To complete Form I-9 verification, have the new employee fill out Section 1 no later than their first day of paid work, examine their original identity and work-authorization documents and complete Section 2 within three business days of that start date, then retain the signed form for the longer of three years after hire or one year after the job ends. The current required edition of Form I-9 is dated 01/20/2025, and both the employee and the employer sign attestations under penalty of perjury. Getting the details right matters: paperwork mistakes alone can trigger fines of several hundred to several thousand dollars per worker, even when every person on the payroll is legally authorized to work.
Every employer must verify every employee hired after November 6, 1986, regardless of citizenship or national origin.1U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 Full-time, part-time, and temporary workers all count. There is no company-size threshold. Independent contractors paid on a 1099 basis are exempt, but misclassifying an employee as a contractor to avoid the I-9 creates its own enforcement risk.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 2.0 Who Must Complete Form I-9
Step 1: The Employee Fills Out Section 1
Section 1 is the employee’s part. It has to be done by the end of the first day of paid work, and no earlier than the moment a job offer is accepted. The employee provides full legal name, any other names used, address, and date of birth. The Social Security number field is voluntary unless the employer participates in E-Verify, in which case it is required.3E-Verify. E-Verify and Form I-9
The employee then selects one of four status categories: U.S. citizen, noncitizen national, lawful permanent resident, or noncitizen authorized to work until a specific date. Anyone selecting one of the last two categories also provides a USCIS number, an I-94 admission number, or a foreign passport number with country of issuance.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification The employee signs and dates the attestation.
If the employee needs help completing Section 1, a preparer or translator may assist, but the employee still signs personally. Each helper fills out and signs Supplement A, which stays attached to the form.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Completing Section 1, Employee Information and Attestation The preparer’s date should match the employee’s signature date.
Step 2: The Employee Chooses Which Documents to Present
After Section 1 is complete, the employee decides which documents to bring to prove identity and work authorization. The Department of Homeland Security groups acceptable documents into three lists, and the choice belongs to the employee. Do not tell them what to bring, do not suggest a preference, and do not ask for anything beyond what the form requires. Steering employees toward specific documents can itself be unlawful, and that boundary is covered further down.
List A: One Document That Proves Both
A single List A document covers everything. The common ones are a U.S. passport or passport card, a Permanent Resident Card (green card), and an Employment Authorization Document with a photograph.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents A foreign passport bearing a temporary I-551 stamp or a machine-readable immigrant visa notation also qualifies.
List B Plus List C: One of Each
If the employee does not have a List A document, they present one from List B (identity) and one from List C (work authorization). List B includes a state driver’s license, a government photo ID, a school photo ID, a voter registration card, or a U.S. military card.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 13.2 List B Documents That Establish Identity List C includes an unrestricted Social Security card (cards marked “Not Valid for Employment” do not count) and an original or certified U.S. birth certificate with an official seal.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 13.3 List C Documents That Establish Employment Authorization
Documents must be originals and unexpired. Photocopies do not satisfy the initial examination.
Receipts When a Document Is Missing
If a required document was lost, stolen, or damaged and a replacement has been applied for, the employer may accept the receipt for the replacement. The receipt is valid for 90 days from the date of hire, and within that window the employee must present the actual replacement document (or a different acceptable document from the same or a higher list). Receipts cannot be used at all if the job will last fewer than three business days.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 4.4 Acceptable Receipts
Step 3: The Employer Completes Section 2
Section 2 has to be finished within three business days of the employee’s first day of paid work. If the start date is Monday, Section 2 is due by end of business Thursday.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Completing Section 2, Employer Review and Attestation For jobs lasting fewer than three business days, everything has to be done on the first day, and receipts are not accepted.11eCFR. 8 CFR 274a.2 – Verification of Identity and Employment Authorization
Physically examine the original documents in front of you. The legal standard is whether the documents “reasonably appear to be genuine” and relate to the person presenting them. You are not expected to be a forensic examiner, but you cannot accept something obviously fake or clearly belonging to someone else.
Then record, in the correct column, each document’s title, issuing authority, document number, and expiration date. If the employee provided a List A document, only the List A column gets filled in. If they provided List B and List C documents, both of those columns get filled in. Also enter the employee’s first day of work for pay, and make sure it matches payroll records. Sign and date the attestation.
Anyone the employer designates can serve as an authorized representative: a notary, a manager at a remote site, or a third-party service. The employer remains liable for any errors the representative makes.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Completing Section 2, Employer Review and Attestation The employee cannot act as their own representative.
Remote Document Examination for E-Verify Employers
Employers enrolled in E-Verify in good standing can examine documents remotely instead of in person. The DHS-authorized alternative procedure works like this:
- The employee sends copies of the documents (front and back if two-sided) before the video call.
- The employer and employee meet by live video, and the employee holds up the same original documents on camera.
