An HR manager in Bristol receives a new hire's documents for their right to work check. The candidate presents a Portuguese identity card and a letter from their previous employer confirming five years of UK residence. The HR manager copies both, files them, and marks the check as complete.
Six months later, a Fair Work Agency inspection reveals the check was non-compliant. The Portuguese identity card is a valid document for settled status holders — but only when verified through the Home Office online service with a share code. A letter from a previous employer has never been an acceptable right to work document. The business has no statutory excuse. The penalty notice arrives two weeks later.
Getting right to work checks right starts with knowing exactly which documents are acceptable. This is the complete guide.
The two-list system
The Home Office organises acceptable right to work documents into two lists, published in the employer's guide to right to work checks.
List A documents demonstrate an unrestricted, ongoing right to work in the UK. If you verify a List A document correctly, your statutory excuse lasts for the duration of the person's employment. No follow-up check is required.
List B documents demonstrate a time-limited right to work. If you verify a List B document correctly, your statutory excuse lasts until the permission expires, or for a maximum period specified in the guidance. You must conduct a follow-up check before the expiry date to maintain your statutory excuse.
Understanding which list a document falls into determines not just whether you can accept it, but what your ongoing obligations are.
List A: unrestricted right to work
These documents prove that the holder has a permanent, unrestricted right to work in the UK. A correctly conducted check using any of these documents provides a statutory excuse for the duration of employment.
UK or Irish passport
A current UK passport or Irish passport (including an Irish passport card) is the most straightforward proof of right to work. British and Irish citizens have an unrestricted right to work in the UK under the Common Travel Area arrangement.
What to look for: Check the document is genuine (watermarks, holograms, machine-readable zone). Confirm the photograph matches the person presenting it. Check the passport has not expired. Record the document number and expiry date.
Important: This is the only category where digital verification through a certified Identity Service Provider (IDSP) is available as an alternative to a manual check. IDSPs can verify British and Irish passport holders remotely, without an in-person meeting.
Certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen
A person who has been granted British citizenship through registration or naturalisation will hold a certificate issued by the Home Office. This certificate, combined with a valid passport or other identity document, proves unrestricted right to work.
Birth or adoption certificate (UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, or Ireland)
A full birth certificate (not the short-form certificate, which does not show parentage) issued in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, or Republic of Ireland, when combined with an official document showing the person's permanent National Insurance number, can establish right to work.
Common mistake: The short-form birth certificate — which shows only the individual's name and date of birth — is not acceptable. It must be the full certificate showing parentage. Additionally, the birth certificate alone is not sufficient. It must be accompanied by a document giving the person's National Insurance number and name (such as a P45, P60, or NI number notification letter from HMRC).
List B: time-limited right to work
These documents prove a right to work that is subject to conditions or time limits. A statutory excuse based on a List B document expires when the person's permission to work expires, meaning you must conduct a follow-up check.
Current passport with valid visa or endorsement
A passport from any country endorsed with a current UK visa or entry stamp that permits the holder to work in the UK. This covers Skilled Worker visas, Graduate visas, dependent visas, and other work-permitted immigration categories.
What to look for: Check the visa or endorsement is genuine and current (not expired). Confirm the conditions of the visa permit the type of work being offered. Record the visa type, start date, and expiry date. The expiry date is your deadline for the follow-up check.
Biometric Residence Permit (BRP)
The BRP is a physical card issued to non-UK nationals with permission to stay in the UK. It contains biometric data, the holder's photograph, immigration status, and any conditions on their stay.
Critical update for 2026: All BRPs issued before 2025 carried an expiry date of 31 December 2024. Even if the holder's underlying immigration permission extends beyond that date, the physical BRP is no longer valid as standalone proof of right to work. Workers with expired BRPs must now use the online share code service to prove their status. You should direct them to generate a share code and verify it through the Employer Checking Service.
This is one of the most common sources of compliance error in 2026. An expired BRP does not mean the person has no right to work — but you cannot accept it as proof. See our guide to the 2026 right to work changes for a full breakdown.
Online share code verification
The Home Office's online share code system is now the primary method for verifying the right to work of non-UK/Irish nationals. The worker generates a time-limited share code through the View and Prove service, and the employer verifies it through the Employer Checking Service.
How it works:
- The worker visits gov.uk/prove-right-to-work and generates a share code
- The share code is valid for 90 days from the date of generation
- The employer enters the share code and the worker's date of birth into the Employer Checking Service
- The service displays the worker's photograph, immigration status, and any conditions on their right to work
What to record: Save or print the result page showing the worker's status, the date of the check, the share code used, and the image displayed. This is your verification record.
