Do US Citizens Need to Fill Out an I-9 Form? Rules and Exemptions

Yes. US citizens do need to fill out an I-9 form when they start a new job. The Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, applies to every employee hired after November 6, 1986, and citizenship is not a basis for skipping it.¹ USCIS says employers must complete the form “for every individual they hire for employment in the United States. This includes citizens and aliens.”²

Why Citizenship Doesn’t Get You Out of It

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 built the I-9 system by making it illegal for any employer to hire someone without first verifying identity and work authorization. The law treats every hire the same way on purpose. The same statute that requires your I-9 also prohibits employers from discriminating based on national origin or citizenship status.³ If employers could skip verification for people they assumed were citizens, that assumption would rest on appearance, accent, or name. Uniformity closes that door.

Who Actually Is Exempt

A short list of situations sits outside the requirement. You don’t need to complete Form I-9 if you are an independent contractor rather than an employee, if you do only casual, sporadic domestic work in a private home, if you are self-employed as a sole proprietor without a separate business entity, if you work outside the United States, or if you have been continuously employed by the same employer since on or before November 6, 1986.⁴

Everyone else needs a completed I-9 on file. Full-time, part-time, temporary, and paid interns all count. Being self-employed through your own corporation or partnership also counts, because you are technically an employee of that entity.⁴

What You Fill In

Section 1 is the employee’s part. You give your full legal name, address, and date of birth, then attest to your status. US citizens check the “citizen of the United States” box and sign.²

One field trips people up. If your employer participates in E-Verify, you must provide your Social Security number. If they don’t use E-Verify, providing it is voluntary on the I-9 itself.⁵ Most people provide it anyway because employers need it for tax reporting, but the I-9 itself doesn’t force it at non-E-Verify employers.

Make sure you’re using the current form. The current edition is dated 01/20/2025. Employers may also use the 08/01/2023 edition until its expiration date, and electronic systems must be updated to the version expiring 05/31/2027 by July 31, 2026.² The form is available directly from USCIS.

What Documents to Bring

After Section 1, you show your employer original documents that prove identity and work authorization. The acceptable documents fall into three lists, and you choose which route to take. Your employer cannot dictate which specific documents to present.⁶

One Document From List A

List A documents prove identity and work authorization together. For most citizens, the easiest option is a valid US passport or passport card. That single document satisfies the whole requirement.⁷

One From List B Plus One From List C

If you don’t have a passport, combine a List B identity document with a List C work-authorization document. A common combination for citizens is a state driver’s license or government photo ID (List B) plus an original Social Security card without work restrictions or an original or certified birth certificate bearing an official seal (List C).⁸ An employer who accepts a List A document cannot also demand List B and C documents on top of it.

If a Document Is Lost, Stolen, or Damaged

Missing something the week before you start? You may present a receipt showing you’ve applied for a replacement. The receipt gives you 90 days from your hire date to produce the replacement itself.⁹ Receipts don’t work for jobs lasting fewer than three business days, and you cannot chain one receipt onto another.¹⁰

The Deadlines

You must complete Section 1 no later than your first day of work for pay. Not the day you accept the offer. Not your first week. The actual first paid day.²

Your employer then examines your original documents and completes Section 2 within three business days of your start date. Start Monday, and Section 2 has to be done by Thursday.¹¹ If the job itself lasts fewer than three days, the employer must finish Section 2 by your first day of work for pay.

For fully remote hires, employers enrolled in E-Verify in good standing may examine your documents by live video instead of in person, using an optional alternative procedure. Employers not in E-Verify have to arrange in-person inspection, sometimes through an authorized representative near you.¹²

What You Won’t Have to Do Again

Being a citizen does change one thing. Reverification — redoing employment authorization when documents expire — never applies to US citizens or noncitizen nationals.¹³ If your passport or driver’s license expires while you’re still on the job, your employer has no reason to touch Supplement B of your I-9. An employer who insists on new documents after your originals expire may be discriminating unlawfully.

The one update citizens sometimes see is a legal name change, such as after a marriage. The employer records the new name in Supplement B and may ask for supporting documentation like a marriage certificate.¹⁴

Your Rights in the Process

You choose which acceptable documents to present. An employer who insists on seeing a passport when you’d rather show a driver’s license and Social Security card is breaking the law. An employer who asks for extra documentation beyond what the form requires is also violating anti-discrimination rules.⁶

The Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section enforces those protections. If you think an employer demanded specific documents, requested more than the form calls for, or treated you differently based on citizenship status or national origin, you can reach the IER worker hotline at 1-800-255-8155, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.¹⁵

What You Sign Actually Matters

Section 1 is a sworn attestation, so accuracy matters. Making a false statement on Section 1 — for example, misrepresenting your citizenship status or using someone else’s documents — can result in fines and up to five years in prison.¹⁶ Fill it in truthfully and you’re done. Your employer keeps the completed form for three years after your hire date or one year after your employment ends, whichever is later.¹⁷

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 1.0 Why Employers Must Verify Employment Authorization and Identity of New Employees
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
3
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 2.0 Who Must Complete Form I-9
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Avoiding Discrimination in Recruiting, Hiring, and the Form I-9 Process
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 13.0 Acceptable Documents for Verifying Employment Authorization and Identity
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Receipts
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 4.4 Acceptable Receipts
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Completing Section 2, Employer Review and Attestation
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Remote Examination of Documents (Optional Alternative Procedure to Physical Document Examination)
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 6.0 Completing Supplement B, Reverification and Rehire of Form I-9
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Recording Changes of Name and Other Identity Information for Current Employees
15
Department of Justice. Form I-9 And E-Verify
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 11.8 Penalties for Prohibited Practices
17
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 10.0 Retaining Form I-9