I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
Use Form I-9 to verify the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. All U.S. employers must properly complete Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This includes citizens and noncitizens. Both employees and employers (or authorized representatives of the employer) must complete the form.
On the form, an employee must attest to their employment authorization. The employee must also present their employer with acceptable documents as evidence of identity and employment authorization. The employer must examine these documents to determine whether they reasonably appear to be genuine and relate to the employee, then record the document information on the employee’s Form I-9. Certain employers who choose to remotely examine the employee’s documentation under a DHS-authorized alternative procedure rather than via physical examination must indicate they did so by checking the box provided. The list of acceptable documents can be found on the last page of the form. Employers must retain Form I-9 for a designated period and make it available for inspection by authorized government officers.
Form Details
Dates are listed in mm/dd/yy format.
If you complete and print this form to mail it, make sure that the form edition date and page numbers are visible at the bottom of all pages and that all pages are from the same form edition. If any of the form’s pages are missing or are from a different form edition, we may reject your form.
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Do not file Form I-9 with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Employers must:
- Have a completed Form I-9 on file for each person on their payroll who is required to complete the form;
- Retain and store Forms I-9 for three years after the date of hire, or for one year after employment is terminated, whichever is later; and
- Make their forms available for inspection if requested by authorized U.S. government officials from the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Labor, or Department of Justice.
Filing Tips: Go to our Tips for Filing Forms by Mail page for information on how to help ensure we will accept your application.
Don’t forget to sign your form. We will reject any unsigned form.
Only employers located in Puerto Rico may complete the Spanish-language version of Form I-9 instead of the English-language version. Any employer may use the Spanish-language form and instructions as a translation tool.
Download Instructions
Form I-9 is a fillable form, which means you can type your answers directly on the form instead of writing them by hand. To complete Form I-9, you will need the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader or other PDF filler application. Both employers and employees must still print the completed sections of the form to sign them manually, or employers can upload them to their electronic signature solution, if applicable, to have all parties sign electronically.
You can open the English or Spanish versions of the form, instructions, and supplements in any browser.