In 2026, 42 states plus Washington, D.C. require employers to provide some form of pay statement; only 8 states — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia,…
By ExpertPaystubs Editorial Team. Published 2026-08-26
In 2026, 42 states plus Washington, D.C. require employers to provide employees some form of pay statement; only 8 states — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Dakota, and Tennessee — have no pay stub requirement at all. No federal law requires pay stubs either: the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) obligates employers to keep accurate pay records for at least three years, but says nothing about handing workers a statement. Everything about whether you must receive a stub, and in what format, is state law.
The payroll industry sorts state rules into five categories, and that framework is the fastest way to read the table below.
What Do the Five Categories Mean?
No requirement. State law is silent. Employers may issue stubs (most do, since payroll software produces them automatically), but an employee in these eight states has no state-law right to demand one. Note that even here, the underlying records must exist — FLSA retention still applies, and Ohio's exit from this group in 2025 shows the list keeps shrinking.
Access states. The largest group. Employers must furnish a statement of pay information — earnings, deductions, pay period — or give employees access to it. Electronic delivery generally satisfies the rule, and the law doesn't guarantee a paper copy. Most of these laws phrase the duty as an "itemized statement" of wages and deductions each pay period.
Access/print states. One step stricter: electronic stubs are fine, but employees must be able to print them or obtain a paper copy easily. California, Texas, and Washington anchor this group; California's Labor Code is the strictest in the country on what the itemized statement must contain, and missing items carry statutory penalties there.
Opt-out and opt-in states. These regulate the default format. In opt-out states (Delaware, Minnesota, Oregon) employers may deliver electronically by default, but any employee can opt out and require paper. In the one opt-in state (Hawaii) the default runs the other way: paper is required unless the employee affirmatively consents to electronic delivery.
Which States Require Pay Stubs in 2026? (All 50 States + D.C.)
| State | Pay stub required? | Category | Delivery format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No | No requirement | Employer's choice |
| Alaska | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Arizona | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Arkansas | No | No requirement | Employer's choice |
| California | Yes | Access/print | Electronic allowed if employee can print or get a paper copy |
| Colorado | Yes | Access/print | Electronic allowed if employee can print or get a paper copy |
| Connecticut | Yes | Access/print | Electronic allowed if employee can print or get a paper copy |
| Delaware | Yes | Opt-out | Electronic by default; employee may require paper |
| District of Columbia | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Florida | No | No requirement | Employer's choice |
| Georgia | No | No requirement | Employer's choice |
| Hawaii | Yes | Opt-in | Paper unless employee consents to electronic |
| Idaho | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Illinois | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Indiana | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Iowa | Yes | Access/print | Electronic allowed if employee can print or get a paper copy |
| Kansas | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Kentucky | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Louisiana | No | No requirement | Employer's choice |
| Maine | Yes | Access/print | Electronic allowed if employee can print or get a paper copy |
| Maryland | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Massachusetts | Yes | Access/print | Electronic allowed if employee can print or get a paper copy |
| Michigan | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Minnesota | Yes | Opt-out | Electronic by default; employee may require paper |
| Mississippi | No | No requirement | Employer's choice |
| Missouri | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Montana | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Nebraska | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Nevada | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| New Hampshire | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| New Jersey | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| New Mexico | Yes | Access/print | Electronic allowed if employee can print or get a paper copy |
| New York | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| North Carolina | Yes | Access/print | Electronic allowed if employee can print or get a paper copy |
| North Dakota | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Ohio | Yes — since April 2025 | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Oklahoma | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Oregon | Yes | Opt-out | Electronic by default; employee may require paper |
| Pennsylvania | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Rhode Island | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| South Carolina | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| South Dakota | No | No requirement | Employer's choice |
| Tennessee | No | No requirement | Employer's choice |
| Texas | Yes | Access/print | Electronic allowed if employee can print or get a paper copy |
| Utah | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Vermont | Yes | Access/print | Electronic allowed if employee can print or get a paper copy |
| Virginia | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Washington | Yes | Access/print | Electronic allowed if employee can print or get a paper copy |
| West Virginia | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Wisconsin | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
| Wyoming | Yes | Access | Paper or electronic |
Category totals: 8 no-requirement states · 27 access states + D.C. · 11 access/print states · 3 opt-out states · 1 opt-in state.
