Article

What Documents Can an Employee Present for Form I-9?

Form I-9

Document Verification

Patricia Duarte

Published on:

August 18, 2026

minutes to read

A veterinary clinic office manager at the reception counter reviewing a manila folder of new-hire paperwork, with the clinic hallway visible through a glass door behind her.

Pull a new-hire packet from almost any company and you will find some version of "bring two forms of ID." Recruiting wrote it years ago. Nobody has edited it. The hire shows up with two licenses, or a passport and a Social Security card, because that is what the email said.

Form I-9 never asked for two IDs. It asked for identity and permission to work. A U.S. passport, a green card, or an EAD can do that alone. A driver's license only works if something from List C sits next to it. USCIS lists 25 documents that qualify. The employee picks. The second you tell them which ones to bring, you have a discrimination problem, even if the combo they would have chosen was legal.

How the lists actually work

Section 2 is yours: look at original, unexpired documents and write down what you saw. The Lists of Acceptable Documents are printed on the form and spelled out in the M-274, Section 13.0.

They get there one of two ways. One document from List A (identity and work authorization in the same card or passport). Or one from List B plus one from List C. Hand them the list. A license plus Social Security card might be easier for E-Verify. That does not let you require it. INA section 274B calls that document abuse.

Originals. The only photocopy USCIS blesses is an original or certified copy of a U.S. birth certificate that still has the seal. A picture texted from the parking lot does not count. You have three business days from the first day of work for pay, or day one if the job will not last that long.

If you use E-Verify, the List B document has to have a photo. That is an E-Verify rule. It is not a change to the I-9 lists.

List A Documents (Identity and Work Authorization)

If they put a valid List A document on the table, stop. Do not ask what else is in the wallet.

#	Document	Form	Notes
1	U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport Card	n/a	Department of State. No later reverification.
2	Permanent Resident Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card	I-551	Green card. Older designs stay valid until that card's date. Never reverify. Where the numbers sit: Green Card Number for I-9.
3	Foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp or I-551 printed notation on a machine-readable immigrant visa (MRIV)	I-551 stamp / MRIV	Passport plus stamp = one List A document. Reverify when the stamp or notation runs out.
4	Employment Authorization Document with a photograph	I-766	EAD. Reverify when the card expires. Which number goes where: EAD Card for I-9.
5	Foreign passport plus Form I-94 or I-94A with a work-authorized nonimmigrant endorsement	I-94 / I-94A	The I-94 has to still be in force, and the job cannot collide with a restriction on it. F-1 and J-1 hires often add an I-20 or DS-2019; that stack is still one List A combo. Walkthroughs: acceptable documents.
6	Passport from the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) or the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) plus Form I-94 or I-94A	I-94 / I-94A	I-94 must show admission under the Compact of Free Association.

Rows 3, 5, and 6 are already a small pile of paper. Record every piece in Section 2. Leave the List B and List C columns empty. Asking for a license "just in case" is how over-documentation starts.

List B Documents (Identity Only)

This column answers "who is standing here." It does not prove they can work. Pair it with List C, and it has to be unexpired.

#	Document	Notes
1	Driver's license or ID card issued by a state or outlying possession of the United States	Photo, or name plus date of birth, sex, height, eye color, and address. Includes D.C., Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands. A "not valid for federal purposes" (or similar) stamp does not knock a state license off this row.
2	ID card issued by a federal, state, or local government agency or entity	Same photo / biographic rule as #1. If a state DMV issued it, use #1. This row is PIV, CAC, city badge, state prison inmate ID, that kind of thing.
3	School ID card with a photograph	Needs the photo. E-Verify employers need a photo on whatever List B they accept, school ID included.
4	Voter's registration card	We almost never see these. Still needs List C next to it.
5	U.S. military card or draft record	Active duty, selected reserve, some DoD civilians, eligible contractor personnel.
6	Military dependent's ID card	Family members and retirees.
7	U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Card	Identity only; still needs List C.
8	Native American tribal document	Also List C #4. The same document handed over twice does not become List A.
9	Driver's license issued by a Canadian government authority	List B, not a U.S. passport substitute.

Under 18, and they do not have items 1–9

Then List B can be a school record or report card, a clinic/doctor/hospital record, or a day-care/nursery record (items 10, 11, and 12). They still need List C. A 16-year-old with a report card and nothing that proves work authorization is not done.

List C Documents (Work Authorization Only)

This is the half people forget when they hear "two forms of ID" and grab two licenses. List C is work authorization. Without List B, the form is incomplete.

