I-9 Verification Checklist: What Employers Need to Collect and Verify in 2026

Every US employer has to complete Form I-9 for every new hire. Skip a section, accept the wrong document, or miss a deadline and you are looking at fines that start at $281 per form and climb into five figures per violation. The paperwork is short. The rules around it are not.

This I-9 verification checklist walks through every step, the accepted documents by list, retention timelines, and how to run the whole process without printouts or a shared folder. Use it for your next hire, then reuse it for every one after.

The I-9 verification checklist

Complete these steps for every new employee, no exceptions:

• Give the employee Form I-9 (current version) on or before their first day of work
• Have the employee complete Section 1 no later than their first day of employment
• Verify the employee’s name, date of birth, address, and citizenship or immigration status attestation
• Ask the employee to present acceptable documents from List A OR one from List B and one from List C
• Physically or remotely examine the original documents within 3 business days of the start date
• Complete Section 2 with document titles, issuing authorities, document numbers, and expiration dates
• Sign and date Section 2 as the authorized employer representative
• Run the case through E-Verify if you are enrolled (required for federal contractors and some states)
• Store the completed I-9 separately from the personnel file
• Track document expiration dates for employees with time-limited work authorization
• Re-verify work authorization in Section 3 before the current authorization expires
• Retain the I-9 for the longer of 3 years after hire OR 1 year after termination

If you can check every item on that list for every employee on the day of an audit, you pass. If you cannot, you have exposure.

What is Form I-9 and why it matters

Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, is the document every US employer uses to confirm that a new hire is legally allowed to work in the United States. It is a requirement of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 and applies to every employee hired after November 6, 1986, regardless of citizenship.

The form has three sections:

• Section 1 — the employee attests to their identity and work authorization
• Section 2 — the employer examines documents and certifies the review
• Section 3 — used for rehires and re-verification of expiring work authorization

The current form version and instructions are published by USCIS. Always use the current edition. An expired form version is itself a violation.

The three lists of acceptable I-9 documents

Employees choose which documents to present. You cannot dictate which list they use, and you cannot ask for more than what the form requires. Doing so is document abuse and is a separate violation from a missed I-9.

List A — establishes both identity and work authorization

A List A document is enough on its own. If the employee presents one, you do not need List B or List C.

• US passport or US passport card
• Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551, “green card”)
• Foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp or printed notation on a machine-readable immigrant visa
• Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766) with photo
• For a nonimmigrant alien authorized to work for a specific employer: foreign passport with Form I-94 or I-94A showing the same name and an endorsement of nonimmigrant status
• Passport from the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) or the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) with Form I-94 or I-94A

List B — establishes identity only

• US driver’s license or ID card issued by a state or outlying possession (with photo or identifying information)
• ID card issued by federal, state, or local government agencies
• School ID card with photograph
• Voter registration card
• US military card or draft record
• Military dependent’s ID card
• US Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Card
• Native American tribal document
• Driver’s license issued by a Canadian government authority
• For minors under 18 unable to present a List B document: school record or report card, clinic/doctor/hospital record, day-care/nursery school record

List C — establishes work authorization only

• US Social Security card (unless it says “not valid for employment”)
• Certification of Birth Abroad (Form FS-545 or DS-1350) or Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240)
• Original or certified copy of a US birth certificate
• Native American tribal document
• US Citizen ID Card (Form I-197)
• Identification Card for Use of Resident Citizen in the United States (Form I-179)
• Employment authorization document issued by DHS (other than those listed under List A)

If the employee gives you a List B document, you must also collect a List C document. One from each. Not one from B and two from C.

E-Verify: when it is required and when it is optional

E-Verify is a free, web-based system run by USCIS that compares the information on Form I-9 against Social Security and DHS records. It is not a replacement for the I-9 — you still complete the form — but it adds a second layer of verification.

E-Verify is required for:

• Federal contractors and subcontractors under the FAR E-Verify clause
• Employers in states that mandate it: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah require it for most employers, and additional states require it for public employers and specific industries

E-Verify is optional for everyone else. Many employers use it voluntarily to reduce audit risk and because some states offer safe-harbor protection to enrolled employers.

If you use it, submit each new hire’s case within 3 business days of the start date, resolve any Tentative Nonconfirmation (TNC) results within the referral window, and never terminate an employee based solely on a TNC before they have had a chance to contest it.

Remote and virtual I-9 verification

Since August 2023, employers enrolled in good standing in E-Verify have had the option of using an alternative procedure to inspect I-9 documents remotely. This lets you accept clear digital copies of documents and conduct a live video interaction with the employee instead of an in-person review.

To use the alternative procedure:

• Be enrolled in E-Verify and remain in good standing
• Examine copies of the documents (front and back) within 3 business days of the start date
• Conduct a live video interaction with the employee where they present the same documents
• Retain the copies for the duration of the I-9 retention period
• Indicate on Form I-9 that the alternative procedure was used

If you are not enrolled in E-Verify, you must physically examine the original documents in person. There is no reverting to the old temporary COVID-era flexibility — it ended July 31, 2023.

