E-Verify Requirements by State: A Complete Guide for Employers

States with E-Verify Requirements

This data is accurate as of May 2026

Alabama

Requirement: All employers

• All employees hired in Alabama are required to use E-Verify or a state-level alternative. 
• Employers with 25 or more employees must use federal E-Verify. 
• Employers with fewer than 25 employees may use the state's E-Verify system.

Arizona

Requirement: All employers

• Arizona requires all employers to use E-Verify to verify the employment authorization of all new Arizona employees. 
• If the company is located outside Arizona but the employee is physically working in Arizona, Arizona's law can still apply because the employee is employed in the state.

California

Requirement: Employer restrictions on E-Verify

• California law prohibits local governments (cities and counties) from imposing requirements that employers use any electronic employment verification system unless required by law (e.g., for OPT visas or federal contractors).
• Employers can voluntarily use E-Verify, but participation is not mandated.

Colorado

Requirement: No requirements

• Colorado has rescinded its requirement that employers use the E-Verify system, but the state has reserved the right to audit employers for compliance.

Federal

Requirement: Federal SSN verification

• Federal law does not require employers to verify their employees' Social Security numbers when filing federal taxes.
• Employers are, however, permitted to do so when preparing an employee's W-2 to ensure the employee's name and Social Security number match.
• If employers choose to verify in this way, they can do so online through the Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS).
• Employers should note that it is illegal to use SSNVS to verify the Social Security numbers of potential new hires or contractors.

Florida

Requirement: Employers with 25 employees or more

• Florida requires employers with 25 or more employees total (not just in Florida) to use the federal government's E-Verify system when hiring new employees and any rehires in Florida.

Georgia 

Requirement: Employers with 10 employees or more

• Georgia requires employers to use the federal government's E-Verify system when hiring new employees and any rehires in Georgia, while the employer has 10 or more employees (working at least 35 hours per week) total, even if the employees are not in Georgia.

Illinois 

Requirement: Employer restrictions on E-Verify requirements

Illinois amended its Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act to create specific rules around employment verification systems, including E-Verify:

• Employers are not required to enroll in E-Verify unless mandated by federal law.
• Employers cannot impose work authorization verification or re-verification requirements greater than those required by federal law, meaning they can't add extra state verification hurdles beyond what federal law requires.
• If an employer receives a federal discrepancy notice (e.g., a name or SSN mismatch via E-Verify), the law provides protections for employees and limits how employers can respond.

Indiana 

Requirement: Safe Harbor for employers using E-Verify

• Indiana did not enact a pure statewide E-Verify mandate for all employers, but it did pass the FAIRNESS Act (SEA 76), signed March 5, 2026, and effective July 1, 2026. The law prohibits knowingly hiring unauthorized workers and creates strong safe-harbor protections (creates a rebuttable presumption of good-faith compliance) for employers using E-Verify.

Louisiana 

Requirement: E-Verify is required for public contractors working on state projects

• Public contractors/subcontractors working on state projects are to use E-Verify.
• Employers bidding on certain public contracts are required to certify participation in a status verification system.
• Employers to maintain work authorization documentation compliance under federal I-9 rules.

Mississippi 

Requirement: All employers

• Mississippi requires employers to use the federal E-Verify system to verify the employment authorization of all new Mississippi employees.
• If the company is located outside Mississippi but the employee is physically working in Mississippi, Mississippi's law still applies because the employee is employed in the state.

Montana 

Requirement: State-level penalties for I-9 violations

Effective July 1, 2025, the LEGAL Act:

• Requires employers to verify work authorization using either Form I-9 documentation or E-Verify before a new employee begins work.
• Establishes a tiered penalty structure, including escalating fines and potential license suspension for repeat violators.
• Protects employers who act in good faith and comply with federal law.
• Creates a special revenue account to support enforcement and education efforts.

North Carolina

Requirement: Employers with 25 employees or more

• Employers with 25 or more employees in North Carolina are required to use the federal E-Verify system when hiring new North Carolina employees.
• Seasonal temporary workers who are employed for 90 or fewer days during a 12-month period do not need to use E-Verify.
• The 25-employee threshold applies only to North Carolina employees, not to total employees.

Ohio

Requirement: E-Verify is required for the Construction industry

• Ohio's E-Verify Workforce Integrity Act requires nonresidential contractors, subcontractors, and labor brokers that provide workers in the construction industry to use E-Verify to verify worker employment eligibility.
• Penalties under the Act for violations of this requirement include fines ranging from $250 to $25,000 per violation, depending on the section of the law violated and the pattern of occurrence.
• Employers can also be subject to civil action and disqualification from state contracts.

Oregon

Requirement: Employer Restriction: Discrimination protections for employees

• It is an unlawful practice for an employer to discharge an employee or in any manner discriminate, retaliate, or otherwise take adverse action against an employee because the employee updates or attempts to update the employee's personal information based on a lawful change in the employee's federal employment authorization documentation.
• It is not unlawful for an employer to take actions necessary to comply with federal employment authorization verification requirements.
• Under the law, an employer is not considered to have engaged in an unlawful practice solely because a third-party benefit administrator independently takes adverse action in response to changes in the employee's personal information or federal employment authorization.

This legislation is meant to protect employees from discrimination during immigration status or documentation updates.

South Carolina

Requirement: All employers

• All South Carolina employers must verify the employee's work authorization through E-Verify.
• If the company is located outside South Carolina but the employee is physically working in South Carolina, South Carolina's law still applies because the employee is employed in the state.

Tennessee

Requirement: E-Verify is required for employers with 35 employees or more; additional requirements for employers with 5-34 employees

• Tennessee requires employers with 35 or more employees in the United States to use the federal E-Verify system to verify the employment authorization of all new Tennessee employees. The employee threshold applies to the total number of employees working in or outside the state of Tennessee.

Employers with more than 5 but fewer than 35 employees must either:  

• Keep copies of the employment eligibility documents they were shown to complete the employee's Form I-9 upon hire, or  
• Enroll in E-Verify, which also requires an employer to make copies of identity and work authorization documents.  
• If an employer violates the law, the state may suspend the employer's business license upon the first and second violations. Upon a third violation, the employer's business license may be suspended permanently. Beginning January 1, 2027, the threshold will be lowered from 6 employees to 1.

Utah

Requirement: E-Verify is required for 150+ employees

• Utah requires employers with 150 or more employees in Utah to use the federal government's E-Verify system when hiring new Utah employees.
• This requirement has been contingently repealed, meaning that it will remain in place until Utah's Guest Worker Program is approved at the federal level. Requirements may change once that program is approved.
• The law doesn't state whether the threshold is 150 or more in Utah or across all locations in the U.S.," and recommends risk-averse employers treat it as company-wide.