E-Verify

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E-Verify

Reference Number: MTAS-1938
Reviewed Date: 09/04/2026

E-Verify is a free, internet-based system operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA). It compares information entered from an employee’s Form I-9 with available SSA and DHS records to help confirm the employee’s identity and authorization to work in the United States.

E-Verify does not replace Form I-9. The city must first ensure that the employee completes Section 1 of Form I-9 and that the city completes Section 2 in accordance with federal Form I-9 requirements. The city then creates an E-Verify case using the information from the completed Form I-9. The city must use E-Verify consistently for all newly hired employees covered by its E-Verify enrollment and applicable law.

E-Verify may prompt the city to enter information from a List B driver’s license or state identification card when the employee presents that document for Form I-9 purposes and the issuing jurisdiction participates in E-Verify’s photo-matching or related verification process. The city must enter information exactly as it appears on the employee’s Form I-9 and must follow the system’s instructions for any photo-matching or tentative-nonconfirmation result.

Tennessee City Requirement
Beginning July 1, 2026, Tennessee law requires all local governments, including cities and towns, to use E-Verify for newly hired employees. This requirement applies regardless of the city’s size or number of employees. Public Chapter 772 also applies to local education agencies and other state agencies.

A city that used a third-party vendor for I-9 verification may continue using that vendor temporarily, but it must begin using the E-Verify program directly no later than January 1, 2027.

The city must retain work-authorization documentation for each employee throughout the employee’s period of employment. This obligation is in addition to the federal Form I-9 retention requirement, which generally requires an employer to retain Form I-9 until the later of three years after the employee’s hire date or one year after employment ends.

E-Verify Procedures
For each new hire subject to E-Verify, the city should:

  • Complete Form I-9 within the required federal timeframes.
  • Create an E-Verify case no later than the third business day after the employee begins work for pay.
  • Enter the information from Form I-9 accurately and only after Form I-9 has been completed.
  • Follow all E-Verify prompts, including any instructions involving a List B driver’s license or state identification card.
  • Notify the employee promptly and privately if E-Verify issues a tentative nonconfirmation.
  • Give the employee the required opportunity to contest a tentative nonconfirmation.
  • Avoid taking adverse employment action based solely on a tentative nonconfirmation while the employee has an opportunity to contest the result.
  • Retain the E-Verify case result and related documentation with the employee’s Form I-9 or in another secure, retrievable employment-verification record system.

The city should not create an E-Verify case before the employee has accepted an offer and completed Form I-9, use E-Verify to pre-screen job applicants, delay an employee’s start date because of an E-Verify case, or use E-Verify selectively based on citizenship, national origin, or perceived immigration status.

Federal Contractors
Separate federal requirements apply to certain federal contractors. In 2008, Executive Order 12989 was amended to direct federal agencies to include a clause requiring certain federal contractors to use E-Verify. A city that enters into a covered federal contract should review the contract’s E-Verify clause and applicable federal acquisition requirements, because those requirements may extend beyond the city’s ordinary new-hire verification practices.

Enforcement
Tennessee’s Attorney General may investigate reported noncompliance by a local government. If the Attorney General determines that a city has not complied with the E-Verify requirement, the law authorizes enforcement through withholding state funds provided by grant, contract, or statute, including state-shared tax revenue.


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