Expired Identity Documents Temporarily Acceptable for Form I-9 Purposes

Due to the ongoing Shelter in Place directives in many states, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that employers may temporarily accept expired documents from List B, notably state-issued driver’s licenses and ID cards, to verify identity and complete Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.  

Specifically, as of May 1, 2020, employers may accept identity documents that expired (or are set to expire) on or after March 1, 2020, and which have not been automatically extended by the issuing state authority, for Form I-9 purposes.  

List B documents establish an individual’s identity and include: 

  • State-issued driver’s licenses

  • State-issued ID cards;

  • School ID card with a photograph;

  • Voter registration card;

  • U.S. military card or draft record;

  • Military dependent’s ID card;

  • U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) card;

  • Native American tribal document;

  • Driver’s license issued by a Canadian government authority

If using an expired identity document for I-9 purposes, employers should do the following:

  • Record the document information in Section 2 under List B on Form I-9; and

  • Enter the word “COVID-19” in the Additional Information Field.

When DHS ends this temporary policy, employees will be required to present their employers with a valid, unexpired document within 90 days of the termination date.  Employers will need to do the following:

  • In the Section 2 Additional Information field:

    • Record the number and other required document information from the actual document presented; and

    • Initial and date the change.

DHS has not yet announced when this temporary policy will terminate. We are continuing to monitor this policy and will provide updates on this blog when new information becomes available. 

As a reminder, the new Form I-9 (version 10/21/2019) became mandatory on May 1, 2020 and prior versions can no longer be used.

This alert is for informational purposes only.  Please contact us if you would like to discuss this development further.

Nadia Yakoob