A few states sit near a category border, and secondary sources occasionally shelve them differently — the categories summarize each state's rule, they aren't terms that appear in the statutes themselves. For anything compliance-critical, confirm with the state labor department.
What Changed Recently?
State pay stub law has been moving in one direction — toward requiring statements:
- Ohio (April 2025). The Pay Stub Protection Act (House Bill 106) took effect on April 9, 2025, requiring employers to provide each employee a statement — or access to a statement — of earnings and deductions every pay period, on paper or electronically. Ohio had been a no-requirement state; employees who don't receive a stub can now request one in writing, and report the employer to the Ohio Department of Commerce if it doesn't arrive within 10 days.
- Illinois (January 2025). Amendments to the state's wage payment law now spell out what pay stubs must contain — hours worked, rates, overtime, gross and year-to-date figures, deductions — and require employers to keep copies for three years and provide them to current and former employees on request.
- Oregon (2026). A new law (Senate Bill 906) adds an at-hire disclosure: employers must give new hires a written explanation of their pay — pay periods, rates, payroll codes, and deduction types — on top of the existing itemized stub requirement.
What Does a Compliant Pay Stub Contain?
Requirements differ in detail, but the strict states converge on the same core items, and following them satisfies essentially every state:
- Employer's legal name and address
- Employee name and pay period dates
- Gross wages, with hours and rates for hourly workers (overtime broken out)
- Every deduction itemized — federal and state taxes, Social Security (6.2%, up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500), Medicare (1.45%), benefits, garnishments
- Net pay, and year-to-date totals for earnings and deductions
Some states add extras — several now require accrued paid sick leave balances on the statement, and tipped-work line items where relevant. Our state pages (for example California and Texas) cover per-state details, and the state-by-state payroll tax guide covers the tax side.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does federal law require employers to give pay stubs?
No. The FLSA requires employers to keep accurate records of hours and wages — payroll records for at least 3 years, wage-computation records for 2 — but it does not require giving employees a statement. The IRS separately requires employment tax records to be kept for 4 years. Pay stub delivery is purely state law.
My state has no requirement and my employer gives no stubs. What can I do?
Ask anyway — most payroll systems generate stubs automatically, and most employers will provide them on request. You can also track your own pay records: your right to accurate wages doesn't depend on receiving a stub, and the employer's obligation to keep the underlying records exists in every state. If you've left the company, see how to get pay stubs from a previous employer.
Are electronic-only pay stubs legal?
In most states, yes. The exceptions run in both directions: access/print states require that employees be able to print or obtain paper; opt-out states (DE, MN, OR) let any employee demand paper; and Hawaii requires the employee's consent before going electronic at all.
What happens if an employer violates a pay stub law?
It varies widely. California imposes per-employee, per-pay-period statutory penalties for missing or inaccurate itemized statements, and employees can sue. At the other end, Ohio's new law provides for a Department of Commerce notice rather than private lawsuits. Most states fall between: labor-department enforcement, fines, and in some states a private right of action.
Do these rules apply to independent contractors?
No. Pay stub statutes cover employees. Contractors receive whatever the contract provides — typically invoices and a 1099-NEC at year-end — though many contractors keep itemized earnings records of their own for exactly the same reasons a stub exists.
Bottom line: 42 states plus D.C. require a pay statement in 2026 and only 8 states require nothing — with the trend line (Ohio 2025, Illinois 2025, Oregon 2026) running firmly toward more required, more itemized, more accessible stubs. Find your state in the table, note its category and format rule, and when a decision hinges on the details, confirm with your state labor department.