Form I-9 Requirements for Employers: Timing, Documents and Retention

Form I-9 requirements for employers are simple to state and easy to get wrong at volume. The form verifies identity and employment authorization for each person you hire. When you run many locations or onboard large batches, the risk is rarely the rule itself. It is the handoffs between recruiters, branch managers and whoever owns the paperwork. This page explains the rule, who it covers, what it means for your recruiting workflow and the mistakes to watch for.

Who must complete Form I-9

USCIS states that all U.S. employers must properly complete Form I-9 for every individual they hire for employment in the United States. That includes citizens and noncitizens alike. Federal law also extends the obligation to anyone who recruits or refers for a fee. USCIS groups agricultural recruiters and referrers for a fee together with employers under the term "employers."

Both sides have a role. The employee completes their part and the employer, or an authorized representative of the employer, completes the rest. For a franchise owner or branch manager, that means someone at each location needs to know who is authorized to act for the business.

Section 1 and Section 2: who does what

Page 1 of the form holds the sections every new employee and employer must complete. The work splits cleanly.

Completion deadlines

Section 1 and Section 2 each have their own deadline tied to the employee's start of work. The exact timing rules are set out in the M-274 Handbook for Employers, which USCIS publishes as its guidance for completing the form. Check the handbook directly and build those deadlines into your onboarding calendar rather than relying on memory at each site.

In practice, deadlines are missed because paperwork starts late. Kick off onboarding as soon as an offer is accepted so the new hire's part is not waiting on a first-day paper packet.

Acceptable documents: the official lists

The employee chooses which acceptable documents to present as evidence of identity and employment authorization. Page 2 of the form contains the Lists of Acceptable Documents. Employers must provide these lists to employees, either as a hard copy or as a hyperlink. You do not need to keep page 2 with the completed form.

When documents are presented, the employer must examine them to determine whether they reasonably appear to be genuine and relate to the employee, then record the document information on the form. Use the current lists on the form itself as your reference. Do not rely on an old printed cheat sheet taped up in a back office.

Remote and alternative document review

Physical examination is the default. USCIS also describes a DHS-authorized alternative procedure that certain employers may choose to use to examine documents remotely. Employers who use it must check the box provided in Section 2 to show they did so. If a new hire later needs reverification, the same checkbox applies on Supplement B.

Before any location reviews documents remotely, confirm your business qualifies to use the alternative procedure and that everyone knows to tick the box. A missing checkbox is an easy error to make at scale.

Retention and storage periods

You keep Form I-9; you do not file it. USCIS is explicit that the form is not filed with USCIS or ICE. Instead, employers must:

• Have a completed Form I-9 on file for each person on the payroll who is required to complete one.
• Retain and store each form for three years after the date of hire, or for one year after employment is terminated, whichever is later.
• Retain all completed pages, including Supplement A when a preparer or translator was used.
• Make forms available for inspection when requested by authorized officials.

For high-turnover, multi-location teams, the "whichever is later" rule means you need both the hire date and the termination date on hand for every worker. Track both centrally so a store closure or manager change does not leave forms orphaned.

Common errors to avoid

1. Typing a signature on the fillable PDF. USCIS says the fillable form must be printed and signed by hand, because it does not meet DHS standards for electronic I-9 systems.
2. Mixing form editions. All pages should come from the same edition, with the edition date visible. USCIS lists which editions are currently valid, and electronic systems must be updated to the current version.
3. Skipping Supplement A when someone helped the employee with Section 1.
4. Forgetting to give the employee the Lists of Acceptable Documents and the instructions.
5. Using the Spanish-language form outside Puerto Rico. Other employers may use it only as a translation tool.
6. Leaving the alternative-procedure box blank after a remote review.

USCIS warns that failing to meet DHS standards for electronically generated, stored or retained forms may result in fines and other penalties. For how to correct an error on an existing form, follow the M-274 Handbook for Employers rather than improvising fixes at the branch level.

Preparing for an inspection

Authorized officials from the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Labor or the Department of Justice may request your forms. Readiness comes down to being able to answer three questions quickly.

1. 1 Is there a form for everyone required to have one? Compare your payroll against your I-9 files. Gaps usually trace back to rehires, transfers between locations or rushed seasonal hiring.
2. 2 Is each form complete and current? Check that pages match one edition, signatures are handwritten where required, and Supplement A or B is attached where it applies.
3. 3 Can you still be required to keep it? Apply the retention rule to each former employee so you keep what you must and know what has passed its retention period.

What this means for your recruiting workflow

The biggest operational lever is getting documents in early and tracking who is still outstanding. With I-9 document collection in ATS Mako, new hires upload the identity and eligibility documents your process requires during onboarding, from any device. The files sit in the same onboarding record as new-hire tax forms, and collection status is tracked per new hire, so you can see who has uploaded and who has not.

If your business also uses E-Verify, see how E-Verify fits alongside Form I-9. To nudge new hires who have not finished onboarding, text-based reminders and automations keep the process moving without chasing people by phone.