Form I-9, officially called the Employment Eligibility Verification form, is a federal document that every U.S. employer must complete for each person they hire. The form verifies two things: the employee's identity and their authorization to work in the United States.
Congress created the I-9 requirement in 1986 as part of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). The law made it illegal for employers to knowingly hire individuals who are not authorized to work in the U.S. — and Form I-9 is the mechanism that enforces that requirement. It is administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The current version of the form is Edition 08/01/2023. USCIS updates the form periodically, and employers must always use the version with the latest edition date. Using an expired form is itself a compliance violation.
Every employer in the United States must complete Form I-9 for every employee they hire — with very few exceptions. This applies regardless of:
There are only two categories of workers exempt from Form I-9:
If someone is on your payroll as an employee, they need an I-9. No exceptions.
Form I-9 has two main sections, each with its own deadline and responsible party. There is also a supplement for reverification and rehire situations.
Who completes it: The employee
Deadline: No later than the employee's first day of work (the day they begin working for pay). It may be completed earlier — such as at the time of a job offer — but it cannot be completed before the employee has accepted the offer.
In Section 1, the employee provides their full legal name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number (required if the employer uses E-Verify; otherwise optional). The employee then attests to their citizenship or immigration status by checking one of four boxes:
The employee signs and dates the form. If the employee uses a preparer or translator, that person must also complete and sign the Preparer/Translator Certification section.
Who completes it: The employer or an authorized representative
Deadline: Within three business days of the employee's first day of work. For example, if an employee starts on Monday, Section 2 must be completed by Thursday.
In Section 2, the employer (or their authorized representative) physically examines the employee's original documents to verify identity and work authorization. The employer cannot specify which documents the employee must present — the employee chooses from the list of acceptable documents.
The employer records the document information on the form, then certifies under penalty of perjury that they examined the original documents and that they appear genuine and relate to the person presenting them.
When it's used: When an employee's work authorization expires and needs to be reverified, or when a former employee is rehired within three years of the original I-9 date.
Supplement B (formerly known as Section 3) allows employers to update the I-9 without completing an entirely new form in qualifying situations. If an employee's Employment Authorization Document (EAD) or other time-limited work authorization expires, the employer must reverify before or on the expiration date.
Employees prove their identity and work authorization by presenting documents from one of three lists:
An employee presents one List A document OR one List B document plus one List C document. The employer may not ask for more documents than required, and may not request specific documents — the choice belongs to the employee.
For the complete list of every acceptable document, including receipts, see our full guide: Acceptable Forms of ID for the I-9.
I-9 compliance sounds straightforward, but mistakes are extremely common — and every error is a potential fine in an audit. These are the issues we see most often:
Employers must retain every completed Form I-9 for a specific period after the employee's hire date or termination — whichever produces the later date. The formula is:
Keep the I-9 for the later of:
For example, if you hire someone on January 1, 2024 and they leave on June 1, 2025, you would keep their I-9 until January 1, 2027 (three years from hire — which is later than one year after termination, June 1, 2026).
Destroying I-9s too early is a violation. So is failing to produce them when requested during an audit. For a deeper look at retention rules and edge cases, see How Long to Keep I-9 Forms.
The consequences for I-9 violations are financial and escalating. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) adjusts penalty amounts annually. As of 2025, the ranges are:
Beyond fines, employers found to have a pattern of violations can face criminal penalties and debarment from federal contracts. For current penalty amounts and recent enforcement trends, see I-9 Penalties: What Every HR Team Should Know.
Section 2 has a requirement that creates a real problem for employers with remote or distributed workforces: the employer (or their authorized representative) must physically examine the employee's original documents in person.
If your new hire is in another city or state, someone must be physically present with that person to look at their documents. For companies hiring across multiple locations — or fully remote companies — this is one of the most operationally difficult parts of I-9 compliance.
There are a few ways employers handle this:
Remote I-9 verification is one of the areas where the difference between doing it yourself and using a purpose-built system is most stark. A trained authorized representative who does this every day will catch document issues and compliance gaps that an untrained person will miss.
i9 Intelligence provides remote Section 2 verification with trained authorized representatives who handle the entire process — document examination, form completion, and compliance review — so your team doesn't have to coordinate it. Schedule a free compliance call to learn how it works for your hiring process.
E-Verify is an online system operated by USCIS that compares the information on an employee's Form I-9 against federal databases (Social Security Administration and DHS records) to confirm work authorization. It is a supplement to Form I-9, not a replacement.
Key differences:
For a full explanation of how E-Verify works and who must use it, see our guide: What Is E-Verify?
Form I-9 compliance is one of those areas where the rules are simple but the execution is full of traps — late deadlines, document mistakes, reverification gaps, and audit exposure that compounds with every hire. Most employers don't find out they have a problem until an auditor tells them.
i9 Intelligence automates your I-9 and E-Verify workflow from start to finish: electronic I-9 completion, remote Section 2 verification, automated E-Verify case submission, retention tracking, and audit-ready reporting. Our compliance experts are available by phone whenever you have a question — no ticket queues, no chatbots.
See how our platform works or book a demo to walk through it with our team.
Questions? Call us at (713) 668-6200 (Mon–Fri, 8am–5pm CT) or email support@i-9intelligence.com.
No. Form I-9 is a document that every U.S. employer must complete for each employee to verify identity and work authorization. E-Verify is a separate online system that checks I-9 information against government databases. E-Verify supplements Form I-9 but does not replace it — you must complete a Form I-9 before you can submit an E-Verify case.
Both the employee and the employer share responsibility. The employee completes Section 1 (personal information and attestation) by their first day of work. The employer or an authorized representative examines the employee's original documents and completes Section 2 within three business days of the start date.
Employers face civil fines starting at $272 per form for first-offense substantive violations, up to $2,507 per form. Penalties for knowingly hiring unauthorized workers range from $676 to $27,018 per worker depending on the offense history. These fines are assessed per violation, so a single audit can result in significant penalties.
Yes. Employers may use an electronic I-9 system as long as it meets USCIS requirements, including the ability to produce legible paper copies on demand, maintain a complete audit trail of any changes, and provide secure, tamper-evident storage. Many employers use electronic I-9 software to reduce errors and simplify compliance.
Yes. Every employee hired in the United States must complete Form I-9, regardless of citizenship or immigration status. U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and authorized noncitizens all complete the same form. Skipping the I-9 for anyone — including employees you know to be citizens — is a violation.
