Form I-9 Section 3 reverification and rehire.

Reverification (274a.2(b)(1)(vii))

• Deadline. Reverification must occur not later than the date work authorization expires.
• What the employee shows. A document that either shows continuing employment eligibility or is a new grant of work authorization. The employer examines it under the same procedures as the original document (274a.2(b)(1)(ii)(A) and (ix)).
• What the employer records. If the document appears genuine and relates to the person, note its identification number and expiration date, if any, on the Form I-9 and sign the attestation by handwritten or electronic signature.
• Automatically extended EADs. If the person presented an Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766) with a Form I-797C notice stating the EAD is automatically extended under 8 CFR 274a.13(d), reverification applies when the automatically extended validity ends, not the date printed on the card.
• If it is not done. The individual may no longer be employed.

Rehire (274a.2(c))

1. The employer may inspect the previously completed Form I-9 instead of completing a new one.
2. If the form relates to the individual and the person is still eligible to work, the old form is sufficient if the person is hired within three years of the date it was first executed and the employer updates the form to reflect the date of rehire.
3. If employment authorization has expired, the employer must reverify it in accordance with (b)(1)(vii), and the person may not be employed otherwise.
4. Retention for a rehired employee is three years from the date the form was first executed or one year after employment ends, whichever is later (274a.2(c)(2)).

Break in service versus continuing employment

274a.2(b)(1)(viii) says an employer is not deemed to have hired someone who is continuing in employment and has a reasonable expectation of employment at all times, so those cases are not treated as new hires. Which cases count as continuing employment is a facts-based question this page does not decide.

Worked example

An employee's EAD expires on March 31, 2027. Reverification is due no later than March 31, 2027. If the employee has an I-797C showing an automatic extension to September 27, 2027, reverification is due then instead. For a rehire on January 10, 2026, of someone whose form was first executed on June 1, 2024, the rehire is inside the three-year window (it runs to June 1, 2027) so the employer may update the earlier form if the person is still authorized. A rehire on July 1, 2027 is outside that window.

Limits

This page applies the regulation's dates only. The current Form I-9 and USCIS Handbook for Employers (M-274) carry form-specific instructions, including how Section 3 is completed on the current form edition and which workers need reverification, that are not summarized here.

Sources

• 8 CFR 274a.2 Verification of identity and employment authorization: reverification, the rehire rules and retention for rehires. Read November 2, 2026.

Regulation text is the eCFR version current to October 29, 2026.