What Is a Preparer or Translator on Form I-9?

A preparer or translator on Form I-9 is any person who helps an employee complete or understand Section 1 of the Employment Eligibility Verification form. If an employee cannot fill out Section 1 alone because of a language barrier, a disability, age, or any other reason, someone else can write the answers, translate the questions and responses, or do both. That helper then signs a certification on Supplement A, attesting under penalty of perjury that the information recorded is true and correct to the best of their knowledge.¹

Who Can Serve in the Role

USCIS defines a preparer or translator broadly as “any individual who helps the employee complete or translates Section 1 for the employee.”² That can be a coworker, a family member, a friend, an immigration attorney, an HR staff member, or anyone else the employee is willing to work with. There is no cap on how many preparers or translators a single employee may use, and one person can fill both roles.

The employee chooses who helps. An employer can offer assistance or suggest someone, but the employee is not required to accept that particular person. If you are the employee, you are free to bring your own translator or ask a trusted person to help.

What the Preparer or Translator Actually Does

The work itself is simple. A preparer takes the information the employee provides verbally and writes it into the correct fields in Section 1: legal name, address, date of birth, and citizenship or immigration status. A translator reads the form’s questions to the employee in a language they understand, listens to the answers, and records those answers in English on the form.

In either case, the helper is recording the employee’s own information. They are not vouching for the employee’s immigration status, and they are not examining or verifying documents. That last point matters because it is where people most often confuse this role with the authorized representative role (covered below).

The certification on Supplement A reads: “I attest, under penalty of perjury, that I have assisted in the completion of Section 1 of this form and that to the best of my knowledge the information is true and correct.”¹ The perjury language is not a formality. A preparer who knowingly records false information faces the same penalties as anyone else who lies on a federal form.

How to Complete Supplement A

Section 1 must be completed no later than the employee’s first day of work, and it can be filled out any time after the employee accepts a job offer.² If a preparer or translator helps, Supplement A is completed at the same time.

The employee still signs Section 1 personally. Even when someone else writes the answers, the employee must sign (or make a mark in) the Section 1 signature block. The helper’s involvement does not replace the employee’s own attestation.³
The preparer or translator fills in their full legal name, complete address, signature, and the date on Supplement A.¹
If more than one person helped (for example, one translated and another wrote the answers), each helper completes and signs a separate certification block on Supplement A.²

If no preparer or translator was used, the employer does not need to provide or retain Supplement A at all.² When Supplement A is used, the employer keeps it with the rest of the I-9 for three years after the date of hire or one year after employment ends, whichever is later.⁴

How This Differs From an Authorized Representative

A preparer or translator helps the employee with Section 1, which covers the employee’s personal information and work-authorization status. An authorized representative is different: that person acts on the employer’s behalf to complete Section 2, which involves physically examining the employee’s identity and employment-authorization documents.² The employer is legally responsible for anything the authorized representative does in Section 2. The preparer or translator is personally accountable for what they certify on Supplement A but takes on none of the employer’s verification duties.

Special Cases: Minors and Employees With Disabilities

Minors Under 18

When a minor employee cannot present an acceptable identity document from List B, a parent or legal guardian can step in. The parent or guardian completes Section 1 on the minor’s behalf, writes “Individual under age 18” in the signature block, and then fills out a Preparer and/or Translator Certification on Supplement A.⁵ This workaround is not available to employers who participate in E-Verify; in that case the minor must present either a List A document or a List B document with a photograph along with a List C document.

Employees With Disabilities in Special Placement Programs

For employees with disabilities placed through a nonprofit organization, association, or rehabilitation program who cannot sign the form themselves, a representative of that organization or the employee’s parent or legal guardian completes Section 1. That person writes “Special Placement” in the signature field, dates the form, and completes a certification block on Supplement A like any other preparer.⁶

Using the Spanish Version of Form I-9

USCIS publishes a Spanish-language version of Form I-9, but the rules on when it counts as the official form are strict. Only employers in Puerto Rico may use the Spanish version as the completed form. Every other employer must complete the English-language version. Any employer, though, may use the Spanish form and instructions as a translation aid to help Spanish-speaking employees understand what they are filling out.² If a Spanish-speaking employee needs someone to walk them through the English form, that helper is still a preparer or translator and still has to complete Supplement A.

Penalties for False or Incomplete Certifications

Consequences fall into two categories. Paperwork violations cover problems like a missing signature on Supplement A, a blank address field, or a certification that was never completed when one was required. For employers, fines for paperwork violations range from $288 to $2,861 per form, and auditors typically apply the per-form penalty across every deficient I-9 in the company’s files.

Document fraud is more serious. If a preparer or translator knowingly records false information, or if fraudulent documents are used in connection with the form, first-offense penalties range from $590 to $4,730 per fraudulent document, rising to $4,730 to $11,823 for subsequent offenses. Willful fraud can also lead to criminal prosecution. These amounts reflect the inflation-adjusted figures effective January 2, 2025.⁷

1
USCIS. Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Completing Section 1, Employee Information and Attestation
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Retaining Form I-9
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Minors (Individuals under Age 18)
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employees with Disabilities (Special Placement)
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Penalties