To complete Form I-9 on your first day of a new job, you need either one document from List A that proves both your identity and your authorization to work, or one document from List B that proves your identity plus one from List C that proves your work authorization. Those are the only two paths. The documents needed for the I-9 must be originals, unexpired, and in your hand no later than the third business day after you start work. You choose which documents to bring; your employer cannot demand a specific one.
List A: One Document Covers Everything
A single List A document ends the question. If you have any of these, you don’t need anything from List B or List C:
- U.S. passport or passport card
- Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551), commonly called a green card
- Foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp, or an I-551 printed notation on a machine-readable immigrant visa
- Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766) with a photograph
- Foreign passport accompanied by a Form I-94 or I-94A containing an endorsement to work for a specific employer
- Passport from the Federated States of Micronesia or the Republic of the Marshall Islands with Form I-94 or I-94A showing admission under the Compact of Free Association
Every document must be unexpired at the moment you present it.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents
List B: Identity Documents
List B documents confirm who you are but say nothing about your right to work. For anyone 16 or older, acceptable options include:
- Driver’s license or state-issued ID card with a photograph, or with identifying details like name, date of birth, height, and eye color
- Federal, state, or local government ID card with a photograph or identifying details
- School ID card with a photograph
- Voter registration card
- U.S. military card or draft record
- Military dependent’s ID card
- U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner card
- Native American tribal document
- Canadian driver’s license
Workers under 18 who can’t produce any of those may substitute a school record, report card, or clinic or hospital record.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents
List C: Work Authorization Documents
List C documents prove you can legally work but don’t establish identity on their own. If you use one of these, you’ll need to pair it with a List B document:
- Unrestricted Social Security card. Cards printed with “NOT VALID FOR EMPLOYMENT” or “VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION” do not qualify.
- Original or certified copy of a birth certificate issued by a state, county, or municipal authority and bearing an official seal
- Certification of Report of Birth Abroad (Form DS-1350, FS-545, or FS-240)
- Native American tribal document
- U.S. Citizen ID Card (Form I-197)
- Employment authorization document issued by DHS
The Most Common Combinations
Most U.S. citizens use one of two setups. If you have a passport, bring it alone and skip everything else. If you don’t, bring your driver’s license (List B) with your Social Security card or a certified birth certificate (List C).1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents
Lawful permanent residents typically present the green card as a single List A document. Workers on employment-authorized visa status typically present a foreign passport together with the endorsed I-94, or an Employment Authorization Document.
You Choose Which Documents to Present
Your employer cannot tell you which documents to bring. If you show up with a driver’s license and Social Security card, they can’t insist on a passport instead. Requesting specific documents, demanding extra documents on top of what the lists require, or rejecting paperwork that reasonably appears genuine all violate federal anti-discrimination rules.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 11.4 Avoiding Discrimination The Department of Justice’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section investigates complaints when employers cross that line.3Department of Justice. Understanding the INA’s Anti-Discrimination Provision
The other side of the same rule: your employer must reject a document that doesn’t reasonably appear genuine or doesn’t seem to relate to you. The standard is common-sense examination, not forensic analysis.
When You Need to Have the Documents
You fill out Section 1 of the I-9 (the personal attestation about your citizenship or immigration status) no later than your first day of work. Your employer then has three business days after your first day to examine your documents and complete Section 2. Start Monday, and the deadline is end of day Thursday. For jobs lasting fewer than three business days, Section 2 must be done by the first day of employment.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-9
If you don’t produce acceptable documents within that three-business-day window, you can’t continue working. A Social Security number in Section 1 is required only if your employer participates in E-Verify; otherwise, that field is voluntary.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 3.0 Completing Section 1
Your employer examines originals, not photocopies. The one traditional exception is a certified copy of a birth certificate with an official seal, which counts as an original for I-9 purposes.
Workers Under 18
Minors who can’t produce a standard List B identity document get an accommodation. A parent or legal guardian signs Section 1 and writes “minor under age 18” in the signature field, and the employer records the same phrase in the List B column of Section 2. The minor still has to present a List C document proving work authorization.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Minors
One catch. If the employer uses E-Verify, the minor must present a List B document with a photograph, and the “minor under age 18” workaround for identity isn’t available.
Lost, Stolen, or Damaged Documents
If a document you’d normally use was lost, stolen, or damaged and you’ve applied for a replacement, you can present the receipt for that application as a temporary substitute. The receipt buys you 90 days. Before those 90 days end, you must produce the actual replacement. You can’t present a second receipt after the first one expires, and a receipt for renewing an expired document generally doesn’t qualify.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 4.4 Acceptable Receipts
Two other receipts are worth knowing about. Refugees can present the departure portion of Form I-94 with a refugee admission stamp as a List A receipt, valid for 90 days. Lawful permanent residents who don’t yet have their green card in hand can present the arrival portion of Form I-94 with a temporary I-551 stamp; it’s valid until the stamp’s expiration date, or one year from admission if the stamp shows no expiration.
When Documents Have to Be Shown Again Later
If the document you presented has an expiration date tied to your work authorization, your employer must reverify before that date. Reverification requires an unexpired List A or List C document. You never re-prove identity, so List B documents aren’t part of reverification.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 6.0 Reverification and Rehire
Some workers are never reverified. U.S. citizens, noncitizen nationals, and lawful permanent residents who initially presented a Permanent Resident Card are exempt. Even if a green card expires, the employer shouldn’t ask for a new document, because permanent resident status doesn’t expire with the card.