# Verification of employment letter: sample, fields and checks

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By [Arthur Teboul](/authors/arthur-teboul), Founder, DokuTrak. Published 2026-10-27, updated 2026-10-27.

> **In brief:** A verification of employment letter is a signed note from your employer, usually HR or payroll, confirming that you work there, your job title, your start date and, if you agree, your pay. Lenders, landlords and agencies ask for it to check what you wrote on an application.

## What is a verification of employment letter?

**A verification of employment letter** is a short statement on company letterhead that confirms a person’s job, often shortened to VOE letter. It names the employee, the employer, the position, the hire date and the employment status, such as full time, part time or on leave. HR, payroll or an owner signs it and adds a phone number so the reader can call back.

The letter comes in three shapes. The basic version confirms the job only. The income version adds the pay rate and earnings, which employers usually share only with the employee’s written consent. The former-employee version gives start and end dates and the last title held.

For a mortgage, the letter is one piece of the file, never the whole of it. A lender following Fannie Mae’s guide still confirms the job again shortly before closing ([Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.1-04, Verbal Verification of Employment](https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/sel/b3-3.1-04/verbal-verification-employment)).

## Who sends it, and when

Your employer writes it, almost always the HR department, the payroll team or, at a small business, the owner or your manager. You ask for it; the employer signs it and often sends it straight to the lender, landlord or agency. Some large employers do not write letters at all and send every request to an employment verification vendor instead.

## Where to get a verification of employment letter

1. Check your employee handbook or HR intranet for a verification request process or a vendor link.
2. Email HR with who the letter is for, whether pay must be included, and where to send it.
3. Sign the release HR asks for if the letter will show your salary or hourly rate.
4. Ask HR to send the signed letter directly to the requester and to copy you.
5. Keep your latest pay stub and last year’s W-2 form ready: requesters often want them with the letter.

## Wrong files people send instead

- An offer letter sent instead of a verification letter: it shows a promise of a job, not that you hold it today.
- A letter typed by the employee and signed by a coworker with no HR title or call-back number.
- A letter with no date, or one issued so long ago that the requester’s age limit has passed.
- Pay figures that do not match the most recent pay stub or W-2 form.
- A reference letter about character and skills that never states the hire date or current status.

## What to include in each version of the letter

Pick the version from what the requester needs. A landlord usually wants pay; a background check for a new job often does not. The table shows which lines belong in each version of the template below.

- Leave out the Social Security number, medical details and the reason someone left unless the employee asks you to include it.
- Split earnings into base pay, overtime, bonus and commission when a lender asks: Form 1005 breaks them out the same way ([Fannie Mae Form 1005, Request for Verification of Employment](https://singlefamily.fanniemae.com/media/document/pdf/form-1005)).

| Line in the letter | Current employee | Current, with pay | Former employee |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Company letterhead, date, recipient | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Employee full legal name | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Job title and department | Current title | Current title | Last title held |
| Hire date | Yes | Yes | Start and end dates |
| Status: full time, part time, seasonal, on leave | Yes | Yes | Separated |
| Pay rate and pay frequency | No | Yes, with written consent | Final pay rate, if asked |
| Year-to-date and prior-year earnings | No | If the requester asks | No |
| Signer name, title, phone and signature | Yes | Yes | Yes |

## How to ask HR for the letter

HR moves faster when the request already says who the letter is for and what it must show. Send it in writing, so there is a record of your consent to share pay.

A good request names the recipient, for example a property management company or a lender with your loan number, and gives their email. It also says whether pay is needed and the date you need the letter by.

1. Write to HR or payroll, not your manager, unless your company is small.
2. List the fields the requester asked for, word for word if they sent a form.
3. Say whether HR may share your salary or hourly rate.
4. Give the requester’s contact details so HR can send the letter directly.
5. Follow up after a few business days with a short reminder.

## What the lender or landlord checks on the letter

Anyone can type a letter, so the reader looks for signs it came from the employer. A property manager or loan officer typically checks five things before accepting it.

