How long employers must keep time records

Two years for time cards, three for payroll records under federal law. What must be kept and how to ask for yours.

Last reviewed September 23, 2026 by Time Card Calculator Tool

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Time cards are not just an employer's payroll input; they are a legal record. Federal law sets how long they must be kept and what they must show, which matters if you ever need to check or dispute your pay.

Federal retention periods

The records can be kept on paper or electronically, and at the workplace or a central office, as long as they can be produced within 72 hours if the Department of Labor asks for them.

What the payroll record has to show

• The employee's full name, address and occupation.
• The time and day the workweek begins.
• Hours worked each workday and the total for each workweek.
• The basis of pay (hourly, weekly, piece rate) and the regular hourly rate.
• Straight-time earnings and overtime earnings for the workweek.
• All additions to and deductions from wages.
• Total wages paid each pay period and the date of payment.

Federal law does not require a time clock or any particular format. Any accurate method is acceptable, including a handwritten card.

State rules

Many states require longer retention, often three to six years, and some give employees a legal right to inspect or copy their own payroll records within a set number of days. California, for example, requires payroll records to be kept for at least three years and lets current and former employees request copies. Check your state labor department for the exact rule.

Asking for your time records

Federal law does not by itself give employees a right to copies, but most employers will provide them on request, and many states require it. Ask payroll or HR in writing, name the pay periods you want, and keep a copy of the request. If the numbers do not match your own records, the difference is usually a missing punch, an automatic lunch deduction or rounding; see time clock rounding rules.

Keep your own copy

The simplest protection is your own record. Write down or photograph your actual punch times each day, or enter them in the time card calculator and download the CSV at the end of each period. A record made at the time is far more persuasive than one reconstructed later, and it lets you check every paycheck in a minute.

When records are missing

If an employer failed to keep accurate records and a pay claim follows, the Supreme Court held in Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery (1946) that an employee can prove hours worked by a reasonable estimate, and the burden then shifts to the employer to disprove it. The employee's own notes are often the evidence that carries that estimate, which is another reason to keep them.