US Citizenship and Immigration Services Form I-9: Simple instructions and PDF Download

What is Form I-9 used for?

An I-9 is the Department of Homeland Security’s Employment Eligibility Verification form. Completed by each new employee at your business, it is used to determine and document each employee’s eligibility to work in the US. A few key things to note:

• All US employers are required to have any new hires fill out this form, regardless of citizenship status.
• Form I-9 must be filled out by both the employer and the employee.
• Employees must verify their identity using items from a specific list (below). The complete list of acceptable documents is also included in the official instructions.
• As the employer, you are not allowed to tell the employee which documents they need to use for verification purposes.
• I-9s must be retained in your files for either three years after the date of hire, or for one year after employment has been terminated, whichever is longer.
• I-9s are not submitted to any agency, but they may be audited at any time by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

What do you need to fill out Form I-9?

As an employer, you’ll need to physically view an employee’s chosen form(s) of identification to complete their portion of the I-9. Even though all of the required documents need to be supplied by the employee, you will be required to sign that you have seen documents and identification that verify each employee’s eligibility to work in the US, and that the documentation employees provide are valid.

It is a best practice, but not required, to photocopy any documents employees provide to prove their eligibility. See the full list of acceptable documents below.

Completing the revised Form I-9

The updated I-9 Form has some similarities to its predecessor and the steps to complete it are also similar. If you would like to begin using the new I-9 form, instructions for completing it are immediately below, with screenshots for guidance.

If you would like to continue using the previous version, the USCIS says this is possible through October 31, 2023. (The new form must be used starting November 1, 2023). If you would like to read the previous instructions about how to fill it out, the old version I-9 instructions can be found below toward the bottom of the page.

Instructions for the 2023 I-9 form revision

As we mentioned above, the USCIS released an updated version of Form I-9. At the beginning of the instructions — before explaining each step — the USCIS lists the following pointers for employers to remember when completing Form I-9.

• All employees should have access to the USCIS’s Form I-9 instructions and Lists of Available Documents when completing Form I-9.
• Additionally, instructions for completing Form I-9 and the List of Available Documents must be made available to the employee when requesting the employee to complete Supplement B, Reverification, and Rehire.
• Supplement B only needs to be completed when applicable
• If any sections do not apply, the USCIS says to leave it blank, including Section 1 where appropriate
• Keep copies of any I-9 forms on file. They must be retained and made available for inspection by US government officials upon request, per the DHS Privacy Notice. Note that you are not required to keep or store the pages with the List of Acceptable Documents or the instructions to complete Form I-9.
• Do not mail completed forms to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Section 1: Employee Information and Attestation
As in the previous version, the purpose of this section is to indicate the employee’s current immigration status, such as:

• Being a citizen of the US
• Non-citizen national of the US
• Lawful permanent resident
• Noncitizen authorized to work in the US

Employees need to complete and sign this part of the form by their first day of employment. The employee can also complete Section 1 before they start work, but they must only complete it after accepting a job offer.

Supplement A, Preparer and/or Translator Certificate for Section 1

Before discussing Section 2, Employer Review and Reverification, let’s discuss one of the new I-9 form’s biggest changes. Previously, if an employee received assistance from a preparer or translator when completing Form I-9, the person who provided assistance had to sign and date the form. That is still a requirement; it’s just that this information now has to be included in a standalone supplement called: Supplement A, Preparer and/or Translator Certificate for Section 1. This appears on page three (and below is a screenshot):

Recordkeeping to keep in mind: Per the USCIS an employer must keep on file any supplement pages that are completed, as well as any photocopies of documentation the employee provided, for as long as the employee works for you.

The next section covers important employer responsibilities.

Section 2: Employer Review and Verification

Within three days of starting work, the newly hired employee must present specific documents attesting to their chosen status entered in Section 1 of the form. Employers must then add this information to Section 2.

Employees can present one selection from List A, or one selection from List B and one selection from List C below. You can see a more detailed list on page two of the I-9 Form instructions. Note that the USCIS instructions state that you should not state which documents the employee should share with you to complete this section.

Before entering information in Section 2,  according to the USCIS, you must inspect documents to verify the details are correct. To do this, you must either:

• Physically inspect the documents the employee provides
• Or you may verify the information with an alternative procedure that’s authorized by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). You will see a “check” box provided in the form if you use this option (one way to do this is by using E-Verify, which we’ll cover below).

To use E-Verify to examine documents, which is valid as of August 1, 2023, employers must:

• Enroll in E-Verify and be in good standing
• This provides the option to conduct verification electronically and with a live video call interaction.

More information is available from the Department of Homeland Security.

Supplement B, Reverification and Rehire

In the previous edition of Form I-9, this information appeared in Section 3. It is now its own standalone supplement in the revised edition of the form. Supplement B only needs to be filled out if a former employee is rehired within three years of their original hire date, if a document used to verify immigration status has expired, or to provide proof of a legal name change.

In addition to the information above, the USCIS provides a handbook that is updated on a regular basis with guidance. You can access this here.

Or you can see more information about completing this documentation in I-9 Central.

How do you fill out the previous I-9 Form?

Section 1: Employee information and attestation: Your employee is responsible for completing this section. As part of this, they will indicate their current immigration status such as a citizen of the U.S., non-citizen national of the U.S., lawful permanent resident, or alien authorized to work in the U.S.

This part of the form should be filled out no later than the employee’s first day of employment. A Preparer and/or Translator Certification section will also need to be completed and signed if a translator was used to assist the employee with filling out the form or translating the information in any form.

Section 2: Employer review and verification: Within three days of starting work, the newly hired employee must present specific documents attesting to their chosen status. Employees can present one selection from List A, or one selection from List B and one selection from List C below.

Here is a partial list of acceptable documents. The I-9 instruction form contains a more detailed list.

Again, you cannot specify which documents need to be presented or indicate a preference in any way. If asked, you should refer the employee to the last page of the instructions found on the USCIS website for more information so they can decide for themselves.

Any document presented for proof of work status must be an original document or certified copy. It’s the employer’s responsibility to review all of the documents received and subsequently fill out Section 2, where you will enter information such as Document Title, Issuing Authority, Document Number, and Expiration Date.

You may also choose to make a photocopy of the documents presented to remain with the completed I-9. Once the form is completed, you will need to enter the employee’s start date, sign the form, and add it to your files.

Section 3: Reverification for rehires. Section 3 only needs to be filled out if a former employee is rehired within three years of their original hire date, or if a document used to verify immigration status has expired.

When should it be filed?

Unlike other employment forms, an I-9 is not filed with an outside agency, but instead is retained by the employer and made available for inspection by U.S. Government officials as needed. It’s your choice to keep all paper I-9s together in one folder in your employee files or keep each one with the rest of their personnel file.