Video:What Is an I-9 Verification Form?

Transcript:What Is an I-9 Verification Form?

Hi!  I’m Brian Smith for About.com here to talk to you about the I-9 Verification Form.

I-9 Forms Verifies Employee Identity and Eligibility

 So you’re excited about starting your new job and you’re ready for your first day.  In many cases, the Human Resources department for your new employer is going to have some paperwork for you to fill out.   One of these forms will be the Employment Verification Form known simply as the I-9 form. The I-9 Form is used by the employer to verify the employee’s identity and to ensure the employee is eligible to work in the United States. 

Parts fo the I-9 Form

The entire I-9 form contains five pages.  The first three pages are the Instructions and contain information about the purpose of the form, when the I-9 form should be used and how to fill out the I-9 form. The actual form to be completed is on page four and is broken into three sections.  

The first section is the Employee Information and Verification section and is to be completed by the employee.  It will include the name, address, maiden name, date of birth and social security number.  This is also where the employee indicates their citizen status whether or not they are a citizen of the United States, a non-citizen or alien status.  The employee will sign this section and a translator can also prepare this section.

Identification Documents are Needed with the I-9 Form

The employee will need provide their identification documents in order for the Employer to complete Section Two.   The employer will indicate the necessary combination of legal documents along with their corresponding document identification numbers and expiration dates. You will see you need to have just one form for list A, which establishes both identify and employment eligibility, or the employee will need two forms of identification to fill out in lists B, which establishes identification, and list C, which establishes employment eligibility.

Popular combinations could be as simple as the employee’s passport information in List A.  Or the employee could use their valid United States driver’s license information in list B along with social security account number in List C.  Be sure to look at all the possible combinations of identification that can be used from page five of the I-9 form. 

The third and final section is also completed by the employer and is used if an employee’s legal name changes or is used to update an expired form of authorization or identification. 

I hope this summary helps you better understand the purpose of the I-9 form.  For more information, be sure to check us out on the web at  careers.about.com