For Form I-9, the acceptable documents fall into three lists published by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. You present one document from List A, which proves both your identity and your authorization to work, or you present one document from List B (identity) together with one document from List C (work authorization). That’s the whole choice, and the choice is yours to make.
List A: One Document Proves Both
A List A document does the work of two. Show one of these and you’re done with the document portion of the form.
- U.S. passport or U.S. passport card.
- Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551, commonly called a green card.
- Employment Authorization Document, Form I-766, issued by USCIS with a photograph and a validity period.
- Foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp, or a printed notation on a machine-readable immigrant visa. Sometimes the stamp appears on a Form I-94 with an attached photograph instead, which counts as a receipt.
- Passport or travel document from the Federated States of Micronesia or the Republic of the Marshall Islands, together with a Form I-94 showing nonimmigrant admission under the Compact of Free Association.
A U.S. passport is valid for 10 years when it was issued to someone 16 or older. An Employment Authorization Document is only good through the date printed on it; when it expires, your employer has to reverify.
List B: Identity Only
List B documents show who you are. On their own they say nothing about your right to work, so you have to pair one with a List C document.
- State-issued driver’s license or ID card with a photograph. This is the most common choice.
- Federal, state, or local government ID card containing a photograph or identifying information such as name, date of birth, and address. Military ID cards, federal PIV cards, and common access cards qualify.
- 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 citizens working in the U.S.
Workers under 18 who can’t produce any of the above have a separate route. A parent or legal guardian can help establish identity, and acceptable alternatives include school records, clinic or hospital records, and daycare or nursery school records.
List C: Work Authorization Only
List C documents prove your right to work but carry no photograph, so they don’t stand alone. Pair one with a List B document.
- Unrestricted Social Security card. “Unrestricted” means the card does not say “NOT VALID FOR EMPLOYMENT” or “VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION.” If your card carries either phrase, it won’t work for the I-9.
- Original or certified birth certificate from a state, county, or municipal authority bearing an official seal.
- Consular Report of Birth Abroad, Form FS-240, issued by the U.S. Department of State for children born abroad to U.S. citizens.
- Certification of Report of Birth, Form DS-1350 or Form FS-545. The State Department stopped issuing DS-1350 on December 31, 2010, but previously issued copies remain valid.
- U.S. Citizen ID Card, Form I-197, or ID Card for Use of Resident Citizen in the United States, Form I-179.
- An employment authorization document issued by DHS that isn’t already listed under List A.
A common and simple pairing is a driver’s license (List B) with an unrestricted Social Security card (List C).
You Choose Which Documents to Show
Federal law does not let your employer tell you which documents to present. They cannot demand a green card, insist on a passport, or ask for more documents than the form requires. The USCIS instructions put it plainly: “An employer cannot specify which acceptable documentation you may present from the Lists of Acceptable Documents.”
The protections come from the Immigration and Nationality Act. An employer commits what’s called document abuse when they request specific documents, reject documents that reasonably appear genuine, or treat employees differently based on citizenship status or national origin during the I-9 process. Every person authorized to work in the U.S. is covered, regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
The practical version: if you present a valid driver’s license and an unrestricted Social Security card, your employer cannot reject them and demand a passport. If a document is on the list, reasonably appears genuine, and relates to you, the employer must accept it.
A few rules about how documents get handled. Your employer must examine originals, not photocopies, with one narrow exception for certified copies of birth certificates. After examining originals, they may keep photocopies for their own records, but copies never substitute for looking at the real thing. Since 2023, employers enrolled in E-Verify in good standing may verify documents remotely through a live video call, in which case you first send copies and then hold up the same originals on camera. You can always request in-person examination instead.
If a Document Is Lost, Stolen, or Damaged
If your document was lost, stolen, or damaged and you’ve applied for a replacement, you can present the application receipt in place of the document. The receipt is valid for 90 days from your hire date. Within that window, you have to show either the actual replacement or a different acceptable document from the same list.
Some limits apply. Your employer cannot accept a receipt at all if the job lasts fewer than three days. You cannot present a second receipt after the first one expires. And if you end up presenting a different document than the one the receipt was for, the employer completes a new Section 2 and attaches it to the original form.
When Your Documents Expire
If your work authorization has an expiration date, your employer must reverify your status no later than that date. You present a current document from List A or List C showing continued authorization, and the employer records it on Supplement B (Reverification and Rehire), which gets attached to your original I-9. You choose which document to present, and it doesn’t have to match what you showed the first time.
Reverification does not apply to U.S. citizens, noncitizen nationals, or lawful permanent residents. A green card or U.S. passport reflects a status that doesn’t expire, so even a technically expired document of that kind doesn’t trigger reverification. If you can’t provide proof of current work authorization when your employer asks, though, the employer is not permitted to keep you on the payroll.
A Note on the Form Itself
Section 1, which you complete, is due no later than your first day of work for pay. Section 2, which your employer completes after examining your documents, is due within three business days after your first day. For a job lasting fewer than three days, Section 2 has to be finished on day one. Always work from the current version of Form I-9 available on the USCIS website; earlier versions may no longer be accepted.