What Is an I-9 Authorized Representative and Who Can Be One?

An I-9 authorized representative is any person an employer designates to complete Section 2 of Form I-9 on the employer’s behalf, including reviewing the new hire’s identity and work authorization documents in person. Federal law lets you delegate the task to almost anyone. It does not let you delegate the responsibility: if the person you pick makes a mistake, the fine lands on you.¹

Who You Can Designate

USCIS sets a very low bar. An employer can name a personnel officer, a supervisor at another location, a notary public, a friend, a neighbor, or even a family member of the employee.² No license, training, or credential is required by federal law, and no written contract between the employer and the representative is required either. Many employers put an agreement in place anyway for accountability.

Two limits are firm. An employee can never act as their own authorized representative — no reviewing your own documents, no signing Section 2 for yourself.³ And when a notary public serves in this role, they are acting as an ordinary person. They should not affix a notary stamp or seal to the form, and they cannot charge their notary fee, because completing Form I-9 is not a notarial act.² Some states have their own rules about notaries handling immigration paperwork; the federal rule only tells you what USCIS requires.

What the Representative Actually Does

The representative steps into your role for Section 2. That means physically examining the employee’s original, unexpired documents, confirming they reasonably appear genuine and relate to the person presenting them, and then recording each document’s title, issuing authority, number, and expiration date before signing the form.⁴

The deadline is tight. Section 2 must be completed within three business days of the employee’s first day of work for pay. If the new hire starts Monday, the form must be done by Thursday. For jobs lasting fewer than three days, Section 2 must be finished on the first day.³

An authorized representative can also handle Supplement B, which covers reverification when work authorization expires and situations involving rehires. The mechanics are the same: examine the document, record the details, sign on the employer’s behalf.²

The Document Rules Your Representative Must Follow

The employee chooses which documents to show. They can present one item from List A, which proves both identity and work authorization, or one item from List B (identity) paired with one from List C (work authorization).⁵ A U.S. passport works on its own; a driver’s license plus an unrestricted Social Security card is another common pairing.

This is where representatives most often create liability for the employer. Neither you nor your representative may tell the employee which specific documents to bring, request immigration-specific documents from non-citizens, or reject a valid document because a different one would be preferred. That behavior can violate federal anti-discrimination rules even without discriminatory intent.⁶ Make this point explicit before you hand off the form.

Remote Hires and the E-Verify Alternative

If your business is enrolled in E-Verify in good standing, you can use a DHS-authorized remote procedure instead of putting someone in the same room as the new hire.⁷ The employee first transmits copies of the documents (front and back if two-sided), then presents the same documents during a live video interaction so the reviewer can confirm they look genuine and match the person on screen. You check the box on Form I-9 indicating the alternative procedure was used, and you retain clear copies of the documents in case of an audit.⁸

One consistency rule matters. If you offer remote examination at an E-Verify hiring site, you have to offer it to all employees at that site. You may limit the option to remote hires and require on-site staff to do in-person review, but you cannot pick and choose in a way that discriminates based on citizenship, immigration status, or national origin.⁸

Employers not enrolled in E-Verify still need someone physically present with the employee. In that case, designating an authorized representative near the new hire is the practical solution.

You Keep the Liability

Delegating the task does not delegate responsibility. The employer is liable for every violation connected to the form or the verification process, including mistakes the authorized representative makes.¹ If your representative accepts an expired document, fills in the wrong fields, misses the deadline, or skips the in-person review, the employer takes the hit.

Before you hand off the form, give the representative clear written instructions covering the acceptable documents, the requirement to examine originals in person (unless you are using the E-Verify remote procedure), the ban on requesting specific documents, and the three-business-day deadline. Review the completed form for accuracy before you file it. Federal regulations require you to keep each completed Form I-9 for three years after the date of hire or one year after employment ends, whichever is later.⁹

What Mistakes Cost

Paperwork violations on Form I-9 carry civil fines ranging from $288 to $2,861 per form for violations occurring after November 2, 2015.¹⁰ Paperwork violations include missing fields, late completion, and failure to produce the form during an audit. When ICE identifies purely technical errors, employers typically get a 10-business-day window to correct them before fines apply.

Where a fine falls in that range depends on the size of the business, the employer’s good-faith efforts, the seriousness of the violation, whether the worker turned out to be unauthorized, and any prior violations.¹⁰ Knowingly hiring or continuing to employ unauthorized workers triggers much steeper penalties, reaching tens of thousands of dollars per worker for repeat offenses. Because you own every mistake your representative makes, one careless reviewer working through a batch of new hires can generate a costly problem in a single audit. Training whoever you designate is the cheapest protection available.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 2.0 Who Must Complete Form I-9
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Completing Section 2, Employer Review and Attestation
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – Completing Section 2 Employer Review and Verification
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 11.4 Avoiding Discrimination in Recruiting, Hiring, and the Form I-9 Process
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Remote Examination of Documents
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 4.5 Remote Document Examination
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 10.0 Retaining Form I-9
10
eCFR. 8 CFR 274a.10 – Penalties