Positive verification notice from the Employer Checking Service
In some cases — where a worker cannot provide documents or a share code, or where there is an outstanding application or appeal — the employer can request a verification directly from the Home Office Employer Checking Service. A positive verification notice confirms the worker has the right to work and provides a statutory excuse for six months from the date of the notice.
This is the fallback option. It applies when a worker has an outstanding immigration application or appeal and cannot prove their status through other documents.
Documents that look valid but are not
These are the documents that cause the most compliance errors. They may appear official or convincing, but they are not acceptable as proof of right to work.
Expired BRPs. As noted above, a BRP with a 31 December 2024 expiry date is no longer valid as standalone proof, even if the person's immigration permission is ongoing. Direct the worker to the online share code service.
National Insurance number cards or letters alone. A National Insurance number is not proof of right to work. It confirms only that HMRC has assigned a tax reference. Non-UK nationals can hold a NI number without having the right to work (for example, if their visa has since expired). A NI number card or letter can be used alongside a birth certificate as part of a List A check, but never on its own.
Letters from previous employers. A reference or confirmation letter from a previous employer — even one confirming that right to work checks were previously conducted — is not an acceptable document. You must conduct your own independent check.
Foreign driving licences. A driving licence from any country, including the UK, is not an acceptable right to work document. UK driving licences can be held by individuals without permanent right to work. Foreign licences prove nothing about immigration status.
Utility bills and bank statements. These prove an address. They do not prove right to work. They are never acceptable.
EU Settlement Scheme decision letters. While a person with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme does have the right to work, the decision letter itself is not an acceptable document. The worker must prove their status through the online share code service. The physical letter is confirmation of the decision, not proof of status for employment purposes.
The most commonly confused document types
Certain documents generate recurring confusion among employers. Understanding these distinctions prevents the most frequent right to work check errors.
Full birth certificate vs short-form birth certificate. Only the full certificate (showing parentage) is acceptable, and only in combination with a document showing a permanent NI number.
Current passport vs expired passport. An expired passport is not an acceptable right to work document, regardless of the holder's nationality. This includes expired British passports — the person may be a British citizen, but an expired passport does not prove current identity and status. They need to renew it or provide alternative acceptable documents.
Biometric Residence Card vs Biometric Residence Permit. A Biometric Residence Card (BRC) is issued to non-EEA family members of EEA nationals. A Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) is issued to non-UK nationals with immigration permission. Both have been affected by the move to eVisa status. In both cases, if the physical card has expired, the worker must use the share code system.
Certificate of Application (CoA) under the EU Settlement Scheme. A CoA was issued to applicants while their application was being processed. It is not proof of right to work. If the worker has a CoA but no decision yet, you must use the Employer Checking Service to verify their status.
Which check method applies to which document
This is where employers most often go wrong, and it is the single most important thing to get right for maintaining your statutory excuse.
Manual check (inspect original, copy, retain): Applies to physical documents — passports, birth certificates, certificates of registration/naturalisation. You must see the original document in person (not a photocopy, not a photo on a phone). You must take a clear copy and retain it securely.
Digital check via certified IDSP: Applies only to British and Irish citizens with valid passports (or Irish passport cards). The IDSP verifies the document digitally and confirms the holder's identity. This provides a statutory excuse equivalent to a manual check.
Online share code check: Applies to non-UK/Irish nationals with eVisa status, settled/pre-settled status, or any immigration permission that can be proved online. You verify the share code through the Employer Checking Service.
Using the wrong method invalidates your check. If you use an IDSP for a non-UK national, you do not have a statutory excuse. If you accept a photocopy instead of an original, you do not have a statutory excuse. If you accept an expired BRP without verifying via share code, you do not have a statutory excuse.
Building a compliant document process
A compliant right to work document check follows three steps, every time, without exception.
Step 1: Obtain. Request the appropriate document(s) from the worker before their start date. Give them clear guidance on which documents are acceptable — many workers genuinely do not know what to bring. Provide the GOV.UK list as a reference.
Step 2: Check. Verify the document using the correct method. For manual checks, inspect the original in the presence of the holder. Check it is genuine, belongs to the person, allows the type of work being offered, and has not expired. For online checks, verify the share code and record the result. For IDSP checks, ensure the provider is certified by the Home Office.
Step 3: Record. Take a clear copy (manual) or save the verification record (online/IDSP). Store it securely with a note of the date, the method used, and who conducted the check. Set a diary date for follow-up if the right to work is time-limited. Your audit trail is your statutory excuse made tangible.
Certifyd's Right to Work Portal automates the entire document verification process — guiding workers to the correct documents, verifying them through the appropriate method, flagging expired permissions, and building the audit trail automatically. No more guesswork about which list, which method, or when to follow up.