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To qualify for placement on the Industry Experience Roster, Teachers Availability List or IATSE Television
Commercial Roster, or to apply for access to training (for “non-roster” classifications), Industry Professionals
must demonstrate qualifying work experience. This FAQ answers general questions about how to submit work
experience documentation. Please refer to the applicable collective bargaining agreement for specific
placement requirements.
GENERAL QUESTIONS
1. Why do I need to demonstrate my work experience?
Under the applicable collective bargaining agreements, work experience is required in order to qualify for
placement on the Industry Experience Roster, the IATSE Television Commercial Roster or the Local #884
Teachers Availability List. Individuals working in “non-roster” job classifications must also demonstrate
qualifying work experience to gain access to Contact Services’ training.
2. What documentation does Contract Services need to verify my work experience?
Depending on the type of application you’re submitting, and whether you were paid directly by the
production company or through a payroll company, you may need to submit an Employment Verification
Letter (EVL) and/or proof of payment.
A. If you are applying to the Industry Experience Roster (IER), the Teachers Availability List (TAL) or
the IATSE Television Commercial Roster (TCR):
You need to submit an Employment Verification Letter (EVL) from your employer of record, which is
typically either the production company you worked for (i.e., the Producer) or the payroll company that
processed payroll for the production (e.g., Entertainment Partners, Cast & Crew, etc.). The Employment
Verification Letter must include the following information:
• The name of the production
• The specific dates you worked on the production
• The type of work you performed (i.e., your job classification)
• The type of production (e.g., feature films, television productions, streaming productions at least
20 minutes in length, etc.)
This is typically the minimum amount of information required. We use this information to determine
whether your work experience qualifies to be counted toward placement on a roster or for access to
training.
In most cases, you must also submit corresponding proof of payment, which could be in the form of
paystubs or tax documentation (e.g., IRS Form W-2). Proof of payment is required if your employer of
record is a production company (not a payroll company), or if you are submitting an EVL from a payroll
company other than the payroll companies listed in the next paragraph.
If you are submitting an EVL from any of the following payroll companies, you do not need to submit
proof of payment (an EVL is all we need): Cast & Crew, CAPS, BTL, Entertainment Partners, The Jacobson
Submitting Work
Experience - FAQ
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Group, EFS, Media Services, or Extreme Reach. Instead, please refer to the Payroll Company Contact
Information on our website, https://www.csatf.org/payroll_contacts/, to ask these payroll companies to
submit an EVL on your behalf.
B. If you are applying for training access (i.e., if you are in a “non-roster” classification):
You may submit either an Employment Verification Letter (EVL) or paystubs. (Please read the previous
paragraphs to learn more about submitting an EVL.)
If you choose to submit paystubs instead of an EVL, the paystubs must include the following information:
• Your full name
• Last 4 digits of your SSN
• Local and classification in which you were employed (e.g., IATSE Local #600 Digital Imaging
Technician)
• Production title
This is typically the minimum amount of information we need in order to qualify your work experience so
that you may receive access to training.
3. How do I obtain an Employment Verification Letter (EVL)?
As explained in question #2 above, if you were paid through a payroll company such as Entertainment
Partners or Cast & Crew, you can ask the payroll company to send us your employment verification
information. You can find payroll company contact information on our website at
https://www.csatf.org/payroll_contacts/.
If you were paid directly by the production company (i.e., the Producer), and not by a payroll company,
then you should ask the production company to complete an EVL for you. (For more information about
what an EVL must contain, see above.) You can also provide a sample EVL (available on our website at
https://www.csatf.org/sample-evl/) to your employer that they can complete for you. The EVL must be
on the Producer’s company letterhead and signed by a representative of the production company, whose
name and title must also appear on the letter. To expedite our review, please provide all of the
information requested on the sample EVL. For example, rather than stating that the production was
“streamed online,” it should be specific by saying “streamed on Netflix” or “Amazon Prime.”
