All employers, including small business owners, must verify the employment eligibility and identity of any worker hired in the U.S. To comply with the law, you must complete the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form for all new hires within three business days of their start date. In a small business, an I-9 must be completed for all workers except:

1. Those hired prior to November 7, 1986 and still in your employ.
2. Those providing services as an independent contractor.
3. Those providing services under a contract, subcontract or exchange.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get the form

You'll need an I-9 form for each employee you hire, so have a supply of copies (both front and the back) of the form available in your office for easy retrieval.

I recommend: Download the form for free at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). You'll need the latest version of Adobe Reader to download the pdf file.

Know when the form is necessary

An I-9 must be completed for every person your business hires to perform labor or services in return for wages or remuneration (including food and lodging).

I recommend: Get full details on your responsibilities as an employwer with these FAQs at the USCIS Web site or the Employer Information page.

Review required employee documents

You aren't expected to be an expert in detecting false documents. If a document looks reasonably genuine, you can accept it as so. If a document doesn't look genuine, you can contact a local U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office for assistance. Photocopies of documents are not acceptable as proof of identity or eligibility.

I recommend: A list of acceptable documents is included on page 3 of the I-9 form. Find illustrations of many of the acceptable documents in Part 8 of the downloadable Handbook for Employers (Form M-274). For questionable documents, contact an ICE office.

Complete the form

New employees fill out Section 1 of the form when they are hired. Employers complete Section 2 within three business days. In Section 2, you'll need to write down the reviewed document title, issuing authority, document number, expiration date (if any) and the date employment begins.

I recommend: For help contact the Office of Business Liaison or consider hiring a firm, such as Employment Verification Resources or Form I-9 Compliance, to handle employment verification for you.

Keep the form

I-9 forms must be kept for three years after the employee's start date or for one year after employment is terminated, whichever is later. Forms can be stored electronically.

I recommend: Get details on electronic storage at the ICE Web site or purchase software, such as i9Check, which allows you to take advantage of electronic signatures and storage.

Use an all-in-one I-9 solution

Web-based services can help you easily manage your I-9 compliance responsibilities.

I recommend: i9Advantage is an online service that helps businesses complete, verify and store I-9 forms via its employment verification service. Forms are stored digitally, so there's no paper to retain, and you can access your I-9s at anytime online. There are no monthly fees and you can buy in bulk at a discount, or one form at a time.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If an employee is eligible to work but can't produce the proper documentation, you can accept a receipt from an application for the documentation. The actual documents must be received within 90 days.
• •  If you fill out the I-9 form properly and later learn that the employee wasn't in fact eligible to work in the U.S., you can't be charged with a verification violation.
• •  You have the right to terminate an employee if they can't produce the proper documentation or a receipt for application for the documentation within three business days.
• •  If Section 1 is prepared by someone other than the employee, the Preparer and/or Translator certification section just below Section 1 must also be completed.
• •  It's illegal to discriminate against individuals who are eligible to work in the U.S.