#	Document	Notes
1	U.S. Social Security card (unrestricted)	Laminated cards are out. So is any card that says NOT VALID FOR EMPLOYMENT, VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH INS AUTHORIZATION, or VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION. More on those legends: valid for work only with DHS authorization.
2	Certification of report of birth issued by the Department of State	DS-1350, FS-545, or FS-240.
3	Original or certified copy of a birth certificate issued by a U.S. state, county, municipal authority, or territory, bearing an official seal	The hospital souvenir copy fails. Phone photos fail. Puerto Rico: only certificates issued on or after July 1, 2010.
4	Native American tribal document	Same type as List B #8. One copy does not fill both columns.
5	U.S. Citizen ID Card	Form I-197. Rare, still listed.
6	Identification Card for Use of Resident Citizen in the United States	Form I-179. No expiration date on the card.
7	Employment authorization document issued by the Department of Homeland Security	Not the EAD. Form I-766 is List A #4. This row is other DHS paper: some I-94s, Form I-571, Form I-327, Certificates of Naturalization or Citizenship (N-550/N-570, N-560/N-561).

Six on A, twelve on B, seven on C. That is 25. USCIS keeps the official lists at uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents.

What people mean by "2 forms of ID"

On a restaurant line or in a warehouse office, that phrase almost always means license plus Social Security card. Fine, if the card has no restriction printed on it. The table is the rest of the argument. Do not record a leftover document "for the file."

What gets said	On Form I-9	Does it work?
Driver's license + Social Security card	List B #1 + List C #1	Yes, if the Social Security card has no restriction legend
State ID + birth certificate	List B #1 or #2 + List C #3	Yes, if the birth certificate is original or certified with a seal
School ID + Social Security card	List B #3 + List C #1	Yes, if the school ID has a photo
Two driver's licenses	List B + List B	No. Still no work authorization.
Passport + driver's license	List A plus a leftover List B	Too much. Record the passport only.
Green card + Social Security card	List A plus a leftover List C	Too much. Record the green card only.

"The offer letter is usually where it starts," says Patricia Duarte, Director of Compliance at i9 Intelligence. "Somebody in recruiting typed 'bring two forms of ID' a decade ago and the sentence is still in the template. By the time that person is in the lobby, they already think a passport isn't enough. Fix the email. It is cheaper than explaining extra documents to ICE."

Looking at a card that is not on these tables?

Happens constantly. The I-9 acceptable documents page covers examination and the F-1 / J-1 combos. If you would rather walk the live hire with someone who does this all day, book a free compliance call.

Receipts

A receipt buys time. It is not the document. Do not take one if the job lasts fewer than three days. Do not take a receipt that only shows they applied for work authorization for the first time (an initial EAD filing is the one we see most).

The receipts that actually work:

Replacement of a lost, stolen, or damaged List A, B, or C document. Ninety days from hire, or from the date work authorization expired if you are on Supplement B. Then they show the replacement, or something else that is on the lists.
I-94 with a temporary I-551 stamp and a photo (lawful permanent resident waiting on the card). Until the date on the stamp, or one year from issuance if the stamp has no date. Then the Permanent Resident Card.
I-94 with a refugee stamp or admission code "RE." Ninety days, then an EAD or List B plus an unrestricted Social Security card.

Parole receipts and the exact clocks: M-274 Section 4.4.

Where these lists go wrong

Paperwork fines are $288–$2,861 per form right now (January 2, 2025 Federal Register). Full ranges: 2026 I-9 penalties. The list errors we keep seeing are not exotic.

The offer-letter sentence is the top of the funnel: "bring a license and a Social Security card." Print the lists instead. Then we get passports recorded with a license still sitting in Section 2, which reads like you steered them. Restricted Social Security cards sneak through because nobody reads the legend on the face of the card. Two licenses. Screenshots. For remote hires, originals still have to be examined in person or on a live video call under the alternative procedure.

The last mix-up is dates. People reverify green cards because the plastic has an expiration, and then they miss the EAD that actually runs out. Permanent resident status does not die with the card. Temporary work authorization does.

Frequently Asked Questions

What documents are needed for an I-9?

One List A document, or List B plus List C. They choose from the Lists of Acceptable Documents. Your job is to examine what they picked, not to assemble the combo.

Does Form I-9 require two forms of ID?

That phrase is leftover onboarding copy. A U.S. passport, Form I-551, or Form I-766 by itself already finishes Section 2. Two List B documents (two licenses, a license and a school ID) leave work authorization unproven.

What is a List A document?

Identity and work authorization in one shot. Six rows, including the U.S. passport, the green card, and the EAD. A foreign passport with a qualifying I-94 is List A too, even though it is more than one piece of paper.

Can I ask for a driver's license and Social Security card?

You can put the lists in their hands. You cannot tell them which row to use. ICE and DOJ treat that as document abuse under INA section 274B. It does not help you that the combo would have been acceptable.

Are photocopies acceptable for Form I-9?

A certified birth certificate with the seal, yes. A photo from the employee's phone, no. The document has to reasonably look real and belong to the person in front of you. E-Verify's alternative procedure still means a live look at the originals, plus copies you keep.

How many acceptable I-9 documents are there?

25: six List A, twelve List B (three of those only for people under 18), seven List C categories. The Native American tribal document appears on B and on C. Using it twice still does not make it List A.