This free Form I-9 and E-Verify checklist takes one new hire from the accepted offer to a filed, retained and audited form. It sets the Section 1 and Section 2 deadlines from the first day of work, lets the employee choose their own documents, and asks a second reviewer to approve the form before it is filed. Three questions switch on the extra steps: the remote examination procedure, the E-Verify case, and reverification on Supplement B when work authorisation is temporary.
This checklist is for US employers. Every employer in the United States must complete Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, for each person it hires, citizens included. E-Verify is a separate online system run by USCIS that checks the details from the form against government records. Some employers must use it and others choose to. Hiring in the United Kingdom works differently: use the Right to Work Check Checklist (UK) instead.
Most problems are timing and consistency. Section 1 and Section 2 have fixed deadlines counted from the first day of work for pay. The employee, not the employer, chooses which acceptable documents to show. Any policy you adopt, such as copying documents or examining them remotely, has to apply the same way to everyone it covers. The template turns each of those rules into a task with a due date and an owner.
Start before day one. An employee can complete Section 1 at any time after accepting the offer. Building the form into your New Hire Preboarding Checklist means day one is spent on the job, not on paperwork.
Edition: the current USCIS edition is dated 01/20/25 and expires on 05/31/2027. Check uscis.gov/i-9 before you print or update an electronic system.
Deadlines: Section 1 by the first day of employment, and Section 2 within three business days of the first day of work for pay. If the job lasts less than three business days, both are due on the first day.
Retention: keep each form until three years after the date of hire or one year after employment ends, whichever is later.
Who: voluntary under federal law for most employers, but required by some states and by federal contracts that carry FAR clause 52.222-54. Arizona and South Carolina require it of every private employer; Florida requires it of private employers with 25 or more employees.
Timing: create the case no later than the third business day after the employee starts work for pay, and never before the offer is accepted and the form is complete.
Extras: the Social Security number becomes mandatory in Section 1, and List B documents must carry a photo.
State rules change, so check the law in each state where you hire. This template turns USCIS, E-Verify and Department of Justice guidance into process steps; it is not legal advice. If an inspection notice arrives, or an audit turns up missing forms, take advice from an employment or immigration lawyer before you correct anything.
Seven phases for each new hire. The remote examination phase appears only when documents are examined by video, the E-Verify phase only at sites enrolled in E-Verify, and the reverification phase only when work authorisation has an end date.
The Social Security number check appears only at E-Verify sites.
Shown when documents are examined remotely. Only E-Verify employers in good standing may use this procedure.
The in-person examination task appears only when documents are examined in person.
Shown when the hiring site is enrolled in E-Verify.
Shown when the employee’s work authorisation has an expiry date.
Every Form I-9 deadline runs from one date: the first day of work for pay. Business days skip the weekend, so a Thursday start normally puts the Section 2 deadline on the following Tuesday. E-Verify uses a different measure for mismatches, federal government working days: Monday to Friday, excluding federal holidays.
Section 1 can be completed from now on. Until the offer is accepted, do not ask for the form, the documents or an E-Verify case; using E-Verify to screen applicants is prohibited.
Section 1 must be complete. For a job lasting less than three business days, Section 2 is due today too, and a receipt for a lost or stolen document is not acceptable.
Section 2 is signed, any remote examination is finished, and E-Verify employers have created the case. Start on a Monday, finish by Thursday.
After a Tentative Nonconfirmation (Mismatch), the employer has ten federal government working days to notify the employee and record their decision. A referred employee then has eight federal government working days to contact DHS or visit an SSA office.
Reverify on Supplement B no later than this date. Never reverify US citizens, noncitizen nationals or permanent residents who showed a Permanent Resident Card.
Keep the form until three years after the hire date or one year after the last day, whichever is later, and be ready to produce it within three business days of an official request.
The penalties below are the inflation-adjusted civil ranges set by the Department of Justice in 2025 for violations after 2 November 2015. The Department confirmed that the 2025 levels continue through 2026. Paperwork penalties are counted per form, which is why a small error repeated across a workforce becomes expensive.
| Violation | Counted per | Civil penalty range |
|---|---|---|
| Paperwork violation | Relevant individual | $288 to $2,861 |
| Knowingly hiring or continuing to employ, first order | Unauthorised worker | $716 to $5,724 |
| Knowingly hiring or continuing to employ, second order | Unauthorised worker | $5,724 to $14,308 |
| Knowingly hiring or continuing to employ, later orders | Unauthorised worker | $8,586 to $28,619 |
| Unfair documentary practices | Person discriminated against | $236 to $2,364 |
Enter the first day of work for pay and every task is dated from it: Section 1, Section 2, the E-Verify case and the reverification reminder. A form that is running late shows as overdue on the day, not at the next audit.
Three dropdowns decide what each hire needs. Remote examination, the E-Verify case and reverification appear only when they apply, so an onsite hire at a non-E-Verify site sees a short list and nobody skips a step that matters.
The completed form is an approval task for the reviewer picked at the start, and the checklist halts until it is approved. The audit trail records who completed each step and when, and reports show where forms run late.
Form I-9 is one step in hiring a new employee. CheckFlow’s HR checklist software runs recruitment, onboarding, compliance checks and departures from templates, with assignments, due dates and approvals shared between HR and hiring managers.
Payroll forms are a separate job. The New Hire Payroll Setup Checklist covers Form W-4, state withholding and new hire reporting, and the Employee Onboarding Checklist takes over once the paperwork is done.
The employee completes and signs Section 1 no later than their first day of employment, and can do it at any time after accepting the offer. The employer, or an authorised representative, completes Section 2 within three business days of the first day of work for pay. If the job will last less than three business days, Section 2 must be completed on the first day. An employee cannot act as the authorised representative for their own form.
As of October 2026, the current edition is dated 01/20/25 and expires on 05/31/2027; the edition date is printed at the bottom of each page. USCIS also accepts the 08/01/23 edition that carries the 05/31/2027 expiry. The 08/01/23 version that expired on 07/31/2026 has lapsed, and electronic systems had to be updated by that date. Check uscis.gov/i-9 before each print run and before 05/31/2027, when the current edition expires.
Only if the hiring site participates in E-Verify and is in good standing. The DHS alternative procedure, available since 1 August 2023, means examining copies of the documents, front and back, then holding a live video call with the employee and the same documents, ticking the alternative procedure box, and keeping clear copies. You may limit it to remote hires, but if you offer it at a site you must offer it consistently and not on the basis of citizenship, immigration status or national origin. Other employers must examine original documents in person.
Not under federal law for most private employers, but it is for many. Federal contracts that include FAR clause 52.222-54 require contractors to enrol and verify new hires and employees assigned to the contract. Several states require it too: Arizona and South Carolina for every private employer, and Florida for private employers with 25 or more employees, for example. Rules differ on size thresholds and public contracts, so check each state where you hire.
A Tentative Nonconfirmation (Mismatch) is not a finding that the person cannot work. Tell the employee in private, give them the Further Action Notice, and record whether they will take action, all within ten federal government working days. If they act, refer the case; they then have eight federal government working days to contact DHS or visit an SSA office. Until a Final Nonconfirmation, you may not terminate, suspend, delay training, cut pay or take any other adverse action because of the mismatch.
For as long as the person works for you, then until three years after the date of hire or one year after employment ends, whichever is later. In practice, someone who leaves within two years of starting is kept for three years from hire; anyone longer is kept for one year after leaving. Keep any document copies with the form, and be able to produce both within three business days of an official request.
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