- The employer confirms the documents reasonably appear genuine and relate to the person, then completes Section 2 and checks the box for the alternative procedure in the Additional Information field.
- The employer keeps clear, legible copies of the documents examined, available for audit.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Remote Document Examination
If an E-Verify hiring site offers the remote option, it has to be offered consistently at that site. An employer may use remote examination only for fully remote hires and stick with physical inspection for onsite workers, but it cannot apply the option in a way that discriminates based on citizenship, immigration status, or national origin.
Retention: How Long to Keep the Form
After Section 2 is complete, keep the form for whichever period is longer: three years after the date of hire, or one year after employment ends.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 10.0 Retaining Form I-9 Storage can be paper, microfilm, or electronic, so long as the forms are readily available if a federal auditor asks. Example: an employee hired January 1, 2026, who leaves March 1, 2026. Three years from hire is January 1, 2029. One year after separation is March 1, 2027. Keep the form until January 1, 2029, because it is the later date.
Reverification and Rehires: Supplement B
The current form replaces the old “Section 3” with Supplement B, Reverification and Rehire.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification Use it in two situations.
First, when a noncitizen employee’s work authorization has an expiration date, reverify before that date arrives. The employee presents a new or renewed document showing continued authorization, and the employer records its title, number, and expiration on Supplement B. U.S. citizens, noncitizen nationals, and lawful permanent residents never need reverification, even if their green card or passport expires. List B identity documents like driver’s licenses never require reverification either.15U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Section 6.0 Completing Supplement B
Employees who timely filed a Form I-765 renewal for their Employment Authorization Document before October 30, 2025, may receive an automatic extension of up to 540 days while the renewal is pending, though only for certain eligibility categories.16U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Automatic Extensions Based on a Timely Filed Application to Renew Employment Authorization Record the new expiration date on the form and keep the receipt notice (Form I-797C) as supporting documentation.
Second, when you rehire someone within three years of the date the original I-9 was completed, use a block on Supplement B rather than a new form. Enter the rehire date and, if the earlier work authorization is still valid, sign and date. If it has expired, reverify with a new document first. Employees rehired more than three years after the original form must complete a new Form I-9 from scratch.17U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 6.2 Reverifying or Updating Employment Authorization for Rehired Employees
Fixing Mistakes Without Making Them Worse
Never use correction fluid, and never erase. Any change that hides the original entry raises suspicion during an audit.
For errors in Section 1, only the employee (or their preparer or translator) may correct. Draw a line through the incorrect entry, write the correct information nearby, then initial and date. For errors in Section 2 or Supplement B, only the employer or authorized representative may correct, using the same line-through, correct, initial, and date method.18U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Correcting Errors or Missing Information on Form I-9
If a section has so many errors that individual fixes would be confusing, redo the entire section on a new Form I-9 and attach it to the original. USCIS recommends attaching a signed and dated written explanation whenever corrections are made or a new form is created. If you discover Section 2 is missing a completion date, do not backdate. Enter today’s date and initial next to it. Running periodic internal audits and fixing errors before the government finds them is one of the best things an employer can do to reduce penalty exposure.
Discrimination Pitfalls to Avoid
The Immigration and Nationality Act prohibits unfair documentary practices during I-9 and E-Verify. Three things are unlawful when motivated by an employee’s citizenship status or national origin:
- Requesting more documents than required. If an employee presents a valid U.S. passport, asking for a Social Security card on top of it is over-documentation.
- Demanding a specific document. Telling a lawful permanent resident they must show their green card, instead of letting them choose from any acceptable combination, violates the rule.
- Rejecting genuine-looking documents. If a document reasonably appears authentic and relates to the person, the employer must accept it.19U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 11.2 Types of Employment Discrimination Prohibited Under the INA
Hand the employee the list of acceptable documents and let them choose. The Department of Justice’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section investigates complaints, and penalties for unfair documentary practices sit separately from the paperwork fines below.
What It Costs to Get Wrong
Paperwork violations, meaning failure to properly complete, retain, or produce a Form I-9, currently carry civil fines of $288 to $2,861 per form under the most recent inflation adjustment, and these apply even when every worker is authorized.20Federal Register. Civil Monetary Penalty Adjustments for Inflation Amounts adjust annually. Common triggers: missing signatures, incomplete document entries in Section 2, and forms never created at all.
Knowingly hiring or continuing to employ an unauthorized worker is a separate and steeper category. First offenses run $716 to $5,724 per worker, second offenses $5,724 to $14,308, and third or subsequent offenses $8,586 to $28,619. A pattern or practice can bring criminal prosecution, with fines up to $3,000 per worker and imprisonment of up to six months.21Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1324a – Unlawful Employment of Aliens Business size, good-faith compliance efforts, seriousness, and prior history determine where within these ranges the penalty lands.