The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a COVID-19 temporary policy for List B identity documents when completing a Form I-9 for a new hire. As a reminder, the Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification requires the employer to verify the identity and employment authorization of employees not later than three days after the first day of employment. List A includes documents that establish both identity and employment authorization. List B includes documents that establish identity. List C includes documents that establish employment authorization. The employer must physically examine one document from List A or a combination of one document from List B and one document from List C to verify both identity and employment authorization. The employer records information from the documents in Section 2.

State-issued driver’s licenses or identification cards are among the eligible List B documents. Due to the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders and their interruption of states’ and other issuing agencies’ ability to renew these and other acceptable documents, DHS has issued a temporary policy related to expired List B identity documents. Starting on May 1, 2020, List B identity documents set to expire on or after March 1, 2020, and not extended by the state or other issuing authority, may be treated as a valid receipt for the Form I-9 purpose. As such, when an employee presents an acceptable List B document that has expired and has not been extended by the issuing authority, the employer should record the expired document information in Section 2 under List B Identity and enter the word “COVID-19” in the additional information field.

Within 90 days of the termination of this temporary policy, the employee must present a valid unexpired acceptable List B document to replace the expired document presented. At that time, the employer, in the Section 2 additional information field, will record the required document information from the actual, valid and unexpired document presented, and initial and date the change.

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