Form I-9, demystified.

Where the I-9 comes from, who must have one, and who's watching.

In 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) made it unlawful to knowingly hire or keep employing someone not authorized to work in the United States. To prove they checked, employers must complete Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, for every new hire — confirming two things: the person's identity and their authorization to work.

The I-9 isn't about citizenship. It's about two simple questions: Are you who you say you are? And are you allowed to work here?

Who needs an I-9 — and who doesn't

The agencies behind it

Four parts, two signers, one current edition.

The four parts

Paper or electronic — both are valid

You can complete and store I-9s on paper or electronically. An electronic system is fine as long as it protects the record's integrity, prevents tampering, keeps an audit trail, and can reproduce legible copies on request. The medium changes; the rules don't.

If you remember one thing about the I-9, remember the timing.

The employee owns this section. The employer's job is to make sure it's done correctly and on time — without doing it for them.

What the employee fills in

• Legal name, other names used, address, date of birth.
• Social Security Number — voluntary on the Form I-9 itself (it's only required if the employer uses E-Verify, which this guide doesn't cover).
• One of four citizenship/immigration status attestations.
• Signature and date.

The four status categories

What to catch before you sign Section 2

• No status box checked — or more than one.
• Status 3 or 4 selected but the required number/expiration left blank.
• Missing employee signature or date.
• Section 1 signed after Day 1 (late) — record the real dates; don't paper over it.
• Someone assisted, but Supplement A wasn't completed.

The employee chooses what to show. You verify it fits the rules — you never dictate the choice.

Rules for every document

• Unexpired — expired documents aren't acceptable (narrow auto-extension exceptions exist — Module 12).
• Original — no photocopies, except a certified copy of a birth certificate.
• Genuine & relates to the person — it must reasonably appear authentic and belong to them. You apply a reasonable-person standard, not forensics.

Examine the documents, record them accurately, and certify — within three business days.

Step by step

1. Confirm Section 1 is complete and signed. Don't proceed on an incomplete Section 1.
2. Examine the original documents the employee presents.
3. Check each is unexpired, original, reasonably genuine, relates to the person, and satisfies A or B+C.
4. Record the document title, issuing authority, number, and expiration date in the correct List column — don't mix a List A entry with List B/C.
5. Enter the first day of employment and sign & date the certification with your name, title, and business name/address.

Common Section 2 mistakes

• Recording a document in the wrong List column.
• Filling in both a List A entry and List B+C (pick one path, not both).
• Missing issuing authority, number, or expiration date.
• Missing the employer signature, title, or date.
• Accepting an expired or photocopied document.

Help with the form, and the life-cycle events that come after onboarding.

Supplement A — Preparer / Translator

Used when anyone other than the employee helps complete or translate Section 1. The helper records their name and address and signs. If no one assisted, the employee simply checks that box and Supplement A isn't used.

Supplement B — Reverification & Rehire

• When: on or before the work-authorization expiration date — never let it lapse.
• What: the employee presents an unexpired List A or List C document of their choice; you record it on Supplement B and sign.
• Rehire within 3 years: you may use Supplement B on the existing I-9 (if still valid and on current rules), reverifying if authorization changed — or simply complete a new I-9.
• Name change: may be recorded on Supplement B; documentation isn't required.

The same law that requires verification forbids using it to discriminate.

The Immigration and Nationality Act prohibits, in the verification process:

• Citizenship-status discrimination — treating people differently because of their status.
• National-origin discrimination — based on country of origin, accent, name, or appearance.
• Unfair documentary practices ("document abuse") — demanding specific or extra documents, or rejecting valid ones.
• Retaliation — punishing someone for asserting their rights.

Completing the I-9 is half the job. Keeping it correctly — and producing it on demand — is the other half.

Quick method at termination: (a) hire date + 3 years; (b) end date + 1 year; keep until whichever is later.

Storage best practices

• Store I-9s separately from personnel files, so an auditor sees only I-9s.
• If you keep copies of documents, do it consistently for everyone — copying for some and not others can look discriminatory.
• Electronic storage must protect integrity, prevent unauthorized changes, keep an audit trail, and reproduce legible copies.
• Maintain a purge schedule so you don't keep records past their requirement.

Government inspections

ICE/HSI typically gives a Notice of Inspection with about 3 business days to produce I-9s. DOJ-IER and DOL may also request records. The best defense is a clean, consistent program and periodic self-audits (done neutrally, corrected properly, and documented).

Mistakes happen. How you correct them matters as much as the original entry.

Golden rules

• Never erase or white-out. Draw a single line through the error, write the correction, and add your initials and the date.
• Section 1 errors → corrected by the employee; Section 2 errors → corrected by the employer. Don't fix the other party's section.
• If a form is missing, complete a new one now with the current date — don't backdate. Attach a brief signed note explaining why it's late.
• Electronic systems use an amendment workflow that preserves prior values in an audit trail — the digital version of "line-through-initial-date."

Top recurring errors

Why precision pays off — the cost of getting it wrong, multiplied across a workforce.

The edge cases that generate most questions. Confirm specifics with counsel where noted.

The things you'll look up most. Pin this.

Deadline cheat-sheet

Documents in one line

A — or — B + C. One List A (identity + work auth), or one List B (identity) plus one List C (work auth). Employee's choice. Unexpired + original + reasonably genuine. Never demand a specific or extra document.

Never do this

• Demand specific or extra documents; reject valid ones.
• Reverify citizens or lawful permanent residents.
• Treat a future expiration date as a hiring factor.
• Backdate a form, or white-out an error.
• Use an expired form edition.

A repeatable workflow. Ticks save in your browser so you can use it live.

• Confirmed the accurate first day of employment — every deadline keys off it.
• Section 1 complete, signed, dated; exactly one status box; required numbers present; on time.
• Supplement A done if anyone assisted or translated.
• Examined original documents — unexpired, original, genuine, A or B+C, employee's choice.
• Section 2 completed within 3 business days: correct columns, all fields, my signature/title/date.
• Set a reverification tickler if work authorization has an expiration date.
• Stored the I-9 correctly and recorded the retention/purge date.

When this guide and an official source disagree, the official source wins.

• Form I-9 & instructions: uscis.gov/i-9
• I-9 Central & M-274 Handbook: uscis.gov/i-9-central
• Lists of Acceptable Documents: uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents
• Anti-discrimination (DOJ–IER): justice.gov — IER