Form I-9 Employment Eligibility: Lists A, B, C, and Penalties

Form I-9 gives every new hire a choice: present one document from List A, which proves both identity and work authorization at once, or present one document from List B (identity) together with one from List C (work authorization). The employee picks; the employer accepts what is offered as long as it appears genuine and belongs on the current lists. Getting the choice wrong, or steering the employee toward a particular document, is where most I-9 trouble starts.

How the Three Lists Work Together

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 requires employers to verify the identity and work authorization of every person hired after November 6, 1986, regardless of citizenship.¹ Section 2 of the form is where documentation gets recorded, and the three lists exist because verification has two components. Identity answers who the person is. Work authorization answers whether federal law permits them to hold the job. List A documents cover both at once. List B covers only identity. List C covers only work authorization. A List B document must always be paired with a List C document, because neither on its own satisfies both prongs.

The current form carries a January 20, 2025, edition date. The prior August 1, 2023, edition remains valid on paper through its printed expiration, and electronic systems must move to the version expiring May 31, 2027, by July 31, 2026.²

List A: Identity and Work Authorization in One Document

A single List A document ends the Section 2 documentary review. When someone hands over a valid List A item, the employer cannot ask for anything from List B or List C on top of it. Requesting more is a form of document abuse.³

The most commonly presented List A documents are:

U.S. passport or U.S. passport card
Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551 (the Green Card)
Foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp, or with the printed I-551 notation on a machine-readable immigrant visa
Employment Authorization Document, Form I-766, which must include a photograph
A foreign passport accompanied by a Form I-94 for certain noncitizens authorized to work for a specific employer

Every List A document must be unexpired when the employee presents it.³

List B: Identity Only

List B documents confirm who the person is and nothing more. Each must contain a photograph or identifying information such as name, date of birth, and physical description.⁴ Acceptable List B documents include:

Driver’s license or ID card issued by a state or U.S. possession
ID card issued by a federal, state, or local government agency
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 Document
Native American tribal document
Canadian driver’s license, for Canadian nationals working in the U.S.

For minors under 18 who cannot produce any of the above, acceptable substitutes include a school report card, a clinic or hospital record, or a daycare or nursery school record.⁴ A List B document by itself is never enough. It must be paired with a List C document.

List C: Work Authorization Only

List C documents prove the right to work but do not confirm identity, which is why they must always travel with a List B document.³ Acceptable List C documents include:

Unrestricted Social Security account number card
Original or certified copy of a birth certificate issued by a state, county, municipal authority, or outlying U.S. possession, bearing an official seal
Consular Report of Birth Abroad, Form FS-240
Certification of Birth Abroad, Form FS-545
U.S. Citizen ID Card, Form I-197
Identification Card for Use of Resident Citizen in the United States, Form I-179
Employment authorization document issued by the Department of Homeland Security

The Social Security card is where employers trip most often. A card printed with “NOT VALID FOR EMPLOYMENT,” “VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH INS AUTHORIZATION,” or “VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION” is a restricted card and does not qualify as a List C document.⁵ The card also must not be laminated. Accepting a restricted card is one of the most common findings during audits.

Employee Choice and Document Abuse

The employee decides which acceptable documents to present. The employer cannot demand a specific document, cannot require more documents than the form calls for, and cannot refuse documents that reasonably appear genuine and relate to the person presenting them.⁶ Telling a new hire “bring your passport” instead of letting them pick from any acceptable combination is a textbook violation.

Federal law treats demanding more or different documents, or rejecting acceptable ones, as an unfair immigration-related employment practice when tied to citizenship status or national origin.⁷ An employer who refuses a valid driver’s license because a worker “looks foreign,” or who insists on seeing a Green Card when a Social Security card and driver’s license together would satisfy the form, is exposed to civil penalties per affected worker.

Documents must be examined in their original form, with one exception: a certified copy of a birth certificate counts as an original for I-9 purposes.⁶ Photocopying after inspection is optional, but if the employer copies documents at all, it must do so for every employee, not selectively.⁸

One boundary worth naming: the I-9 requirement does not reach independent contractors. If the worker controls how and when the job is done, supplies their own tools, offers services to multiple clients, and bears the risk of profit or loss, no Form I-9 is required.⁹ Federal law still forbids knowingly contracting with someone unauthorized to work.

Deadlines to Examine Documents

The employee must complete Section 1 no later than the first day of work. The employer then has three business days from the start date to examine the documents and complete Section 2. A Monday start means Section 2 is due by Thursday.¹⁰

If the entire job will last fewer than three business days, both sections must be completed on the first day of employment.¹¹ That covers short event staff, day labor, and similar arrangements where waiting would defeat the purpose.

When a Document Is Missing: The Receipt Rule

If the employee’s document has been lost, stolen, or damaged, three types of receipts serve as temporary stand-ins:¹²

A receipt showing the employee has applied to replace a lost, stolen, or damaged document
The departure portion of Form I-94 with an unexpired refugee admission stamp or “RE” code
The arrival portion of Form I-94 with a temporary I-551 stamp and photograph

A receipt is good for 90 days. Before that window closes, the employee must present the actual replacement document. A second receipt cannot extend the clock, and receipts are not accepted at all for jobs lasting fewer than three business days.¹²

Re-Verification: Who Needs It and Who Never Does

When an employee’s work authorization is set to expire, the employer must re-verify before the expiration date by completing Supplement B (the section formerly called Section 3). The employee presents a new, unexpired document from List A or List C, and the employer records the document, signs, and dates the supplement.¹³

Some employees are permanently exempt from re-verification: U.S. citizens, noncitizen nationals, and lawful permanent residents who originally presented a Permanent Resident Card. Re-verifying a Green Card holder whose card has expired is itself a common compliance mistake and can prompt a discrimination complaint.¹⁴ List B documents also never require re-verification. If a driver’s license expires, the employee keeps working; only work-authorization documents come due for review.

Penalties for Getting the Documents Wrong

Paperwork violations, including failure to properly complete Section 2 or accepting the wrong document, carry fines of $288 to $2,861 per affected worker under the 2025 inflation adjustment.¹⁵ Because the penalty runs per person, an employer with 50 defective forms is looking at potential exposure well into six figures.

Knowingly hiring or continuing to employ someone unauthorized to work carries steeper numbers:

First offense: $716 to $5,724 per unauthorized worker
Second offense: $5,724 to $14,308 per unauthorized worker
Third or subsequent offense: $8,586 to $28,619 per unauthorized worker

Those figures come from the same 2025 inflation adjustment.¹⁵ A pattern or practice of violations can also carry criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment. Most audit findings, though, come from ordinary List A, B, and C mistakes: a restricted Social Security card accepted as List C, a manager who asked for a Green Card when the employee wanted to show a driver’s license and Social Security card, a Section 2 completed on day five instead of day three. The lists themselves are short. Handling them correctly is where the compliance work lives.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 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. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 13.2 List B Documents That Establish Identity
5
E-Verify. Employers: Are You Accepting a Restricted Social Security Card?
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1324b – Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 10.2 Retaining Copies of Form I-9 Documents
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Exceptions
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Completing Section 2 – Employer Review and Attestation
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 4.0 Completing Section 2 – Employer Review and Verification
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 4.4 Acceptable Receipts
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Completing Supplement B, Reverification and Rehires
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 7.1 Lawful Permanent Residents
15
Federal Register. Civil Monetary Penalty Adjustments for Inflation