Name and Social Security Number (SSN) "No-Matches" Information for Employers (Dos and Don'ts)

Name and Social Security Number (SSN) “No-Matches”
Information for Employers
DO:
1. 	Recognize that name/SSN no-matches can result because of simple administrative
errors.
2. 	Check the reported no-match information against your personnel records.
3. 	Inform the employee of the no-match notice.
4. 	Ask the employee to confirm his/her name/SSN reflected in your personnel records.
5. 	Advise the employee to contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) to correct
and/or update his or her SSA records.
6. 	Give the employee a reasonable period of time to address a reported no-match with
the local SSA office.
7. 	Follow the same procedures for all employees regardless of citizenship status or
national origin.
8. 	Periodically meet with or otherwise contact the employee to learn and document the
status of the employee’s efforts to address and resolve the no-match.
9. 	Review any document the employee chooses to offer showing resolution of the no-
match.
10. 	Submit any employer or employee corrections to the SSA.
DON’T:
1. 	Assume the no-match conveys information regarding the employee’s immigration
status or actual work authority.
2. 	Use the receipt of a no-match notice alone as a basis to terminate, suspend or take
other adverse action against the employee.
3. 	Attempt to immediately reverify the employee’s employment eligibility by
requesting the completion of a new Form I-9 based solely on the no-match notice.
4. 	Follow different procedures for different classes of employees based on national
origin or citizenship status.
5. 	Require the employee to produce specific I-9 documents to address the no-match.
6. 	Require the employee to provide a written report of SSA verification (as it may not
always be obtainable).
For more information on the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality
Act, call OSC through its employer telephone hotline or visit OSC’s Website:
Employers: 1-800-255-8155 (TDD: 1-800-237-2525)
Website: http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/
This guidance document is not intended to be a final agency action, has no legally binding effect, and has no force or effect of law. The
document may be rescinded or modified at the Department’s discretion, in accordance with applicable laws. The Department’s guidance
documents, including this guidance, do not establish legally enforceable responsibilities beyond what is required by the terms of the
applicable statutes, regulations, or binding judicial precedent. For more information, see "Memorandum for All Components: Prohibition of
Improper Guidance Documents," from Attorney General Jefferson B. Sessions III, November 16, 2017.