a verifier account and the employee's signed consent.

First, secure the employee's written authorization - either a scanned signature page or an electronic consent that meets the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Then log into your verifier account, navigate to 'New Verification,' and enter only the employee's full name, Social Security Number, and dates of employment; no payslips, W‑2s, or contracts are needed.

Finally, submit the request and note the confirmation number; Equifax will email the verification outcome to the address on file within the typical 2‑5 day window. For FCRA details, see FTC Fair Credit Reporting Act guidance.

Equifax returns a clear status line in your verifier account that tells you whether the employment records you submitted align with the data Equifax holds. The result also includes a reference ID, verification date, and any notes about discrepancies.

• Verified - employer name, dates, and position all match; you can move forward with hiring or benefits.
• Partial match - some fields match while others are missing or inconsistent; review the flagged items and consider supplemental proof.
• No match - none of the submitted details align with Equifax's record; likely an error in the employee's self‑reported information or an outdated record.
• Insufficient data - Equifax could not locate any record for the individual; you may need to use an alternative verification method or request the employee's updated documents.

If you receive a partial, no, or insufficient result, see the next section on what to do when a verification fails for steps to resolve issues, and consult the Equifax verification guide for deeper details.

A failed verification means the data you supplied didn't match the employee's official records.

• Review the failure code in your verifier account to understand the specific mismatch.
• Contact the employee promptly; ask them to confirm employer name, dates, and job title exactly as it appears on pay stubs or W‑2s.
• Cross‑check the information you entered against the employee's current employment documents.
• Correct any typos, missing letters, or outdated dates directly in your verifier account.
• Resubmit the verification request; most issues resolve on the second attempt.
• If the request still fails, open a case through the Equifax verification dispute portal and attach supporting records.

To correct an inaccurate Equifax verification you file a dispute and update the employer's records.

1. Sign in to your verifier account, open the failed verification, and click the 'Dispute' button.
2. Collect proof that matches the true employment details - pay stubs, W‑2s, an HR‑signed employment verification letter, or a recent payslip screenshot.
3. Upload the documents, write a brief description of the error (e.g., wrong start date or title), and submit the dispute. Equifax notifies the employer that a correction is required.
4. The employer reviews the evidence, updates their information in the Equifax data feed, and resubmits the corrected record.
5. Refresh the verification status after 5 - 10 business days; a green 'Verified' flag means the dispute succeeded. If the status remains unchanged, contact Equifax support from your verifier dashboard for escalation.

After the record is fixed, you can proceed to bulk‑verify employees or move on to the next step, using the Equifax API for large‑scale checks.

Use the Equifax API to send a single request that returns employment verification results for dozens or hundreds of applicants at once.

• Obtain the applicant's signed consent and keep a copy; the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires written permission before you transmit SSNs or other identifiers to Equifax.
• Assemble a CSV or JSON payload that includes each applicant's full name, SSN (or alternative identifier), date of birth, and employer name exactly as required in the 'Submit your verification request step‑by‑step' section.
• Generate an OAuth access token with your verifier account credentials (see the 'set up your Equifax verifier account' guide).
• Call the bulk‑verification endpoint (`/v1/employment/batch`) with the prepared payload.
• Respect the rate‑limit and batch‑size figures shown in the API docs - these numbers are illustrative; consult the official Equifax API documentation for the limits that apply to your account.
• Poll the status URL returned by the request or subscribe to webhook callbacks until the batch completes.
• Download the result file, parse each record's verification status, and store the outcomes in your HR system.

The API returns a consolidated file you can feed directly into the 'understand your Equifax verification outcome' workflow, then move on to handling any failures or disputes.

TransUnion Premium comes with several fine‑print clauses and hidden downsides you need to watch. They affect cost, data coverage, and cancellation.

• The service costs $19.99 per month after a 30‑day free trial; the price can rise on renewal and no loyalty discounts apply (TransUnion Premium pricing details).
• Credit monitoring tracks only TransUnion records; activity on Experian and Equifax is invisible, so you don't get a complete credit picture.
• Identity‑theft protection caps reimbursements at $1 million and requires you to initiate claims; faster error fixes are not guaranteed.
• Auto‑renewal stays active unless you cancel online before the next billing cycle, otherwise you are charged again.
• Canceling the subscription does not remove your info from TransUnion's marketing lists, so you may keep receiving promotional emails unless you opt out separately.

Equifax verification can confirm a contractor's or gig worker's employment only if the hiring entity reports the engagement to The Work Number; otherwise the system has no record to return. Before you submit a request from your verifier account, check whether the contractor's client, staffing firm, or platform participates in Equifax's reporting network.

*Example 1:* A software developer hired through a staffing agency that submits monthly payroll to The Work Number will appear in the verification report with dates, position, and earnings.

*Example 2:* An Uber driver or freelance photographer who works independently will not show up in Equifax records because Uber does not report to The Work Number; you must request references, request a copy of the 1099‑MISC, or use Uber's driver‑verification portal.
*Example 3:* A freelance marketer who invoices a corporate client that uses an E‑Verify‑compatible payroll service can be verified if that client uploads the contract to the service; otherwise, collect a signed work‑history letter and recent tax forms as supplemental proof.

For engagements that Equifax cannot verify, combine direct references, tax documents, and any platform‑specific verification tools before moving on to the 'what you do when a verification fails' step.