A worker with back wages recovered by the Labor Department has to send in one identity document and will be paid only by electronic transfer. The Wage and Hour Division’s Workers Owed Wages page lists the accepted documents, and it says: “Starting October 1, 2025, all payments will be made electronically.”
The page sets out a short sequence, from searching for a name to uploading a signed form. Each step has a requirement that can slow a claim down if it is missed.
Which documents does a back-wage claim accept?
The Wage and Hour Division asks for a copy of one document to verify identity. The accepted choices are a Social Security card, an ITIN card, a driver’s license or state ID, or a W-2, a pay stub or other documentation. One is enough, so a worker without a Social Security card handy can use a pay stub or a state ID instead.
The document goes in with the claim form, Form WH-60, the Back Wage Claim Form. The division emails the form after a worker searches for their own name and submits contact information, and the worker must complete and sign it. The application itself is online, and every step from the employer search to payment runs through it.
What does a worker need in hand to claim wages?
Three things have to be ready before the upload: the signed WH-60, one copy of an accepted identity document, and a login.gov account. The upload runs through login.gov, so the account is part of the paperwork, not an afterthought.
Retirement deadlines, in your inbox: Miss an enrollment or claim deadline and the money can be gone. The Retirement Money Brief keeps you ahead of the ones that matter, every weekday.
Get the Retirement Money Brief →
We may earn a commission from links on this page.
What does a worker have to do in order?
The division’s page lists the steps. A worker first enters the employer’s name in the Workers Owed Wages application, known as WOW, and then searches for their own name so the system can confirm whether wages are owed to them. Contact information comes next.
After that, the division sends the WH-60 by email: “Check your email for the Back Wage Claim Form (WH-60).” The completed form and the identity document are uploaded through a login.gov account. The last step is waiting for processing and payment.
What changed on October 1, 2025?
Back wages used to reach some workers by paper check. Starting October 1, 2025, the division says, all payments will be made electronically. Workers who currently receive back wages by paper check must update their information, and the division says to confirm those details in the WOW application.
The wage recovery work is the division’s core job. In its words, “When we find violations, we work to recover unpaid wages on behalf of employees.”
How long does it take, and what if a worker is never found?
The Wage and Hour Division says it processes the signed claim form “within approximately six weeks” and then sends the wages. The six-week estimate is tied to the signed claim form, so the signature and the identity document are what start that count. Questions can go to the division at 1-866-487-9243, which is 1-866-4-US-WAGE.
The division says it tries to locate and notify every employee owed back wages. If it cannot find an employee, it holds that employee’s back wages for three years, and after that unclaimed money goes to the U.S. Treasury. That three-year period is a holding period before the money moves to Treasury, not a stated filing deadline; the page lists no statute of limitations for claims.
The page also says to use WOW if a worker thinks the division “may have recovered unpaid wages” for them. It lists no other eligibility test. The open question for a worker is whether the search turns up their name under the employer in question, and the free place to find out is the division’s WOW page, which links to the application.
Gathering papers for a back-wage claim?
A household chasing back pay is often counting every dollar, and benefits that turn on income limits are easy to overlook while the paperwork for one claim takes up the week. A missed program can cost a household more than a late form.
The Benefits Checklist scans eleven benefit programs with the 2026 income limits and a 50-state phone directory, and Part 1, “The 10-Minute Scan,” is the quick pass through them. A printable application tracker comes with the download.
Get the 11-program checklist and income limits for a household waiting on back pay →
More Financial Reading
- 21 Ways to Stretch a $2,087 Social Security Check
- 15 Places to Find Your Share of the $4.25 Billion States Give Back
- 15 Ways Out of 22% Credit Card Interest
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
