Form I-9 Deadlines, Sections, and Documents: A Guide for U.S. Employers

Form I-9 is completed in two stages — Section 1 by the employee no later than their first day of work, and Section 2 by the employer no later than the third business day, using documents from either List A or a combination of Lists B and C.

In short

• Employers must complete Section 2 of Form I-9 no later than the end of the employee’s third business day.
• The current Form I-9 (August 2023 edition, updated 01/20/25) is valid through May 31, 2027.
• Supplement A is only required if a translator or someone else prepared the documents for the employee.
• Under new ICE guidance, errors found on Form I-9 during an audit should be corrected by completing a new form, not by adding a note to the file.
• To prove work authorization, an employee needs either one document from List A, or a pair of documents from Lists B and C.

What Form I-9 Is and Why Employers Need It

Every employer must have a completed Form I-9 on file for each active employee — there’s no exception for part-time staff or employees still in a probationary period. The employee decides which documents to present as proof of identity and work authorization: the employer cannot demand a specific document or list of documents, only explain which options are acceptable in principle.

It’s worth assigning the form to a dedicated staff member — essentially an in-house I-9 specialist who checks documents, keeps records (paper or electronic), and is responsible for storing them securely.

Form I-9 is tied to anti-discrimination rules enforced by the Department of Justice, which prohibit employers from treating employees differently based on national origin, immigration status, or ancestry. That means any communication about documents — whether a reminder about deadlines or an explanation of the rules — has to go out to all employees in the same form, not selectively.

Which Version of Form I-9 to Use in 2026

The current version of Form I-9 took effect on August 1, 2023, and an updated edition dated 01/20/25 was released in early 2025. Employers were allowed to use the prior 2019 version through October 31, 2023 — as of November 1, 2023, only the version introduced in August 2023 is valid.

The current edition is valid through May 31, 2027 — after that date, the form will no longer be valid for onboarding new hires. You may encounter two editions in practice: the August 2023 release and the one dated January 20, 2025 — both are considered valid until the expiration date.

If HR discovers that an outdated version of the form was used for a new hire, the correction process is a separate matter, covered in detail in the section on Form I-9 errors.

Deadline for Completing Section 1 of Form I-9

Section 1 of Form I-9 is completed by the employee, and it must be done no later than the first day of work. Some companies allow it to be completed earlier — even before the employee’s start date — if the hiring process uses an electronic I-9 system.

The form cannot be completed before a job offer is accepted: until the offer is accepted, the person doesn’t formally hold employee status, which is what triggers this obligation. This same rule is why Form I-9 cannot be used as a pre-employment screening tool — checking documents before hiring through this form is not allowed.

The form cannot be completed before a job offer is accepted: until the offer is accepted, the person doesn’t formally hold employee status, which is what triggers this obligation.

In practice, missing the Section 1 deadline is one of the most common Form I-9 mistakes. More often than not, it isn’t intentional — it’s simple oversight: the HR staff member is too busy on the new hire’s first day and forgets to complete the form. To prevent this, companies should designate a specific person responsible for meeting Form I-9 deadlines.

Section 2 Deadline: What the Employer Must Do

Section 2 of Form I-9 is completed by the employer or an authorized representative — not by the employee. It must be finished no later than the end of the third business day after the employee starts work.

Example: if an employee starts on a Monday, the third business day falls on Thursday — that’s the deadline for completing Section 2.

By that deadline, the employee must present documents: either one document from List A, or a combination of documents from Lists B and C. If the documents aren’t provided by the end of the third business day, the employer needs to decide how to handle the employment relationship with that employee based on the specific situation.

List A, B, and C Documents for Form I-9

An employee proves identity and work authorization in one of two ways: with a document from List A, or with a pair of documents — one from List B and one from List C.

List	What It Proves	How It’s Applied
A	Identity and work authorization together	One document satisfies both requirements
B	Identity only	Must be paired with a document from List C
C	Work authorization only	Must be paired with a document from List B

If an employee presents only a List B document, that’s not enough — a List C document proving work authorization is also required. The reverse is true too: a single List C document without a List B document doesn’t satisfy the identity requirement.

The complete list of acceptable documents is called the List of Acceptable Documents and can be downloaded from the USCIS website, where I-9 Central and the M-274 Handbook are also available as reference materials for employers reviewing documents.

The list isn’t exhaustive: according to experts, there are documents that may be accepted even though they aren’t explicitly named on the list. One example is identification cards issued by local government authorities — these are generally accepted if they meet the requirements, even when not literally listed. When in doubt about a specific document’s status, it’s best to ask directly rather than reject the employee’s documents by default.

Supplement A: When It Needs to Be Completed

Supplement A is part of the Form I-9 edition released on January 20, 2025. It’s completed when a translator or someone else prepared the documents on the employee’s behalf. If the employee filled out the form themselves, without a translator or anyone else preparing it for them, Supplement A is not required.

Form I-9 Errors and How to Correct Them

In the past, when an error was found on a completed Form I-9, the recommended fix was to add a note to the employee’s file explaining what the error was and confirming that the company had noted it going forward.

But new ICE guidance has changed the approach to technical violations on Form I-9 discovered during an audit: instead of a file note, it’s now recommended to complete a new form altogether. Before redoing the form, it’s worth consulting legal counsel — this ensures the correction is handled properly and that communication with the employee about the error doesn’t come across as discrimination based on citizenship, immigration status, or national origin. Any outreach to employees about Form I-9 issues should be consistent across the board — and so should the answers to their questions.

new ICE guidance has changed the approach to technical violations on Form I-9 discovered during an audit: instead of a file note, it’s now recommended to complete a new form altogether