E-Verify Final Nonconfirmation: what it means, how to close the case, and what happens if you keep the employee

An E-Verify Final Nonconfirmation means E-Verify could not confirm that the employee is authorized to work in the United States. As of November 2026, the employer must close the case and say whether it will keep employing the person. The E-Verify memorandum of understanding lets the employer terminate without civil or criminal liability under the MOU, and an employer that keeps the person must notify DHS and takes on a rebuttable presumption that it knowingly employed an unauthorized worker. Of all the case results, it is the one after which the ban on adverse action because of the mismatch stops applying.

The steps that come before this result, from the private notice to the referral, are in E-Verify tentative nonconfirmation and E-Verify Further Action Notice. This page starts where they end.

How does a case reach a Final Nonconfirmation?

One route is a mechanical step rather than a finding. If you discover during a mismatch that you entered the employee's information wrongly, Section 3.3.2 tells you to select the option that the employee will not take action. The case then shows Final Nonconfirmation, you close it as "the data entered is incorrect," and you create a new case with the corrected information. That result says nothing about the employee.

What must the employer do first?

Close the case. Section 3.6 says employers must close a case once it receives a Final Nonconfirmation, and Section 4.1 sets out the screen:

1. Open the case and click Close Case.
2. Select the statement saying whether you will continue to employ the person.
3. If you will continue to employ them, type the reason in the text box. E-Verify requires it.
4. If neither option fits, choose the statement that you are closing for a different reason and select the reason; if you pick Other, type it.
5. Click Close Case and wait for the confirmation that the case closed.
6. Record the case number on the Form I-9, or print the case details page and attach it.

The closure statements written for this result are listed in Section 4.1.1. They separate three situations: a Final Nonconfirmation after the employee tried to resolve the mismatch, a DHS No Show, and an employee who chose not to take action. Each one comes in two forms, "continues to work for the employer" and "was terminated by the employer." Choose the one that matches what actually happened. The full list, with the statements for other results, is in how to close an E-Verify case.

Can you keep employing the person?

You can, but the MOU attaches consequences. Article II.A.8(a) lists them:

• You must notify DHS. An employer that receives a Final Nonconfirmation and continues to employ the person must notify DHS. The closure screen is where E-Verify records your choice to keep the person and your reason.
• A penalty applies if you do not. The 2013 MOU text gives a range of $550 to $1,100, but those are the original amounts. The current inflation-adjusted figure in the Justice Department's table at 28 CFR 85.5, for penalties assessed after July 3, 2025, is $998 to $1,992 for each person, listed as an employer's "failure to notify of final nonconfirmation."
• A rebuttable presumption shifts against you. If you keep employing someone after a Final Nonconfirmation, you are subject to a rebuttable presumption that you knowingly employed an unauthorized worker in violation of section 274A(a)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. "Knowing" in the regulations includes knowledge that may fairly be inferred from facts an employer had (8 CFR 274a.1(l)).

Employers sometimes keep a person on while a further review is pending, described below. If you do, the reason you type at closure should say so plainly. For the wider penalty picture, see I-9 penalties.

Can you terminate, and what still applies?

Article II.A.13 of the MOU says that once a secondary verification ends in a Final Nonconfirmation, or the employee chooses not to contest, the employer can find the employee is not work authorized and terminate employment. Section 3.6 of the manual adds that the employer may do so with no civil or criminal liability "as noted in" that paragraph. That protection is about the E-Verify result. It does not change:

• Anti-discrimination rules. Article II.A.14 of the MOU bars discrimination because of national origin or citizenship status, and names discharging employees because they received tentative nonconfirmations as an example of an illegal practice.
• Privacy. E-Verify's quick reference guide for clients says to discuss all case results, including a Final Nonconfirmation, with the employee in private.
• Your normal separation steps. Final pay timing, required notices and documentation follow your usual process and state law.

For temps on a staffing agency's payroll, the agency is the employer that closes the case and makes the decision. Tell the client only what it needs operationally; see E-Verify for staffing agencies.

What if you or the employee think the result is wrong?

Ask for a further review. E-Verify's Verification Process page says that after a Final Nonconfirmation the employee or employer can request further review by calling E-Verify at 888-464-4218, and that E-Verify may revisit the result and issue a Status Update Letter to the employer and to its employer agent, if there is one. E-Verify's FAQ adds three points:

• If appropriate, E-Verify issues a Final Nonconfirmation Status Update letter indicating whether the employee is employment authorized.
• The result in the letter becomes the new result.
• Keep a copy of the letter with the Form I-9, because E-Verify will not update the case record electronically.

System errors happen too. On May 19, 2025, E-Verify announced that some SSA mismatches referred between April 9 and May 5, 2025 had wrongly received a Final Nonconfirmation even after the employee visited SSA. It told employers to create a new case for those employees and not to take adverse action or terminate based on those results. When a Final Nonconfirmation surprises you, check E-Verify's What's New page before acting.

Can you create a new case for the same person?

Not as a second try. E-Verify's FAQ is direct: when an employee chooses not to take action and the case becomes a Final Nonconfirmation, close the case and do not create a new one. A new case is correct only in narrower situations:

The rehire rule matters for seasonal and returning workers. See I-9 for rehires for the Form I-9 side and E-Verify for rehired employees for the case side.

What can and cannot happen after the result?

Which records should you keep?

• The case number on the Form I-9, or the printed case details page.
• The signed Further Action Notice and, if the case was referred, the Referral Date Confirmation copy.
• Any Final Nonconfirmation Status Update letter.
• Your own note of the closure statement you chose and the date.

Section 7.4 of the manual says E-Verify case information and documentation must be kept as long as the employee's Form I-9; see I-9 retention rules.

A Final Nonconfirmation checklist

• Confirm how the case got here: unresolved, no show, no decision, chose not to act, or your own data error.
• If it was a data error, close as incorrect data and create a corrected case.
• If the result looks wrong, check What's New and call E-Verify for further review.
• Decide whether employment continues, and apply the same approach to every employee in the same position.
• Close the case with the accurate statement and, if you keep the person, the reason.
• Talk to the employee in private and follow your normal separation process if employment ends.
• File the case number, notices and any Status Update Letter with the Form I-9.