- It is on letterhead, signed, and dated recently.
- It arrived from a company email domain, not a personal address.
- The phone number on it matches the employer’s public listing, and a call to that number confirms the job.
- The title, hire date and pay agree with the latest pay stub and the W-2 form.
- The signer holds a title that can speak for the company, such as HR manager or payroll manager.

## How mortgage lenders use a VOE letter

Mortgage files follow the investor’s rule book, so the letter has to fit inside those rules. Under Fannie Mae’s guide, employment and income documents must be no more than four months old on the note date ([Fannie Mae Selling Guide B1-1-03, Allowable Age of Credit Documents](https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/sel/b1-1-03/allowable-age-credit-documents-and-federal-income-tax-returns)).

Fannie Mae also expects documents whose original source is a third party, such as HR, payroll or the payroll vendor, and that clearly name the employer ([Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.2-01, Standards for Employment and Income Documentation](https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/sel/b3-3.2-01/standards-employment-and-income-documentation)). When the lender asks your employer directly, it may use Form 1005, signed by you or backed by a blanket authorization you signed ([Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.2-01, Standards for Employment and Income Documentation](https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/sel/b3-3.2-01/standards-employment-and-income-documentation)). The verification of employment form guide walks through its fields.

For an FHA loan, one accepted route is the most recent pay stub plus a written VOE covering two years, or an electronic VOE covering two years ([HUD Handbook 4000.1, Employment Related Income](https://www.hud.gov/sites/default/files/Housing/documents/40001-hsgh-Update-18.pdf)). In HUD’s terms, a **written verification of employment** is a document-based check built on what the employer provides in writing ([HUD Handbook 4000.1, Employment Related Income](https://www.hud.gov/sites/default/files/Housing/documents/40001-hsgh-Update-18.pdf)). Either way, the job is confirmed once more near closing: Fannie Mae sets that check at no more than 10 business days before the note date for borrowers paid as employees ([Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.1-04, Verbal Verification of Employment](https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/sel/b3-3.1-04/verbal-verification-employment)).

## If your employer will not write a letter

Some employers confirm dates and title only, or send every request to a vendor. **An employment verification vendor** is a company that holds payroll data for employers and answers verification requests for them, with your authorization.

For a mortgage, other papers can do the same job. Fannie Mae accepts an IRS Wage and Income transcript, a completed Form 1005 or the final year-to-date pay stub in place of a W-2 form, as long as the information is adequate ([Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.2-01, Standards for Employment and Income Documentation](https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/sel/b3-3.2-01/standards-employment-and-income-documentation)). It also accepts a vendor verification when you authorized it and its date meets the document-age rule ([Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.2-01, Standards for Employment and Income Documentation](https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/sel/b3-3.2-01/standards-employment-and-income-documentation)).

A landlord or agency sets its own rules. Offer recent pay stubs, a bank statement showing payroll deposits and your W-2 form, and ask whether they will call HR instead.

## VOE letter, reference letter and offer letter compared

These three letters are often confused, and sending the wrong one usually means a second request and a delay.

- A VOE letter states facts the employer can check in its records: dates, title, status, pay.
- By contrast, **a reference letter** is a personal opinion about your work and character; it rarely gives dates or pay.
- An offer letter proves a job was offered, which some landlords accept for a new hire, but it does not show you started.

## The template: Verification of employment letter

HR or payroll fills in the brackets and prints it on company letterhead. Keep the pay clause only with the employee’s written consent; use the former-employee clause instead of the current-status clause when the person has left.

```text
[Company legal name]
[Street address, city, state, ZIP]
[HR phone] | [hr@company-domain]
[Date]

To: [Recipient name or organization]
Reference: [Loan, application or file number, if supplied]
Re: Verification of employment for [Employee full legal name]

To whom it may concern,

Confirmation
This letter confirms that [Employee full legal name] is employed by [Company legal name] as [Job title] in the [Department] department.

Dates and status
[Employee first name] has worked here since [Original hire date] and is currently employed [full time / part time / seasonal / on authorized leave], working about [hours] hours per week.

Pay (optional)
Current base pay is $[amount] per [year / hour], paid [weekly / biweekly / semimonthly / monthly]. Gross earnings were $[YTD amount] year to date through [date], and $[prior-year amount] in [prior year], including $[amount] in overtime, bonus or commission.

Former employee (optional)
[Employee full legal name] worked here from [Start date] to [End date]. The last position held was [Job title], at a final pay rate of $[amount] per [year / hour].

Continued employment (optional)
[The company has no plan to end this employment. / The company does not comment on future employment.]

No guarantee (optional)
This letter confirms employment as of the date above and is not a guarantee of continued employment.

Purpose and consent
This information is provided at the employee’s written request, dated [date of consent], for verification purposes only, and is accurate according to our payroll records on the date above.

Call-back
To confirm this letter, call [Signer name] at [direct phone] or our main HR line at [HR phone]. Please do not rely on a number given to you by anyone else.

Sincerely,

____________________
[Signer name]
[Title: HR manager / Payroll manager / Owner]
[Company legal name]
```