4. Can I submit call sheets as proof of work experience?
No, call sheets are not an acceptable form of employment verification.
SUBMITTING DOCUMENTATION
5. How do I submit documentation demonstrating my work experience?
After creating a Portal account on the Contract Services Industry Hub (thehub.org) and starting an
application, you can upload the documentation described above under the “Work Experience” Tab of your
pending classification. To avoid delays, please upload work experience documentation one production at
a time, and please do not upload the same document more than once. You can email the documents
described above to documents@csatf.org. If necessary, you can also mail them to our office address at
2710 Winona Ave, Burbank CA, 91504, or submit them in person during business hours at our offices in
Burbank.
6. When should I submit documentation demonstrating my work experience?
You should submit your work experience documentation as soon as possible after starting your
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application. If too much time passes, your work experience may no longer qualify. The specific timing
requirements vary depending on the classification you’re applying for. (For example, many classifications
require 30 days of qualifying work experience within a 365-day period. Please refer to the applicable
collective bargaining agreement for more information.) To learn more about these requirements for your
specific classification, log into your Portal on the Contract Services Industry Hub (thehub.org) and view
the “Work Experience” tab to see the work experience submitted in support of your application.
7. How can I confirm that Contract Services has received my work experience
documentation?
You can check the status of all submitted documents in your Contract Services Portal at thehub.org. If
your documents are showing “Under Review,” they are awaiting review by Contract Services to determine
whether they qualify towards your application. Once your documents are reviewed, they will show in your
Portal as “Qualified,” “Unqualified,” or “Expired.” Any documents that are unqualified will show a reason
why they are unqualified, and you will receive a notification in your Message Center giving you more
information. Documents that are expired are no longer timely for use towards your application.
PROOF OF PAYMENT QUESTIONS
8. What documents can I submit as proof of payment?
Please refer to question #2 above to understand whether you are required to submit proof of payment.
If you are required to submit proof of payment, various types of documentation are acceptable, provided
that they show you received payment from the entity that employed you. Acceptable types of
documentation include paystubs, paychecks, tax documentation (e.g., IRS Form W-2), copies of bank
statements, screenshots of electronic payment through services such as PayPal, Venmo or Zelle. In all
cases, this documentation must include your name and the name of the company or entity that paid you
for the work.
If you were paid in cash, you must submit tax documentation showing the income you received (e.g., IRS
Form 1099 or your tax returns showing the reported income).
Please note that invoices or printouts from QuickBooks are not sufficient.
9. What if payment was made to my company (e.g., my loan-out corporation) and
not to me personally?
If you were paid through a loan-out corporation, you must still submit an Employment Verification Letter
(EVL), which should come from the production company or payroll company that made the payment to
your loan-out corporation. You will also need to provide the proof of payment showing payment was
made to your loan-out corporation from the company that wrote your EVL. Finally, you must also provide
a copy of the articles of incorporation for your loan-out corporation showing that the corporation exists to
loan out your services.
QUALIFYING WORK EXPERIENCE
10. What kind of work experience qualifies?
In general, work experience on feature films, television productions, and New Media productions at least
20 minutes in length may qualify for the Industry Experience Roster and for training access for non-roster
classifications. Work on commercials exhibited on television may qualify for the IATSE Television
Commercial Roster. Depending on the applicable collective bargaining agreement, there may be
additional requirements regarding the type of work experience that qualifies.
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Work experience on the following types of productions generally does not qualify: video games, podcasts,
live performance events, and concerts.
Please understand that we are unable to tell you in advance whether your work experience on any given
production will or will not qualify. In order for us to determine whether your work experience qualifies, you
must first submit the required documentation listed above for review.
For detailed information regarding any of these requirements, please refer to the collective bargaining
agreement or feel free to contact us for further assistance at 818.565.0550.
Please note that the information presented above is a general summary provided for your convenience and
does not alter the requirements set forth in the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
