Checking a share code: a guide for employers

How to check a share code

If someone has given you a code, this is the process on your side.

• Use the Home Office online service that matches your check: the employer service for right to work, the landlord service for right to rent.
• Enter the share code exactly as given, together with the person’s date of birth.
• Confirm the photograph shown is the person in front of you.
• Keep a record of the result and the date you checked it.

A code that does not open a result is usually a code generated for a different service, a code past its 90 days, or a mistyped character or missing date of birth, rather than a problem with the person’s status. Ask for a fresh code through the correct service before drawing any conclusion.

Repeat checks and fair treatment

A few employer duties worth knowing about.

Employers are generally expected to carry out a follow-up check before a time-limited status expires, rather than relying indefinitely on a check made when someone was first employed.

Refusals to accept eligible physical documents in favour of insisting on a share code, when the person concerned is entitled to use documents instead, are a form of unequal treatment that GOV.UK guidance specifically discourages employers and landlords from engaging in.