Download: [Word](https://dokutrak.com/downloads/pseo-v2/f6-document-guides/verification-of-employment-letter.docx) · [PDF](https://dokutrak.com/downloads/pseo-v2/f6-document-guides/verification-of-employment-letter.pdf)

## Questions people ask

### Who writes a verification of employment letter?

Your employer does, usually HR, payroll or the business owner. You can draft it for them with the template, but someone with authority at the company must sign it and give a phone number the requester can call.

### Does an employment verification letter have to include salary?

No. Include pay only when the requester needs it and the employee agrees in writing. Many employers confirm dates and title by default and add pay on request.

### Is a VOE letter the same as Fannie Mae Form 1005?

No. Form 1005 is a standard request a lender sends to the employer, signed by the borrower, and the employer returns it directly to the lender ([Fannie Mae Form 1005, Request for Verification of Employment](https://singlefamily.fanniemae.com/media/document/pdf/form-1005)). A VOE letter is free-form and written on the employer’s letterhead.

### Can a lender or landlord call HR instead of asking for a letter?

Yes, and many do both. Mortgage lenders confirm the job again by phone, in writing or through a vendor shortly before closing, even when a letter is already in the file ([Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.1-04, Verbal Verification of Employment](https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/sel/b3-3.1-04/verbal-verification-employment)).

**Not advice.** This page is general information, not tax, legal or HR advice. Rules change: check the cited source and ask your own professional before you rely on it. Last reviewed October 25, 2026.

## Sources

- [Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.2-01, Standards for Employment and Income Documentation](https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/sel/b3-3.2-01/standards-employment-and-income-documentation): Employment documents must come from a third party such as HR or payroll; Form 1005, a wage transcript, the final year-to-date pay stub and authorized vendor verifications are accepted.
- [Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.1-04, Verbal Verification of Employment](https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/sel/b3-3.1-04/verbal-verification-employment): The lender confirms employment no more than 10 business days before the note date for borrowers using employment income, verbally, in writing or through a vendor.
- [Fannie Mae Selling Guide B1-1-03, Allowable Age of Credit Documents](https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/sel/b1-1-03/allowable-age-credit-documents-and-federal-income-tax-returns): Employment, income and asset documents must be no more than four months old on the note date.
- [HUD Handbook 4000.1, Employment Related Income](https://www.hud.gov/sites/default/files/Housing/documents/40001-hsgh-Update-18.pdf): For FHA loans, current employment is documented with the most recent pay stub and a written VOE covering two years, or an electronic VOE.
- [Fannie Mae Form 1005, Request for Verification of Employment](https://singlefamily.fanniemae.com/media/document/pdf/form-1005): The form splits earnings into base pay, overtime, commissions and bonus, and the employer returns it directly to the lender.

## More on this topic

- [W-2 guide](/documents/w-2)
- [Mortgage document checklist](/blog/mortgage-document-checklist)
- [Document collection for mortgage brokers](/for/mortgage-brokers)

## About the author

Arthur Teboul (Founder, DokuTrak) is building DokuTrak after watching professionals lose hours chasing clients for documents over email. [Arthur Teboul](/authors/arthur-teboul).

How this page was made (methodology): it is built from the primary sources listed under Sources, and every rule and figure on it links to the source it comes from. Last updated October 25, 2026. Spotted an error or a rule that changed? [Contact us](/contact).

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