E-Verify duplicate cases: what the two duplicate alerts mean and when a second case is allowed

E-Verify shows two different duplicate warnings while you create a case. The Duplicate Case Alert appears when the Social Security number matches an earlier case in the same employer account; the Duplicate Cases Found alert appears when the case information matches one or more cases created in that account within the last 365 days. Neither alert means you must stop: a rehire, or an earlier case entered with wrong information, is a valid reason to continue. What E-Verify requires, as of November 2026, is that you review the earlier cases, close any open duplicate before continuing, give a reason for continuing, and close a true duplicate with the closure statement written for it.

What triggers each duplicate alert?

The two alerts look alike but come from two different checks, and each one offers different buttons:

Both checks look only inside your own employer account. Within that account, section 2.3 says program administrators and general users can update and close every case created under it, regardless of who created the case; E-Verify user roles explains who holds which role. That matters when the earlier case belongs to a colleague at another location: section 2.5 notes you may need to contact the user who created it before you decide.

E-Verify tightened these checks in June 2022. Its enhancements page says the duplicate lookback period was extended from 30 to 365 days, users can no longer create a duplicate case while another case for the same employee is open, and users can now view and manage all duplicate cases in one place. Advice written before then, which talks about a 30-day window, is out of date.

When is a second case for the same person allowed?

The user manual says plainly that receiving a duplicate alert "does not necessarily mean" you should not proceed. These are the situations in which E-Verify itself describes a new case for the same employee:

• A rehire. Section 2.5 names a rehire as a reason the employer must sometimes create a new case. Whether a particular rehire needs one depends on the earlier Form I-9 and case result; see E-Verify for rehired employees.
• The earlier case contains incorrect information. Both sections 2.3 and 2.5 give this as a valid reason.
• Error: Close Case and Resubmit. If the expiration date you entered for a U.S. passport, passport card or driver's license is wrong, E-Verify stops the case. Because submitted document information cannot be changed, section 2.4 tells you to close it with "The case is being closed because the data entered is incorrect" and create a new case with the correct date.
• A Close Case and Resubmit result. When DHS or SSA cannot process a case, section 3.5 has you click Close and Create a New Case, and E-Verify opens the new case for you.
• An expired document, a technical problem, or an instruction from DHS or SSA. Each has its own closure statement, listed below, that tells E-Verify why a new case follows.

When should you not create another case?

• To fix the first day of employment. E-Verify's FAQ says to correct the date on the Review Case screen before you submit, or afterwards to note the error on the case details page or the Form I-9, initialed and dated, and says: "Do not create a new case with a corrected first day of employment."
• To get a different answer after a mismatch. A Tentative Nonconfirmation (mismatch) caused by government records is resolved through the mismatch process, not by running the person again. Follow the tentative nonconfirmation steps. A new case is right only when your own data entry was wrong, handled as described further down.
• For reverification. USCIS's remote examination page says, "For reverification, do not create a new E-Verify case." Reverification happens on Supplement B of Form I-9; see I-9 reverification.
• To re-check someone already verified. Only federal contractors with the FAR E-Verify clause may verify existing employees, and even they "may not create a second case" for an employee already verified through E-Verify (MOU Article II.B.2). See E-Verify for existing employees.
• For a temp moving to a new client. A worker who stays on a staffing agency's payroll between assignments is not a new hire at each placement; see E-Verify for staffing agencies.

How do you clear a Duplicate Cases Found alert?

1. Read the list. The alert shows every case created under your account in the last 365 days with the same case information. If you are not ready to decide, Cancel backs out of the new case completely and saves nothing.
2. Open Review and Manage Duplicate Cases to see the open and closed duplicates for the 365-day lookback period.
3. Decide which case should carry on. If an earlier open case is the right one, click Continue Case; E-Verify takes you to that case's last process step. The manual says this works only if it is the only open duplicate.
4. Close any open case created in error with the Close Case link, choosing one of the reasons E-Verify offers on that screen: "The information entered was not correct. I am choosing to close this case.", "Employee is no longer employed", or "Other (full explanation required)".
5. If a new case is still warranted, continue it and select the reason for continuing a duplicate case. The manual is explicit: "You cannot continue a case without closing the open cases."
6. Record the surviving case number on the Form I-9, or attach the case details page, as Article II.A.7 of the MOU requires.

