Here is how to fill out Form I-9 for a new hire: the employee completes Section 1 no later than their first day of work for pay, and the employer examines the employee’s original documents and completes Section 2 within three business days of that start date. The current edition of the form is dated 01/20/2025, and you should download it directly from the USCIS website so you know you have the right version. Both halves of the form have their own deadlines, their own signers, and their own rules, so it helps to walk through them in order.
Before You Start
Every employee hired to work in the United States needs a completed Form I-9, whether they are a U.S. citizen, a permanent resident, or a noncitizen authorized to work. The requirement does not depend on how long the job lasts or how the person is paid.
A few workers are outside the requirement. Independent contractors who control their own methods and are accountable only for results do not need one. Neither do casual domestic workers hired for sporadic, irregular work in a private home, employees continuously employed since on or before November 6, 1986, or workers performing all their work outside the country. If you hire through a staffing agency or employee leasing company, the agency completes the I-9, not you.
Section 1: What the Employee Fills Out
Section 1 is the employee’s responsibility. It must be finished no later than the first day of work for pay, but the employee can complete it any time after accepting the job offer.
The employee enters their full legal name, address, and date of birth. Email and telephone are optional. They then check one of four boxes to attest to their status: U.S. citizen, noncitizen national of the United States, lawful permanent resident, or noncitizen authorized to work. A lawful permanent resident enters an Alien Registration Number or USCIS Number. A noncitizen authorized to work enters the expiration date of that authorization along with an Alien Registration Number, USCIS Number, or Form I-94 admission number.
The Social Security number field is optional in most cases. The exception: if the employer participates in E-Verify, the employee must provide it. The employee then signs Section 1 under penalty of perjury, so the information needs to be accurate.
When Someone Helps the Employee
If a preparer or translator helps the employee understand or fill out Section 1, that person completes Supplement A, the Preparer and/or Translator Certification. Each helper completes a separate certification block with their name, physical address (a P.O. box will not do), and signature. If a minor or a person with certain disabilities cannot complete Section 1 independently, a parent, legal guardian, or designated representative fills it out and signs the supplement on their behalf.
Section 2: What the Employer Fills Out
Section 2 belongs to the employer or an authorized representative, and the deadline is three business days after the employee’s first day of work for pay. If someone starts on Monday, Section 2 is due by Thursday. One exception catches people out: if the job will last fewer than three business days, Section 2 must be finished on the first day of employment.
Completing Section 2 means physically examining the original documents the employee presents (or examining them under the remote procedure described below, if you qualify). You record the document title, issuing authority, document number, and expiration date. You then sign a certification that the documents appear genuine and relate to the employee, and you enter the employee’s actual first day of work for pay along with the business name and address.
If the employee cannot produce acceptable documents or a valid receipt within three business days, the employer may terminate employment.
Which Documents the Employee Can Present
Acceptable documents fall into three lists. List A proves identity and work authorization together. List B proves identity only. List C proves work authorization only. The employee presents either one List A document, or one List B document plus one List C document.
Common List A documents include a U.S. passport, U.S. passport card, and Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551). List B includes a state driver’s license or state ID card with a photo, or a school ID with a photo. List C includes an unrestricted Social Security card and an original or certified birth certificate issued by a state or local authority.
Only unexpired originals count. Photocopies do not. You must give the employee the full list of acceptable documents and let them choose which to present. That choice belongs to the employee alone.
Receipts When Documents Are Missing
An employee who does not have an original document on hand may present a receipt showing they have applied to replace a lost, stolen, or damaged one. The receipt is valid for 90 days from the hire date, and the employee must present the actual replacement document within that window. You must accept a valid receipt unless the job will last fewer than three business days.
Two special receipts count as List A documents on their own: the departure portion of Form I-94 with an unexpired refugee admission stamp (valid 90 days), and the arrival portion of Form I-94 with a temporary I-551 stamp and photograph (valid until the printed expiration date, or one year from admission if no date is printed).
Using an Authorized Representative or Remote Examination
You can designate anyone to complete Section 2 on your behalf: a personnel officer, a notary public, a supervisor, or another person acting for the employer. The representative performs the same duties you would: reviewing Section 1, examining the original documents, and signing the form. You remain liable for any mistakes the representative makes. A notary acting as your representative is not notarizing anything, so no notary seal should appear on the form. An employee cannot serve as their own authorized representative.
Employers enrolled in E-Verify in good standing may use a remote procedure instead of in-person document inspection. You first receive copies of the front and back of the employee’s documents, then hold a live video call during which the employee holds up those same documents. Check the box on the form indicating the alternative procedure was used, and keep clear copies of the documents for as long as the employee works there plus the standard retention period after employment ends.
If you offer remote examination at a hiring site, every employee at that site must be given the same option. You may, however, offer remote examination only to remote hires while requiring in-person examination for onsite and hybrid workers, as long as that line is not a cover for treating people differently based on citizenship, immigration status, or national origin.
Reverification and Rehires: Supplement B
When an employee’s work authorization expires, you reverify by recording the new document information in Supplement B (formerly Section 3). The employee presents a current List A or List C document. Never a List B document, because identity does not expire the way work authorization does. Do not reverify documents that do not expire, such as a U.S. passport for a citizen; demanding that kind of reverification is a violation.
If a former employee returns within three years of the original Form I-9’s completion date, you can either complete a new Form I-9 or use Supplement B on the existing one. When using Supplement B, enter the rehire date, review whether the prior documents are still valid, and reverify if needed. If the prior edition of the form has expired, Supplement B must be completed on the current edition. Legal name changes for current employees are documented in Supplement B as well.
Fixing Mistakes
Do not use correction fluid or erase anything; that raises your exposure rather than lowering it. To correct an error, draw a single line through the incorrect entry, write the correct information nearby, and initial and date the change.
Only the employee (or their preparer or translator) can correct errors in Section 1. Only the employer or authorized representative can correct errors in Section 2 or Supplement B. If you discover a missing date in Section 2 after the fact, do not backdate. Write today’s date, initial it, and attach a written explanation of what was wrong and why you are correcting it.
If a section has so many errors that individual corrections would make the form unreadable, redo that section on a new Form I-9 and attach it to the original. Do the same if a section was left blank or if Section 2 was completed using unacceptable documents. Staple a signed, dated explanation to the old form each time.
Avoiding Discrimination While Completing the Form
The same law that requires employment verification also prohibits discrimination during the process, and the Department of Justice’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section enforces those rules. Three employer moves cause most of the trouble:
- Demanding a specific document, such as telling an employee to bring a green card or a passport instead of letting them choose.
- Requiring extra documents, such as asking for both a List A and a List B document when only one path is needed.
- Rejecting documents that reasonably appear genuine and relate to the person, often based on assumptions about the employee’s background.
Present the list of acceptable documents, let the employee pick, and accept anything that looks real and matches the person in front of you.
Keeping the Completed Form
Keep every completed Form I-9 for three years after the hire date or one year after employment ends, whichever is later. So if you hire someone on January 1, 2026 and they leave on June 1, 2026, you keep the form until January 1, 2029. If that same person stays until January 1, 2032, you keep it until January 1, 2033.
Paper, microfilm, microfiche, scanned copies, and fully electronic systems are all acceptable. If federal inspectors issue a Notice of Inspection, you have three business days to produce the forms. Substantive errors and uncorrected technical failures carry per-form fines, and knowingly hiring an unauthorized worker carries much larger per-worker penalties, so the value of filling the form out cleanly the first time is not just paperwork tidiness.