How to Get Paystubs From an Old Job (Even If the Company Closed)

Start With the Fastest Source: The Payroll Portal

Most employers run payroll through ADP, Gusto, Paychex, Workday, Paycom, UKG, or QuickBooks Workforce. These portals keep your pay records for at least 3 years after you leave, and often longer. You do not need permission from your old employer to access them.

Try logging in here first — the URL and the credentials you used while employed almost always still work:

• ADP: my.adp.com — use your old user ID; reset password with personal email.
• Gusto: app.gusto.com — log in with personal email.
• Paychex Flex: myapps.paychex.com
• Workday: the URL depends on the employer (usually company-name.workday.com). Check old emails.
• QuickBooks Workforce: workforce.intuit.com
• UKG Pro / UltiPro: the employer's custom subdomain (e.g. n12.ultipro.com).

If you reset the password and find your stubs, download all of them as PDFs to your personal drive right now. Portals occasionally lock former-employee accounts after a few years.

Step 2: Email Old HR or Payroll

If the portal does not work, email a short, specific request to HR or payroll. Use this template:

> Subject: Pay stub copies request — [Your Full Name], former employee

>

> Hello,

>

> I am a former employee (employment dates: [start] to [end]) and I need copies of my pay stubs from [date range]. Could you email PDF copies or restore my payroll portal access?

>

> My employee ID was [if you remember it]. I can verify my identity with the last four of my SSN.

>

> Thank you,

> [Your name]

By law, your former employer must retain payroll records for at least 3 years (Fair Labor Standards Act) and most keep them for 4–7. They are not legally required to give them to you in every state, but most do as a courtesy. California, New York, and several other states require former employers to provide them on written request within 21 days.

Step 3: Pull an IRS Wage and Income Transcript

This is the universal fallback. The IRS keeps a record of every W-2 and 1099 ever filed under your SSN. The transcript shows annual totals, not individual paystubs, but most lenders, landlords, and immigration cases accept it.

Two ways to get it:

1. Online (fastest): Create an account at irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript, select "Wage and Income Transcript," choose the tax year. Available within minutes for years 2018–present.
2. Form 4506-T: Mail or fax the form for older years or if online verification fails. Takes 5–10 business days.

You can request up to 10 years of wage and income transcripts. They are free.

Step 4: Try the Social Security Administration

The SSA keeps your earnings history for your entire working life. Log in at ssa.gov/myaccount and download your Earnings Record. It shows annual Social Security wages from every employer ever — useful for verifying employment dates and total income but not for biweekly stub detail.

What to Do If Your Employer Closed Down

A bankrupt or dissolved business is the hardest case, but you still have options:

• Bankruptcy trustee. If the company filed Chapter 7 or 11, the trustee took custody of payroll records. Search PACER (pacer.gov) for the case number, then email the trustee.
• State department of labor. Many states (NY, CA, NJ, IL) keep wage records when a business shuts down because of unpaid wage claims. File a record request.
• The payroll provider directly. ADP, Paychex, and Gusto retain records even after the employer cancels service. Call their support line and explain the situation — they may release records to you with proof of identity.
• Your bank. Direct deposit history from the closed employer can serve as proxy proof of income for a lender. Pull statements covering the months you need.
• W-2 reissue from the IRS. Form 4506 (not 4506-T) gets you a full copy of any W-2 the closed employer filed. $43 fee per year, 75-day turnaround.

When You Need a Stub Format and Have Only Bank Records

Some applications require a paystub format specifically — apartment leases especially. If you have the underlying numbers (from bank deposits, your old W-2, or the IRS transcript) but no actual stub, you can create accurate replacement stubs with a paystub generator using the real pay periods, gross, and net amounts. This is legal as long as the numbers match what you actually earned. Falsifying income is not.

The stub you generate is reconstructed, not original, so disclose that to the requester if asked. Most lenders accept it when paired with the W-2 or IRS transcript as a backup.

What Records to Keep Going Forward

To never deal with this again:

1. Download every paystub as a PDF within a week of receiving it.
2. Save to a cloud folder (Drive, Dropbox, iCloud) with a name like Paystubs/[Employer]/2026/.
3. Save all W-2s and 1099s in a separate folder.
4. Keep the last 24 months minimum at all times. Most lenders ask for the last 60 days, but lease and visa applications can ask for 6–24 months.

Bottom Line

Old paystubs are recoverable in 90% of cases through the original payroll portal — that is your first stop. The IRS transcript is the universal backup. Only the rare combination of a closed employer with no surviving payroll provider really blocks you, and even then a Form 4506 W-2 copy fills the gap.

If you have the underlying numbers but need a clean PDF stub for an application today, PayStub LLC's generator builds compliant 2026-tax-accurate stubs from your real wage data in under five minutes.