• The employee can choose between presenting one document from List A (one document total) OR one document from each of Lists B and C (two documents total).
• All documents must be original documents, except in the case of a birth certificate which may be presented as a certified copy.

The employee must be allowed to choose which document or combination of documents to present from the Lists of Acceptable Documents, as long as they are on the list and meet the requirements. The Lists of Acceptable Documents should be made available to the employee along with the Form I-9 and its instructions.

Employees must be allowed to choose which documents to present. They may present one document from List A or any combination of documents from Lists B and C (one document from each list).

The Lists of Acceptable Documents page on the Form I-9 includes information about some acceptable receipts. In addition, it has guidance and links to information on automatic extensions of employment and authorization documents.

Employees must present original documents. The only exception is that an employee may present a certified copy of a birth certificate.

Once an employee has chosen which document(s) to present from the list, the employer examines the documents. If the documents appear to be genuine, belong to the individual presenting them, and appear on the Lists of Acceptable Documents, the employer should use the documents provided to complete Section 2 of the Form I-9. If the employer believes that the documents are not valid or do not belong to the person presenting them, the employer may express this concern to the employee and ask the individual to present alternate documentation.

Employers are not expected to be document experts. Rather, they are expected to examine the document(s) presented by employees and, if they reasonably appear to be genuine and to relate to the person presenting them, the employer must accept them.

If an employee fails to produce the required document(s) or an acceptable receipt (in the case of lost, stolen, or destroyed documents) within three business days of the date paid employment begins, the employer may not continue to employ the individual.