What Are Employment Verification Documents for I-9?

To complete Form I-9, you present either one document from List A, which proves both your identity and your permission to work, or one document from List B (identity) paired with one from List C (work authorization). The I-9 acceptable documents fall into those three lists, and you — not your employer — get to choose which qualifying documents to present.¹

Every document you hand over must be an original, not a photocopy, and unexpired on the day you present it. Narrow exceptions exist for receipts and for certain automatic extensions, both covered below.

List A: One Document Covers Everything

If you have a List A document, that single item finishes the verification. Your employer cannot ask for anything else once you produce one.¹ The full List A set:

U.S. passport or U.S. passport card
Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551), commonly called a 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), a photo ID card carrying an expiration date
Foreign passport accompanied by Form I-94 showing nonimmigrant status and authorization to work for a specific employer
Passport from the Federated States of Micronesia or the Republic of the Marshall Islands presented with Form I-94 showing admission under the Compact of Free Association

A few of these are really two pieces of paper that together count as a single List A item. The foreign passport with Form I-94, for example, only works when both are presented together.

The EAD Automatic Extension Ended in October 2025

For years, workers who filed to renew a Form I-766 before it expired received an automatic extension of up to 540 days, letting them keep working while the new card was processed. That practice ended on October 30, 2025, under an interim final rule. Renewal applications filed on or after that date no longer trigger an automatic extension, so the EAD stops being valid on its face expiration date and the worker loses authorization until a replacement card is issued.² Temporary Protected Status holders are the one exception; their EAD extensions run through separate Federal Register notices and were not affected by the October 2025 change.

List B: Documents That Prove Only Identity

If you don’t have a List A document, you’ll pair one item from List B with one from List C. List B options establish who you are:³

State-issued driver’s license or ID card containing a photo or descriptive information such as name, date of birth, height, and eye color
ID card issued by a federal, state, or local government agency with a photo or descriptive details
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
Driver’s license issued by a Canadian government authority

Workers under 18 who cannot produce any of the above have a separate path, described further down.

List C: Documents That Prove Only Work Authorization

List C documents show you are legally permitted to work but do not, on their own, prove who you are. Each must be paired with something from List B:⁴

Unrestricted Social Security card. The card cannot be laminated and must not carry a restriction such as “Not Valid for Employment” or “Valid for Work Only with DHS Authorization.”¹
Original or certified copy of a birth certificate issued by a state, county, municipal authority, or outlying possession of the United States bearing an official seal
Native American tribal document
U.S. Citizen ID Card (Form I-197)
Identification Card for Use of Resident Citizen in the United States (Form I-179)
Other DHS-issued employment authorization documents, including Form I-94 issued to asylees or work-authorized nonimmigrants, a Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571), a Reentry Permit (Form I-327), a Certificate of Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561), and a Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570)

The Most Common Combination

Most U.S. citizens and permanent residents complete the I-9 with a state driver’s license (List B) plus a Social Security card or birth certificate (List C). That pairing works for anyone who doesn’t have a passport at hand. If you do have a valid U.S. passport, presenting it alone is faster because it satisfies both halves of the requirement.

You Choose the Documents, Not Your Employer

Federal law prohibits your employer from telling you which acceptable documents to present. They cannot demand a passport. They cannot reject your driver’s license and Social Security card because they’d prefer to see a Green Card. They cannot ask you for extra documents beyond what the form requires.⁵

The Immigration and Nationality Act specifically bans three “unfair documentary practices” during I-9 verification: requesting more documents than the form requires, demanding a specific document, and rejecting documents that reasonably appear genuine. These protections apply regardless of your citizenship status or national origin.⁶ The Department of Justice’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section enforces them, and violations can result in civil penalties, back pay, and mandatory hiring orders.⁷

Your employer’s job is to look at what you present and confirm it appears genuine and relates to you. If a document from the acceptable list satisfies the requirement on its face, they have to take it.

If Your Documents Are Lost, Stolen, or Damaged

You can present a receipt showing you’ve applied for a replacement. That receipt buys you 90 days from the date of hire to produce the actual document.⁸ Two additional receipt situations exist for specific immigration cases:

A Form I-94 containing an I-551 stamp and a photograph works as a List A receipt for lawful permanent residents until the stamp’s expiration date, or for one year after issuance if the stamp has no date.
A Form I-94 with a refugee admission stamp or “RE” code works as a List A receipt for 90 days, after which the employee must present either an unrestricted Social Security card paired with a List B document, or an Employment Authorization Document.

Receipts are not accepted for jobs lasting fewer than three business days. In those short-term situations, you must present the actual documents on your first day.

Minors Under 18 Without a Standard Identity Document

A worker under 18 who cannot produce any of the List B identity documents has an alternative. A parent or legal guardian writes “Individual under age 18” in the employee signature block of Section 1 and completes a Supplement A certification. The employer then writes “Individual under age 18” in the List B field and records whatever List C document the minor presents.⁹

This alternative is not available if the employer participates in E-Verify. In that case, the minor must present either a List A document or a List B document containing a photograph paired with a List C document.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents
2
Federal Register. Removal of the Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization 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. Instructions for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Types of Employment Discrimination Prohibited Under the INA
7
U.S. Department of Justice. Overview Of The Immigrant and Employee Rights Section
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Receipts
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Minors (Individuals under Age 18)