Which Documents to Present for Form I-9 and Exactly What to Type

Purpose

Form I-9 asks you to present documents that prove who you are and that you are allowed to work in the United States. The official list of what is acceptable is published by USCIS. What that list does not tell you is the part people actually get stuck on: which of the several numbers printed on your card is the "document number", where it sits, and what to type as the issuing authority.

That is what this article is for. Entering these details exactly as printed is what prevents a verification delay later. A single mis-keyed character in a licence or card number is the most common cause of an E-Verify Unconfirmed Data result, and by then the form is signed and can no longer be edited.

Who does this: The employee, when completing Section 1. Employers use the same tables when verifying documents in Section 2.

The three document lists

Two rules govern the choice, and both are federal:

• You choose. You may present any acceptable document or combination from the lists. Your employer must never demand a specific document, or refuse one that is acceptable.
• Every document must be unexpired, unless USCIS has automatically extended it (this applies to some Employment Authorization Documents). An expired driver's licence or card cannot be used. Present a different acceptable document instead.

The full official list is at USCIS — Form I-9 Acceptable Documents. Official sample images of every acceptable document are in the USCIS Handbook for Employers (M-274), Section 13. That is the fastest way to see exactly where a number sits on your own card.

List A — where the number sits

List B and List C — where the number sits

The less common documents on the USCIS lists are also accepted (for example a U.S. military or military dependent ID card, a school or voter registration card, a Native American tribal document, a Certification of Birth Abroad, or a U.S. Citizen ID Card). For those, enter the document number and issuing authority exactly as printed on the document.

Common problems

Which number is the document number on my Green Card, the front or the back?

The card number on the back is the document number. The USCIS # / A-Number on the front is your identity number, and Section 1 asks for it in its own field. Entering one where the other belongs is the most frequent Green Card error.

My driver's licence number has letters in it. Do I include them?

Yes. Enter the number exactly as printed, every letter and digit, with no spaces added or removed. Do not "tidy" it.

What is my A-Number, and where do I find it?

The A-Number (also printed as USCIS #) is a 7-, 8- or 9-digit number on the front of a Green Card or EAD, and on immigration correspondence. Enter it with or without the leading "A". Both are accepted, so enter it as it appears on your document.

What do I type as the "issuing authority"?

The agency that issued the document, as printed on the document itself: U.S. Department of State for a passport, USCIS for a Green Card or EAD, the state's motor-vehicle agency for a driver's licence, Social Security Administration for an SSN card. It is not a free-text description of the document.

My last name has two parts. What do I enter?

Both parts, exactly as they appear on your Social Security card, for example Lopez Huerta, not Lopez. Shortening a compound last name is the single most common cause of E-Verify being unable to confirm someone's information, and it cannot be corrected after the form is signed.

My document has no expiration date. What do I put?

Leave the expiration date blank. Never invent a placeholder date. If you are an alien authorized to work, give either the expiration date of your work authorization or the indication that it has none: one of the two, never both and never neither.

I lost my document and only have a receipt.

Federal rules accept a receipt for a lost, stolen or damaged document temporarily: you must present the actual replacement within 90 days of starting work. Under federal rules E-Verify is not run on a receipt, so verification waits for the real document. Tell your employer you are presenting a receipt so they can record it correctly and track the 90-day follow-up.

Can my employer tell me which document to bring?

No. Choosing which acceptable document or combination to present is your decision. An employer who demands a specific document, or rejects an acceptable one, may be committing document abuse, which is a federal violation.

Before you submit: the four fields that cause almost every problem

Check these against the document in your hand, character by character:

1. Last name(s): both parts if the document shows two.
2. Date of birth.
3. Document number: the right number, from the right side of the card.
4. State of issuance: for a driver's licence or state ID.

Images must be readable and complete: JPG, PNG or PDF, up to 5 MB per file, with no glare, blur or cropped edges, and both sides of every document, not only the ones that look two-sided.

Still stuck?

If you are not sure which document to present, or which number a field wants, ask your employer or HR team before you sign. A signed Form I-9 cannot be edited, and correcting it means starting a whole new form.

Whoever you ask, never email photos of the identity documents themselves. Describe the field you are stuck on instead, or show the document in person.

For federal questions, such as whether a particular document is acceptable or what to do if you cannot produce one, see USCIS I-9 Central.

Related articles

• Completing Section 1 of Form I-9 — where the employee enters these details
• Reviewing and Verifying Form I-9 (Section 2) — the employer's half
• E-Verify Case Statuses and Workflow — what happens after the form is signed