What Two Forms of ID For I9?

When completing the I-9 form for employment eligibility verification in the United States, employees are required to present documents to their employer to prove both their identity and their authorization to work. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provides a list of acceptable documents that are divided into three categories: List A, List B, and List C. Employees can choose which documents to provide based on these lists:

Table of Contents

List A: Documents that Establish Both Identity and Employment Authorization

Employees can present one document from List A, which will satisfy both the requirement for proving identity and employment authorization. Examples include:

U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport Card
Permanent Resident Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-551)
Foreign passport that contains a temporary I-551 stamp or temporary I-551 printed notation on a machine-readable immigrant visa
Employment Authorization Document (EAD) that contains a photograph (Form I-766)
For a nonimmigrant alien authorized to work for a specific employer because of their status, a foreign passport with Form I-94 or Form I-94A that has the same name as the passport and an endorsement of the alien’s nonimmigrant status

List B: Documents that Establish Identity

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

Driver’s license or ID card issued by a U.S. state or outlying possession
ID card issued by federal, state, or local government agencies or entities
School ID card with a photograph
Voter’s registration card
U.S. Military card or draft record
Military dependent’s ID card
U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Card
Native American tribal document
Driver’s license issued by a Canadian government authority

List C: Documents that Establish Employment Authorization

To accompany a List B document, employees must also present a document from List C to verify their authorization to work:

Social Security account number card (unless it specifies 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
U.S. 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 the Department of Homeland Security

Important Notes

Employees must choose the types of documents they provide based on their individual circumstances.
Employers are required to examine the document(s) to determine whether they reasonably appear to be genuine and relate to the employee presenting them.
Employers cannot specify which documents they will accept from an employee.

The combination of one document from List B and one from List C is a common choice for employees who do not possess or prefer not to use a List A document.