Right to work

How to do a right to work check: share code, manual and digital

Before someone starts working for you, you must check that they are allowed to do the job in the UK. This guide explains the three ways to check, what to keep and how to avoid discrimination, under the rules in force since 1 October 2026.

Last checked 23 October 2026 against the sources listed below. Written by Assize Data Ltd.

Why the check matters

If you do a check exactly as the Home Office prescribes, before the person starts work, you have a statutory excuse. It protects you from a civil penalty if the person later turns out not to have the right to work.

Without that excuse, you could face a civil penalty of up to £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach, or up to £60,000 per worker for a repeat breach within three years. It is also a criminal offence to employ someone you know, or have reasonable cause to believe, has no right to do the work. The maximum sentence is five years in prison and an unlimited fine. GOV.UK lists the other penalties for employing illegal workers.

You can ask a member of staff to do checks, but your business stays responsible. Apart from a check through a registered digital provider, you can't rely on a check that an outside party, such as a recruitment agency, did on its own.

Who to check and when

Check everyone you take on, including British citizens. Complete the check before the person starts work. If you only check after they've started, you won't have a statutory excuse.

Since 1 October 2026 the rules cover more than employees. You also count as the employer if you take someone on under a worker's contract, or engage an individual sub-contractor to do work you've agreed to provide for a customer. This applies to arrangements made on or after 1 October 2026. A self-employed plumber you call out to fix a leak, who runs their own business, is not in scope.

If someone's permission to work has an end date, do a follow-up check on or before that date to keep employing them. No follow-up is needed for British or Irish citizens, people with settled status, or people with status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

The three ways to check

Which method fits depends on the person's nationality and immigration status. You can't insist on a particular method, so give people a reasonable chance to use one that is open to them.

1. Home Office online check with a share code

Anyone with an eVisa must prove their right to work this way. You can no longer accept biometric residence permits or cards. British and Irish citizens can't usually get a share code.

The person gets a code from the GOV.UK service to prove your right to work to an employer. A right to work share code has 9 characters and starts with W. Codes starting with R or S are for other purposes and can't be used. A code lasts 90 days.

1. Enter the share code and the person's date of birth in the GOV.UK service to check a job applicant's right to work. Give your business name in full.
2. Check that the photo in the result is of the person, in person or on a live video call.
3. Check any conditions, such as limits on hours or type of work, and make sure the job fits them.
4. Save the profile page as a PDF or HTML file, or print it. It shows the photo and the date of the check.

Looking at the person's own eVisa account, or a printout they give you, doesn't count.

2. Manual check of original documents

Use this for people without an eVisa, including most British and Irish citizens. The documents must come from List A or List B in the Home Office employer's guide to right to work checks. List B documents need a follow-up check. A British passport, or an Irish passport or passport card, is acceptable whether current or expired, but a cancelled passport with clipped corners is not. The GOV.UK tool to check if a document allows someone to work in the UK can help.

1. Obtain the original documents. You must have them in your physical possession. The person can post them to you.
2. Check them while the person is present, in person or on a live video call. Look for tampering. Make sure photos and dates of birth match across the documents and match the person, permission hasn't expired, and the job fits any restrictions. If names differ, ask for evidence such as a marriage certificate.
3. Copy each document clearly, in a format that can't be altered. For a passport, copy the pages showing the expiry date, nationality, date of birth, signature, photo and any visa or entry stamp.
4. Record the date of the check, for example by writing on the copy: "The date on which this right to work check was made: [insert date]". A bare date is not enough.

A video call is only for seeing the person. You can't check a document on screen, or from a photo or scan. The one exception is official digital evidence of a National Insurance number, used alongside a List A or List B document.

3. Digital check through a registered provider

For British and Irish citizens you can use a right to work digital verification service provider, sometimes still called an IDVT provider. It works with a British passport, or an Irish passport or passport card, that is current or expired by no more than six months. The provider must be on the government's digital verification services register for right to work, and will charge for the check. You still need to make sure the result relates to the person, and keep the provider's output. Our guide to digital checks for British and Irish citizens covers this in more detail.

If someone can't show documents or a share code, for example because a Home Office application or appeal is pending, use the Employer Checking Service. A Positive Verification Notice gives you a statutory excuse for six months.

What to keep and for how long

Keep a secure copy of the evidence: the saved profile page for an online check, your document copies and dated record for a manual check, or the provider's output and any face comparison for a digital check. For students with limited working hours, also keep evidence of their term and vacation dates.

Keep everything for as long as the person works for you and for two years after they leave, then destroy it securely. Handle it in line with data protection law.

Avoid discrimination

It is unlawful to discriminate on grounds such as race or nationality when checking right to work. Check everyone the same way, including British citizens. Don't check only the people you think are more likely to be migrants, and don't make assumptions from someone's accent, surname, ethnic origin or how long they've lived in the UK. The Home Office code of practice on avoiding discrimination and code of practice on preventing illegal working set out the full rules.

This guide is general information about the law in the UK, not legal advice. The rules change, so check the sources above, and take advice about your own situation. Assize Data Ltd is not a law firm.