Finding someone’s employment history depends entirely on whether you’re looking up your own records or someone else’s. Your own work history is accessible through federal agencies like the IRS and Social Security Administration. Someone else’s employment history is much harder to obtain legally, and in most cases requires that person’s written consent. Here’s how each method works and what you can realistically expect to find.
Pull Your Own Records Through the IRS
The fastest way to reconstruct your own employment history is through IRS wage and income transcripts. Every employer that paid you and withheld taxes filed a W-2 with the IRS, so these transcripts show which companies paid you, how much you earned, and when. You can access them by signing in to your Individual Online Account on IRS.gov, where you can view, print, or download transcripts covering multiple prior tax years. This is free and usually the quickest option if you need to piece together a timeline of past jobs for a new employer, a background check, or your own records.
The IRS keeps wage and income data going back several years, though older records may not be available online. If you need something further back, you can request transcripts by mail using Form 4506-T, which is also free.
Request a Detailed History From Social Security
The Social Security Administration maintains a record of every job where your employer reported wages, stretching back to when you first started working. You can get a basic overview by creating a my Social Security account online at ssa.gov, which shows yearly earnings totals. For a more detailed breakdown, you’ll need to submit Form SSA-7050-F4 by mail.
The SSA offers three levels of detail, each with a different fee. Certified yearly totals of earnings cost $35. A non-certified itemized statement of earnings, which breaks down your work history by employer, costs $61. A certified itemized statement costs $96. You can pay by credit card, check, or money order, and the completed form must reach the SSA within 120 days of the date you sign it. Processing takes up to 120 days, so this isn’t a quick turnaround. Mail the form and payment to Social Security Administration, P.O. Box 33011, Baltimore, MD 21290-33011.
This is especially useful if you worked jobs decades ago and can’t remember exact employer names or dates. The SSA record covers your entire working life, not just recent years.
Check The Work Number Database
Equifax operates a massive employment verification database called The Work Number, which contains records contributed by thousands of employers. Many large companies automatically report employee data to this system. You have the right to view your own file for free by requesting what’s called an Employment Data Report.
You can access your report online at employees.theworknumber.com, by phone at 1-800-367-2884, or by downloading a request form and mailing or emailing it to EDR@equifax.com. Your report will show which employers contributed data about you, your job titles, dates of employment, and in some cases salary information. You can also freeze your data through the site if you don’t want third parties accessing it without your knowledge.
Not every employer participates, so gaps in this database are common. Smaller businesses and independent contractors typically won’t appear. But if you’ve worked for mid-size or large companies, there’s a good chance your records are there.
Search Professional License Databases
If you’re trying to verify whether someone worked in a licensed profession, most states maintain free, searchable databases of professional licenses. These cover fields like medicine, nursing, law, pharmacy, real estate, cosmetology, accounting, psychology, chiropractic care, dental practice, veterinary medicine, engineering, and dozens of other regulated occupations. A license record typically shows the person’s name, license number, issue date, expiration date, and current status, which can confirm they practiced in that field during a specific period.
Each state runs its own licensing portal, and you can usually search by name without creating an account. These records are public information, so you don’t need anyone’s permission to look them up. They won’t give you a full employment history, but they’re a reliable way to confirm someone held the credentials they claim.
Looking Up Someone Else’s Work History
If you’re trying to find another person’s employment history, your options are far more limited. Federal law places strict boundaries on this, particularly the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). When an employer or landlord wants to pull someone’s work history through a third-party background check company, the FCRA requires several steps before that can happen.
First, you must provide the person with a written notice, in a standalone document, that you may use the information for employment decisions. This notice cannot be buried inside a job application. Second, you must get the person’s written consent before ordering the report. Third, you must certify to the background check company that you followed all FCRA requirements and won’t use the information to discriminate. If you’re ordering an investigative report based on personal interviews about someone’s character or reputation, you must also tell the person they have the right to know the nature and scope of that investigation.
Skipping any of these steps can result in legal liability. The FCRA gives individuals the right to sue if their information is pulled without proper authorization.
What You Can Find Without Consent
Without someone’s permission, the publicly available information about their work history is limited to what they’ve shared themselves or what exists in public records. LinkedIn profiles, personal websites, published bios, and press releases can all provide clues. Court filings, corporate officer records, and SEC disclosures are public and sometimes list a person’s employer or title. Professional license databases, as mentioned above, are also fair game.
What you cannot do without consent is pull someone’s tax records, Social Security earnings history, or Work Number data. Those records belong to the individual. Even employers who want to verify a former employee’s work history at another company typically need to go through an authorized verification service, which routes the request back to the individual for approval or checks against employer-contributed databases where the company has already opted in to share data.
Reconstructing a Partial History
If you’re trying to fill in your own gaps, combining multiple sources gives you the most complete picture. Start with the IRS transcripts for recent years since they’re free and fast. Use your Social Security account for a quick look at yearly earnings going further back. If you need employer names and dates for older jobs, submit the SSA-7050 form for the itemized statement. Check The Work Number for any additional records from larger employers. Old tax returns, W-2 forms, pay stubs, and bank statements showing direct deposits can also help you identify employers you may have forgotten.
If you’re putting this together for a new job application and there are still gaps, most employers understand that people don’t have perfect records going back 10 or 20 years. Providing what you can document, along with honest approximations for the rest, is standard practice.