How do you handle a Duplicate Case Alert?

1. Review the earlier case information, and contact the user who created it if you need to.
2. Click View Case Details. If the information is incorrect, update it, then click Continue.
3. If you decide the new case is needed, click Continue and select a reason from the options E-Verify presents.
4. If it is truly a duplicate and you no longer need the verification, click Close Case.

Which closure statement fits a duplicate case?

Every case must end closed, and section 4.1.1 lists the statements word for word. The ones that relate to duplicates and fresh cases:

For the first two, the manual adds a warning worth repeating to every user: closing the case "does not void the case or change the case result. The case will still display the last case result even though it has been closed." A duplicate you close after a mismatch still shows the mismatch history. The full list of closure statements, and the cases you cannot close yet, are in closing an E-Verify case.

What if a mismatch was caused by your own typo?

This is where duplicate handling goes wrong most often. The manual gives two exits, depending on when you spot the error. At the notification step, section 3.3.1 says that if you determine you entered information incorrectly, you select the statement indicating the information was not correct and click Close Case, and the case is closed due to incorrect data. If you find out later, at the step where you record the employee's decision, section 3.3.2 gives this route:

1. Select the option indicating the employee will not take action. The case receives a Final Nonconfirmation result and E-Verify prompts you to close it.
2. Click Close Case and select the option saying you are closing it because the information was entered incorrectly.
3. Create a new case with the corrected information.

The manual adds that you should close the case only after E-Verify provides a final case result or if you no longer need to continue confirming the employee's eligibility. Because the first case will keep showing a Final Nonconfirmation, write a short note with both case numbers and the reason, keep it with the Form I-9, and tell the employee the mismatch came from a data entry error. Nothing about the closed case justifies any adverse action; the new case decides the outcome.

Where do accidental duplicates usually come from?

The patterns below are common examples, not E-Verify findings, and each has an E-Verify tool that helps:

• Two users, one new hire. A branch coordinator and central HR both create a case. Agree on who creates cases at each hiring site.
• Forgotten drafts. Section 2.2.3 lets users Save & Exit a case as a draft, and E-Verify automatically closes any draft not updated within 180 federal government working days. Abandoning a case after the Check Information screen or the photo matching screen appears leaves it in Case Incomplete status, according to the manual's glossary. Both can collide with a later case.
• Starting over to fix a typo. Use Edit Case Details on the Review Case screen before submitting instead of creating a second case.
• Old open cases. The "Open Cases to be Closed" alert on the home page, and the case search by Social Security number in section 4.2, show what is still open before you create anything new.

A worked example

The facts are illustrative. On a new hire's second day, an onboarding coordinator enters the employee's U.S. passport details and mistypes the expiration year. E-Verify returns Error: Close Case and Resubmit. She closes the case with "The case is being closed because the data entered is incorrect" and starts a new one. E-Verify shows the Duplicate Cases Found alert listing the case she just closed. Because that case is closed, nothing blocks her; she continues the new case, picks the reason for continuing from E-Verify's list that matches what happened, enters the correct date, completes photo matching against her copy of the passport, and receives Employment Authorized. She records the new case number on the Form I-9 and notes the first case number beside it. Had she instead found an open case a colleague created the day before, the right move would have been Continue Case on that one, not a third case.

A duplicate-case checklist

• Search the account by Social Security number before creating a case for anyone who may have been verified before.
• Never keep two open cases for one person; continue the open one or close it first.
• Create a second case only for a recognized reason: rehire, incorrect data, Close Case and Resubmit, an expired document, a technical issue, or a DHS or SSA instruction.
• Fix typos and dates on the Review Case screen, and never re-run a case just to correct the first day of employment.
• Use the exact closure statement that matches what happened, remembering it does not erase the old result.
• Keep both case numbers and a one-line reason with the Form I-9.
• Do not create new cases for reverification, for existing employees, or for temps changing assignments.

For what each case result means once the surviving case runs, see E-Verify case results explained, and for the deadline that a replacement case still has to meet, see the E-Verify three-day rule.