What Forms are Needed For I9?

For completing the I-9 form, which verifies an employee’s eligibility to work in the United States, employees must provide specific forms of identification from the lists provided by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). These documents are categorized into three lists: List A, List B, and List C. Employees can choose to present one document from List A, or a combination of one document from List B and one from List C.

Table of Contents

List A: Documents that Establish Both Identity and Employment Authorization

Providing one document from List A is sufficient because it verifies both the employee’s identity and their authorization to work in the U.S. Examples of List A documents include:

U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport Card
Permanent Resident Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-551)
Employment Authorization Document (EAD) that contains a photograph (Form I-766)
Foreign passport that contains a temporary I-551 stamp or temporary I-551 printed notation on a machine-readable immigrant visa
Passport from the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) or the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) with Form I-94 or Form I-94A indicating nonimmigrant admission under the Compact of Free Association Between the United States and the FSM or RMI

List B: Documents that Establish Identity Only

If an employee does not present a List A document, they must provide one document from List B to establish identity, and one document from List C to establish employment authorization. Examples of List B documents include:

Driver’s license or ID card issued by any U.S. state or outlying possession
ID card issued by federal, state, or local government agencies, provided it includes a photograph or information such as name, date of birth, gender, height, eye color, and address
School ID card with a photograph
Voter’s registration card
U.S. Military card or draft record
Military dependent’s ID card

List C: Documents that Establish Employment Authorization Only

When using a List B document for identity, an employee also needs to provide a document from List C that verifies their authorization to work in the U.S. Examples of List C documents include:

Social Security card issued by the Social Security Administration (other than a card stating it is not valid for employment)
Certification of Birth Abroad issued by the Department of State (Form FS-545)
Certification of Report of Birth issued by the Department of State (Form DS-1350)
Original or certified copy of a birth certificate issued by a state, county, municipal authority, or territory of the U.S. bearing an official seal
Native American tribal document

Important Considerations

Original Documents Required: Employees must present original documents; photocopies or expired documents are not accepted, except for certain expired documents which USCIS specifies may still be used.
Employee Choice: Employees have the freedom to choose which documents to present from the provided lists. Employers cannot specify which documents they will accept, as long as the documents satisfy the requirements and appear to be genuine.
Employer Verification: Employers are responsible for physically examining the documents to ensure they are genuine and correspond to the employee presenting them.

These guidelines ensure that both the identity and employment eligibility of workers are appropriately verified, complying with federal regulations and helping maintain legal work practices.