Form I-9 Identification Requirements

Since November 1986, each new employee, regardless of the employer, needs to fill out an I-9 form. This form is intended to document employees, both citizens and noncitizens. The form requires the new employee to produce two documents. The employer is supposed to examine the document and record the details on the I-9 form. The purpose of the documents is to establish identity and employment authorization. The employer cannot specify which documents they prefer.

A U.S. passport, a permanent resident card, an alien registration form, a foreign passport containing a temporary I-551 stamp and an employment authorization document containing a photo are examples of documents establishing both identity and employment authorization.

Documents which establish someone's identity include: driver's license or government issued photo identification card, school photo identification card, voter's registration card; U.S. military card or draft record, a military dependent's identification card, a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Card, Native American tribal documentation and a driver's license issued by Canada.

An employee must present one of the following documents: Social Security account number card; Certification of Birth Abroad issued by the Department of State, a certification of report of birth from the Department of State, an original or certified copy of a birth certificate, a Native American tribal document, a U.S. Citizen ID Card, or an employment authorization document issued by the Department of Homeland Security. These documents establish employment authorization. Only one of the above is needed.