Employment United States For businesses

I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Check

Check whether your I-9 process meets USCIS requirements for verifying work authorisation and maintaining compliant records for all employees.

Start free check 10 questions · 6 minutes · No signup

Did you know? The numbers behind this check.

$272–$2,701 per formPaperwork violation penalty
$676–$27,018 per workerKnowingly hiring unauthorised worker
3 business days from first day of workSection 2 completion deadline
3 years from hire or 1 year after terminationI-9 retention requirement

Why this matters.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) requires all US employers to verify the identity and employment authorisation of every person hired after November 6, 1986, using Form I-9. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducts I-9 audits — known as Form I-9 inspections — and can issue civil monetary penalties for paperwork violations ranging from $272 to $2,701 per violation, and from $676 to $27,018 per violation for knowingly hiring or employing unauthorised workers. In FY2024, ICE conducted thousands of I-9 audits and employers face increasing scrutiny.

Common I-9 errors include not completing Section 2 within 3 business days of a new hire’s first day, accepting expired documents, failing to reverify employees with temporary work authorisation, using the wrong version of the form, and not retaining forms for the required period. Remote verification rules changed significantly in 2023 with the introduction of an alternative procedure for E-Verify employers, making it important to ensure your process reflects current requirements.

Have these to hand.

Completed I-9 forms for all current employees (hired after Nov 6, 1986)
I-9 forms for former employees still within the retention window
The current version of Form I-9 (check uscis.gov for the latest)
Whether your business uses E-Verify
A list of any employees with temporary work authorisation and their reverification dates

What you’ll get.

1A score out of 100Where you stand today, at a glance.
2Findings ranked by riskWhat could cost you, highest risk first.
3A plan with timeframesWhat to fix first and by when.

Use this free tool to assess your I-9 employment eligibility verification process and identify common compliance gaps before an ICE audit or inspection.