The EAD document number is the 13-character code printed on your Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766) as the “Card #.” It’s three letters followed by ten digits, and it appears on the front of current cards and is repeated on the back. When an employer, form, or verification system asks for your EAD number, this is almost always the field they want.
Where To Find It on the Card
On the current version of Form I-766, look for a field labeled Card # on the front of the card. The same number is printed again on the back. Older card designs placed it only on the back, typically in the upper-left area, and some of those cards showed the number without an explicit label. The format gives it away either way: three letters, then ten digits, no spaces.
Don’t confuse the Card # with the other identifiers printed nearby. The front of the card also shows your name, date of birth, photo, category code, USCIS number, and the card’s expiration date. Any of those can be mistaken for the document number by someone who isn’t sure what to look for.
What the Number Looks Like
The three-letter prefix corresponds to the USCIS service center that processed your application. Common prefixes include LIN (Nebraska Service Center), MSC (National Benefits Center), SRC (Texas Service Center), EAC (Vermont Service Center), and IOE (online filings). A real number reads like LIN2407351486 or MSC0000000002.
This is the same 13-character format USCIS uses for receipt numbers on Form I-797C notices of action, and that isn’t a coincidence. The Card # printed on your EAD matches the receipt number for the Form I-765 application that produced the card. If you’ve lost the physical card but still have your I-797C receipt notice from that filing, the number on that notice is your document number.
How It Differs From the USCIS Number and Category Code
Your EAD carries at least three distinct identifiers. Mixing them up is one of the most common paperwork mistakes.
- The document number, labeled Card #, identifies that specific card. It’s 13 characters and it changes every time you’re issued a new or replacement EAD.
- The USCIS number, labeled USCIS#, is your Alien Registration Number (A-Number). It’s an eight- or nine-digit number, sometimes shown with a leading “A.” It stays the same for life across every immigration filing, no matter how many EAD cards you go through.
- The category code is a short alphanumeric like C09 or A05 that indicates the immigration category under which your work authorization was granted.
When someone asks for your “EAD number,” they almost always mean the Card #. But confirm which field they’re filling in. Form I-9 asks for the document number. Other immigration forms may ask for the A-Number or a receipt number as a separate field.
Where You’ll Be Asked for It
Form I-9
Every person hired in the United States completes Form I-9. The EAD is a “List A” document, meaning it establishes both identity and work authorization on its own. Your employer examines the physical card and records the document number, the expiration date, and the issuing authority in Section 2 of the form. That section has to be completed within three business days of your start date.
E-Verify
Employers enrolled in E-Verify enter the I-9 information into the system, which checks it against Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration records. When the document is an EAD, E-Verify triggers a photo-matching step: it displays a photo from government records, and the employer compares that image to the photo on the physical card you handed them. The comparison is between the two photos, not between the E-Verify image and your face. A mismatch can produce a Tentative Nonconfirmation, which you get a chance to resolve.
What Happens to the Number With a New Card
The document number is tied to one specific card, not to you. If you renew your EAD or replace one that was lost, stolen, or damaged, the new card will carry a new document number. Your A-Number and, in most cases, your category code stay the same.
An employer who previously recorded your old Card # on an I-9 doesn’t need to update that record just because you’ve received a replacement. The old document number remains valid for record-keeping tied to the period the old card covered. When you start a new job on the replacement card, the new number is what goes on the new I-9.
Keeping the Number Accessible
Photograph or photocopy both sides of your EAD as soon as you receive it, and keep the copies somewhere separate from the card. If you ever need to file for a replacement, USCIS asks for copies of the front and back of the previous card. Beyond that, having the document number available without pulling out the physical card saves time whenever an employer, attorney, or form asks for it.
If you filed Form I-765 online through your USCIS account, the receipt number is available there in your case history, and it matches the document number that will be printed on the card. The online account is also where you can confirm your category code or check whether a pending renewal has been decided.