I-9 retention rules

You must keep every completed I-9 for the longer of:

• 3 years after the date of hire, OR
• 1 year after the date of termination

The easiest calculation: for a current employee, keep the I-9 for as long as they work for you plus one year. For someone who left, take the later of “3 years after hire” and “1 year after termination.”

Store I-9s separately from personnel files. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can audit them independently, and giving an ICE agent access to the personnel file when they are only entitled to the I-9 is a data risk you do not need.

The most common I-9 mistakes

Missing the 3-day deadline for Section 2. The employer’s section has to be complete within 3 business days of the start date, not the offer date. Miss it and every late day is a technical violation.

Accepting a document that is not on the list. A photocopy of a passport is not an acceptable document. A digital-only permanent resident card is not. If it is not on the current list of acceptable documents, you cannot use it.

Over-documentation. Asking for a Social Security card when the employee already gave you a US passport is a violation, not extra caution. Take the documents the employee chooses to present and stop.

Missing re-verification. An Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766) expires. If the employee’s work authorization is time-limited, Section 3 must be completed before the expiration date. Green cards, unexpired US passports, and permanent Social Security cards do not expire for I-9 purposes.

Storing I-9s inside personnel files. ICE requests the I-9s. Keeping them mixed with performance reviews and disciplinary records forces you to redact or expose material you did not need to share.

Using an old form version. USCIS updates Form I-9 every few years. The current edition is the only one that counts. Check the revision date in the bottom-left corner and the expiration date in the top-right.

Paper I-9 vs digital I-9: what changes

Both are legal. One is easier to defend.

How to automate I-9 document collection

Nothing in the I-9 regulations forces you to use paper. What the rules require is that the employer physically examines the original documents (or uses the E-Verify alternative procedure) and completes Section 2 within 3 business days. Everything around that examination — the request, the tracking, the storage, the expiration reminders — can be automated.

Here is what an automated I-9 process looks like:

1. Offer accepted. The new hire receives a branded onboarding portal link.
2. Section 1 fields are collected inside a form module along with the rest of onboarding.
3. The employee uploads clean scans of their chosen List A OR List B + List C documents.
4. On day one, the manager reviews the documents live (in person or over video if E-Verify enrolled) and completes Section 2.
5. Documents with expiration dates trigger automatic re-verification reminders.
6. The I-9 sits in its own record, separate from performance data, with a retention date attached.

This is what Superdocu does for HR teams. Every new hire gets their own branded portal with a step-by-step checklist. You get one dashboard showing who has completed Section 1, whose documents are pending review, and which time-limited authorizations are about to expire. See how document expiration tracking works for the mechanic.

For the full onboarding paperwork pack around the I-9 (W-4, direct deposit, benefits enrollment, handbook acknowledgments), see the new hire onboarding document checklist. For pre-hire screening documents that sit alongside the I-9, see the background check document checklist. For the email side of the collection process, adapt the document request email templates to your I-9 workflow.

Frequently asked questions

What documents are needed for I-9 verification?

The employee presents one document from List A (which proves both identity and work authorization), OR one document from List B (identity) plus one from List C (work authorization). Common combinations are a US passport alone (List A), or a driver’s license plus a Social Security card (List B + List C). Employers cannot demand a specific combination.

How long do employers have to complete Form I-9?

Section 1 must be completed by the employee no later than the first day of employment. Section 2 must be completed by the employer within 3 business days of the start date. If the employment lasts fewer than 3 days, both sections must be completed by the first day.

Can I verify I-9 documents remotely?

Only if you are enrolled in E-Verify and in good standing. Enrolled employers can use the DHS alternative procedure: examine document copies, hold a live video interaction with the employee, and note the alternative procedure on Form I-9. Employers not in E-Verify must inspect the original documents in person.

How long do I need to keep an I-9 form?

Keep every completed I-9 for the longer of 3 years after the date of hire OR 1 year after the date of termination. Store I-9 records separately from personnel files so you can produce them for an ICE audit without exposing unrelated employee data.

What are the penalties for I-9 violations?

Civil penalties for paperwork violations start at $281 per form and can exceed $2,800 per form for repeat offenders. Knowingly hiring unauthorized workers carries penalties from $698 to over $27,000 per worker, plus potential criminal liability. Document abuse (asking for specific or extra documents) has its own penalty range.

Do I need to re-verify a US citizen’s I-9?

No. US citizens and lawful permanent residents with unexpired green cards do not need re-verification. Re-verification in Section 3 is required only for employees whose work authorization document has an expiration date, such as holders of Form I-766 (EAD).

If tracking I-9 forms by hand is starting to slip through the cracks, Superdocu handles the collection side end to end. Every new hire gets a branded portal, uploads their List A or List B+C documents on day one, and expiring work authorizations trigger their own reminders. Try it free, no credit card required. See pricing.