United States

Form I-9, in plain English.

Workzoom defines Form I-9 as follows. Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, is the US form every employer must complete for each new hire to confirm identity and authorization to work. The employee completes...

Book a Workzoom walkthrough → 25+ years of HR and payroll production. Live in Canada, the US, and the Bahamas.

Since 2000. Workzoom has run Canadian payroll for 25+ years.
Canadian data residency, AWS Canada (ca-central-1). Canadian customer data stays in Canada.
SOC 2-aligned controls. Encrypted at rest, role-based access, immutable audit logs.
Trusted by County of Renfrew, Silvera for Seniors, and Cable Bahamas. Built for 50 to 5,000 employee organizations.

The short answer

Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, is the US form every employer must complete for each new hire to confirm identity and authorization to work. The employee completes Section 1 by their first day. The employer examines documents and completes Section 2 within three business days of the start date. The form is retained, not filed. Workzoom holds I-9 status on the same employee record used for onboarding.

How Form I-9 works.

The I-9 is a retention obligation rather than a submission. Employers keep the form for three years after the hire date or one year after employment ends, whichever is later, and must produce it on request during an inspection. Employees choose which acceptable documents to present, and the employer cannot demand specific ones. Because the I-9 deadline runs on business days from the start date, onboarding that begins before day one gives the process room rather than compressing it into the first week.

Where Form I-9 goes wrong.

Where Form I-9 sits between HR and payroll.

Form I-9 does not stand alone. The concepts most often paired with it on a United States run are Onboarding, ATS, Offboarding, Employee self-service. Each is defined elsewhere in this glossary so you can trace the full chain without leaving the site.

How Form I-9 runs on Workzoom.

Form I-9 is part of the Workzoom Talent Suite. Workzoom runs HR, workforce, and talent on a single employee record across ten countries: Canada, the United States, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, and the United Kingdom. Full gross-to-net payroll runs live in Canada, the United States, and the Bahamas. Pricing starts at $4 per employee per suite per month.

See Workzoom in 30 minutes →

Questions about Form I-9

When must Form I-9 be completed?

The employee completes Section 1 no later than their first day of employment. The employer completes Section 2 within three business days of the employee's start date after examining acceptable documentation.

Is Form I-9 filed with the government?

No. The I-9 is retained by the employer and produced only if requested during an inspection. It is a recordkeeping obligation rather than a filing.

How long must employers keep Form I-9?

Three years after the date of hire, or one year after employment ends, whichever date is later. For long-tenured employees, the one-year-after-termination rule is usually the binding one.

Can an employer tell a new hire which documents to bring?

No. The employee chooses which acceptable documents to present from the published lists. Requiring specific documents can constitute unlawful discrimination.

Run HR, payroll, workforce, and talent on one platform.

$4 per employee per suite. 50 to 5,000 employees. Sprint-based, client-paced go-live.

Book a Walkthrough View Pricing

Form I-9, in plain English.

How Form I-9 works.

Where Form I-9 goes wrong.

Where Form I-9 sits between HR and payroll.

How Form I-9 runs on Workzoom.