How Much Does Remote I-9 Verification Cost? 2026 Prices Compared
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Form I-9 never needs to be notarized, and there's no place on it for a seal. A notary can complete Section 2 for you, but only as your authorized representative, the same role a store manager or an HR coordinator could fill. USCIS says a notary in that role shouldn't stamp the form at all.
Employers still send remote hires to notaries every week, usually because an old onboarding packet said to. That visit typically runs $50 to $150 plus travel, puts Section 2 in the hands of someone trained to witness signatures, and in California the notary may be breaking state law by doing it. Employers enrolled in E-Verify can skip the drive entirely.
USCIS lets you designate anyone to examine an employee's documents and complete Section 2 on your behalf. A notary can be that person, and so can a manager, a coworker, or a vendor. The M-274 Handbook for Employers is specific about the notary case: "When acting as an authorized representative, a notary public should not provide a notary seal on Form I-9."
The seal adds nothing, and a stamped I-9 looks no more compliant to an ICE auditor than an unstamped one, and every mistake the notary makes is yours. Paperwork fines run $288 to $2,861 per form, and they're issued to the employer, never to the representative who filled in the boxes.
The bigger risk is what the notary doesn't know. Notaries are trained to confirm who's signing a document. They aren't trained on List A, B, and C, on receipts, on an EAD that's been automatically extended, or on a foreign passport that only works with the right Form I-94. Those are the documents where Section 2 goes wrong, and a notary sees one a year.
California treats Form I-9 as an immigration form. In 2014, the California Secretary of State's office told the National Notary Association that California notaries who aren't qualified and bonded as immigration consultants may not complete Form I-9, even outside their role as a notary. Doing it anyway violates Government Code § 8223(c). Plenty of California notaries know the rule and will say no when your hire calls.
Texas takes a narrower position. The Texas Secretary of State's notary FAQ says Texas law doesn't authorize notaries to certify an I-9 and that they shouldn't notarize one. A Texas notary can still act as your authorized representative, but they can't add anything official to the form.
Remote online notaries examine documents over video, which feels like the modern answer. For Form I-9, examining documents over video is the DHS alternative procedure, and it's only available to employers enrolled in E-Verify and in good standing, at their E-Verify hiring sites. An employer that isn't enrolled can't use an online notary for the I-9, because someone has to hold the documents in person.
Enrolled employers don't need a notary at all. Anyone you designate can run the video call, including a third-party vendor, as long as they follow the four steps:
An online notary also won't run your E-Verify case, and when the hire presents a U.S. passport, passport card, green card, or EAD, E-Verify asks for a photo match. Your team still has to finish that part.
| Option | Typical cost | Who examines the documents | E-Verify required? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile notary | About $50–$150, often plus travel | A notary, in person | No |
| Remote online notary | Varies by service | A notary, on video | Yes |
| Your own manager or HR staff | Staff time | Your team, in person or on video | Only for video |
| i9 Intelligence remote verification | $50, E-Verify case included | Our US-based I-9 specialists, on video | Yes |
The notary's fee is the smallest part of what you pay. Your hire takes time off to find one, the notary may refuse, and the finished Section 2 comes back on paper for someone to check. Paper I-9s routinely run over 90% error rates, and a notary-completed form is usually a paper one.
Your new hire video-calls one of our US-based I-9 specialists from their phone, and they can book the same day you send the I-9. We examine their documents against the copies they uploaded, complete Section 2, and run the E-Verify case with photo match for $50 per hire, about what a mobile notary charges before travel. It works for any employer enrolled in E-Verify, and our remote I-9 verification page walks through the whole call.
Employers who aren't enrolled in E-Verify need someone in the room with the documents, and for a single hire in a town where you have nobody, a notary can be that person. Brief them before the appointment. Send the Section 2 instructions from the M-274, tell them to leave the seal off, and make sure they examine the originals the employee brings rather than photocopies. Then check the form the day it comes back, while there's still time to fix it inside the three-business-day window.
Companies with regular remote hiring should look at E-Verify itself. Enrollment is free, several states already require it, and it's what makes video verification possible. Our compliance team can walk you through enrollment whenever you're ready.
"We talk to companies every month that pay a mobile notary to drive across town for an I-9, and they're already enrolled in E-Verify," says Jed Butler, CEO of i9 Intelligence. "The stamp isn't allowed on the form, and the notary has probably never seen an auto-extended EAD. A video call with someone who looks at I-9 documents all day is faster and cheaper."
No. There's no notarial certificate on Form I-9, and USCIS says a notary acting as your authorized representative shouldn't apply a seal.
Yes, as your authorized representative. They examine the original documents, fill in Section 2, and sign the certification, the same as any representative you choose. California is the exception: there, only notaries who are also bonded immigration consultants may complete the form.
Your company is responsible for every Form I-9, including the ones a representative completes, and paperwork fines of $288 to $2,861 per form go to the employer.
Only when your company is enrolled in E-Verify and in good standing, because video examination is the DHS alternative procedure. Qualifying employers can use any trained representative for the call, including our team.
Section 2 has to be completed within three business days of the employee's first day of work for pay. For a remote hire, that's three days to book the notary, get the hire there, and get the form back to you, which is why late Section 2s show up so often on notary-completed I-9s.
Tell us how many remote hires you expect this year, and we'll tell you the cheapest compliant way to cover them. For some employers that's their own staff on video, and for others it's our team. Book a free compliance call and you'll talk with our compliance team, not a sales script.
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