Form I-9 acceptable documents: List A, B and C.

How the three lists fit together

Form I-9 Section 2 asks the employer to examine evidence of identity and of authorization to work. The Form I-9 Acceptable Documents page on USCIS separates that evidence into three lists. List A documents show both identity and employment authorization, so a single one finishes the job, and USCIS notes that some List A documents are really a combination of two or more documents presented together. List B documents establish identity only. List C documents establish employment authorization only. An employee who does not use List A needs one from List B and one from List C. The picker above applies exactly that structure, and it does not score a document as genuine or still valid, which only a human looking at the original can judge.

Rules that trip people up

• The employee chooses. The M-274 handbook says the employer must allow the employee to choose which documentation to present and may not specify which one. It must accept documentation that reasonably appears to be genuine and relates to the person presenting it.
• Unexpired and original. USCIS states that all documents must be unexpired. When examining in person, copies are not accepted, with the exceptions in the handbook. Receipts for a lost, stolen or damaged document can stand in for a limited period, and the handbook gives the validity dates.
• Timing. The employer completes Section 2 within three business days of the date employment begins, per M-274 section 4.0. The handbook also says an employee who fails to present acceptable documentation or a receipt within that time can be terminated.
• Green cards and EADs past their printed date. USCIS says an older card design stays valid until its expiration date unless a Form I-797 or Federal Register notice extends it. The most recent redesign began January 30, 2023.
• Driver’s licenses. A license from a state department of motor vehicles is List B item 1. It should not be taken as the List B item 2 government ID card.
• Social Security cards. An unrestricted, unlaminated card is List C. A card marked NOT VALID FOR EMPLOYMENT, VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH INS AUTHORIZATION or VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION is not acceptable. Employers who use E-Verify must still enter the Social Security number when creating the case.
• Puerto Rico birth certificates. Only certificates issued on or after July 1, 2010 are acceptable.
• Under age 18. A person under 18 who cannot present any of the List B documents above may use a school record or report card, a clinic, doctor or hospital record, or a day-care or nursery school record, together with a List C document.

Three worked examples (hypothetical)

A returning citizen. A U.S. passport is a List A item. Tick it and the result is a complete set; nothing else is requested. A new hire with a license and a birth certificate. A state driver’s license (List B) and a certified birth certificate with an official seal (List C) make a complete set. A new hire with a license and a restricted card. A driver’s license and a Social Security card marked NOT VALID FOR EMPLOYMENT is not complete, because the card is not an acceptable List C document, so the employee needs to show another List C item, or a List A item instead. The tool cannot see that marking, so tick the SSC only if it is unrestricted.

Work visa holders and the I-9

A worker on an H-1B often shows a foreign passport with a Form I-94 endorsed for work for the specific employer. That is List A item 5, and it can be used only while the endorsement is unexpired and the job does not conflict with the limits on the I-94. USCIS adds that some students and exchange visitors who present this document must show additional documentation. The Form I-94 of an H-1B worker also appears in the examples under List C item 7 as evidence issued by DHS. If the employee holds an EAD, as many H-4 spouses do, the Form I-766 with a photograph is List A item 4. See the H-4 EAD checker for who can get one.

Form edition

USCIS’s Form I-9 page lists the edition date as 01/20/25 at the time of retrieval. The edition date is printed at the bottom of the form and its instructions, so check it before you print or fill in a copy.

What this does not cover

Remote examination under a DHS-authorized alternative procedure, reverification and rehire in Supplement B, the unlawful-discrimination rules in M-274 section 11, retention periods, and any judgment about whether a document is genuine. It does not store or transmit anything.

Sources

• USCIS: Form I-9 Acceptable Documents — Lists A, B and C with the restrictions and acceptable receipts (last reviewed 10/05/2026).
• USCIS: M-274, section 4.0, completing Section 2 — Three business days; the employee chooses the documents; reasonably appears to be genuine.
• USCIS: M-274, section 13.0, acceptable documents — All documents must be unexpired; sample documents.
• USCIS: Form I-9 page — Edition date and form instructions.

Retrieved October 20, 2026. Rules and fees change, so verify against the current official page before you file or act.