Are expired documents acceptable for I-9 purposes?


Issue:

You are verifying an employee’s eligibility to work in the United States by completing Form I-9. The employee has given you his social security card and his state driver’s license, which expired last month. Are these documents acceptable for I-9 purposes?

Answer:    

I-9 procedures require an employer to examine: (1) one document from List A; or (2) one document from List B and one document from List C. Because a state driver’s license is a List B document and a social security card is a List C document, they normally would be acceptable for I-9 employment verification purposes. However, the regulations now stipulate that all documents must be unexpired. Therefore, because the driver’s license is expired, it is not acceptable. The employer would need to ask the employee for additional proof of identity and/or employment authorization.

Note that a document with no expiration date, such as a social security account number card, is deemed unexpired.

Source: 8 CFR Part 274a.

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