What 2 Forms of ID Are Acceptable for an I-9?

The acceptable forms of ID for an I-9 come from three government lists, and you have two ways to satisfy the requirement: present one document from List A that proves both identity and work authorization, or present one document from List B (identity) together with one from List C (work authorization). A U.S. passport alone works. A driver’s license plus an unrestricted Social Security card works. Two driver’s licenses do not.

The Two-Document Rule, and the One-Document Shortcut

Every new hire in the United States has to verify identity and authorization to work. The Form I-9 sorts acceptable documents into three groups:

List A proves both identity and work authorization. One List A document is enough on its own.
List B proves identity only. It has to be paired with a List C document.
List C proves work authorization only. It has to be paired with a List B document.

You either bring one List A item, or one List B plus one List C. Two List B documents don’t work, and neither do two List C documents, no matter who issued them. The pairing has to cross both lists so that identity and work authorization are each covered.¹

You choose which acceptable documents to present. Your employer does not get to pick for you.

List A: One Document That Does Both Jobs

If you have any of the following, you’re done in one:

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 a temporary I-551 printed notation on a machine-readable immigrant visa
Employment Authorization Document, Form I-766, with a photograph
Foreign passport with a Form I-94 or I-94A carrying an unexpired endorsement to work
Passport from the Federated States of Micronesia or the Republic of the Marshall Islands with a Form I-94 or I-94A showing admission under the Compact of Free Association

A few of these are technically a passport plus an I-94 shown together, but they count as a single List A document for I-9 purposes.² For most U.S. citizens with a passport, that’s the easiest route. For most permanent residents, the green card is.

List B: Documents That Prove Identity

Without a List A document, you’ll pick one item from this list to establish who you are:

Driver’s license or state-issued ID card with a photograph or descriptive information such as name, date of birth, height, and eye color
Government ID card issued by a federal, state, or local agency with a photograph or descriptive information
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 (for Canadian border commuters)

Employees under 18 who can’t produce any of those have three additional options: a school record or report card, a clinic or hospital record, or a day-care or nursery school record.³ For most adults, a state driver’s license or state ID is the practical choice.

List C: Documents That Prove Work Authorization

Then you’ll pair your List B document with one of these:

Unrestricted U.S. Social Security card (cannot be laminated and cannot carry a restrictive legend)
Birth certificate issued by a U.S. state, county, or territory with an official seal (original or certified copy)
Certification of birth abroad issued by the Department of State (Forms FS-545, DS-1350, or FS-240)
Native American tribal document
U.S. Citizen ID Card, Form I-197
Resident Citizen ID Card, Form I-179
Employment authorization document issued by DHS, including certain Forms I-94 issued to asylees or work-authorized nonimmigrants, and Form I-571 Refugee Travel Document

An unrestricted Social Security card paired with a driver’s license is the most common two-document combination people actually use.²

Social Security Cards That Don’t Count

Not every Social Security card qualifies. Cards printed with “NOT VALID FOR EMPLOYMENT,” “VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH INS AUTHORIZATION,” or “VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION” are restricted cards and cannot serve as List C documents.⁴ If your card has one of those legends, use a different List C document, or use a List A document instead.

Combinations That Actually Work

Any valid List B paired with any valid List C is acceptable, but a handful of pairings cover almost everyone:

State driver’s license and unrestricted Social Security card
State ID card and birth certificate with an official seal
School ID with photo and unrestricted Social Security card
U.S. military ID and unrestricted Social Security card
Voter registration card and birth certificate with an official seal (an option when you have no photo ID, since voter registration cards don’t require a photo)

The rule underneath all of them is the same: one document that proves who you are, one that proves you can work in the country.

What Doesn’t Work

Every document has to be an unexpired original. Photocopies, scans, and photos on your phone are not acceptable. The one exception is a birth certificate, because these are commonly issued as certified copies from the state or county: a certified copy with an official seal counts as an acceptable original.²

Two documents from the same list also won’t work. A driver’s license and a school ID both prove identity and say nothing about work authorization. Two List C documents have the opposite problem. The combination has to cross lists.

If Your Document Is Lost, Stolen, or Damaged

If you’re missing a document because it was lost, stolen, or damaged, you can present a receipt showing you’ve applied for a replacement. That receipt buys you 90 days from your hire date to bring in the actual document.⁵ Two other receipt situations exist for specific immigration documents:

The arrival portion of a Form I-94 with a temporary I-551 stamp and your photograph, presented by lawful permanent residents in place of a green card. It’s valid until the stamp’s expiration date, or one year from issuance if no expiration is printed.
The departure portion of a Form I-94 with a refugee admission stamp, or a computer-generated I-94 with admission code “RE.” Valid for 90 days.

Receipts can’t be used if the job will last fewer than three business days.

What Your Employer Cannot Demand

The choice of which acceptable documents to present is yours. Your employer cannot tell you to bring a passport, cannot insist on a green card, and cannot demand additional documents once you’ve produced a valid List A document or a valid List B plus List C pair.⁶

Requesting specific documents or rejecting documents that reasonably appear genuine can be an unfair documentary practice under federal immigration law, and these violations often stem from citizenship or national origin discrimination even when unintentional. An employer that tells every new hire to “just bring your passport” is breaking the rules, because that preference penalizes anyone who doesn’t have one.⁷

What your employer does have to do is look at each document and decide whether it reasonably appears genuine and relates to you. That’s a visual check. If the document looks real and the name and photo line up, it should be accepted.

When to Have Your Documents Ready

You have to complete Section 1 of the I-9 (your own information and work authorization attestation) no later than your first day of work for pay. You can fill it out earlier, after you’ve accepted the offer, but not before.⁶

Your employer then has three business days from your first day of employment to examine your documents. If you start on a Monday, the review has to be done by Thursday. Not producing acceptable documents within that window can cost you the job, though the receipt rule gives you a bridge if a replacement is on the way.¹ Show up with either a single List A document or a List B and a List C together, and you’re covered.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 13.0 Acceptable Documents for Verifying Employment Authorization and Identity
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 13.2 List B Documents That Establish Identity
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 13.3 List C Documents That Establish Employment Authorization
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Receipts
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 11.2 Types of Employment Discrimination Prohibited Under the INA