Form I-9 Authorized Representative: Who Can Sign Section 2
Updated 11 min read
Who can be an authorized representative
- Personnel officers and HR staff
- Foremen and site managers
- Notaries public, acting as your agent
- Agents and contractors, remote I-9 vendors included
- Anyone acting directly or indirectly in your interest
USCIS M-274 § 2.0
- The employee, on their own Section 2 or Supplement B
- The employee, to correct or update their own Section 2
- The employee, to vouch for the documents they presented
USCIS M-274 § 2.0
Section 2 of Form I-9 belongs to the employer, but the employer does not have to be the one holding the pen. USCIS lets you “designate, hire, or contract with any person you choose to complete, update or make corrections to Section 2 or Supplement B” on your behalf. That person is your authorized representative.
The list is deliberately wide: an office manager at a branch, a supervisor on a job site, a notary near a remote hire's home, a vendor with a network of document checkers. USCIS names no training or licence, and asks for no contract. The one person who can never do it is the employee: nobody completes, updates or corrects Section 2 for themselves or vouches for the documents they presented.
The authorized representative “must perform all the employer duties described in the instructions and this handbook”: reviewing the employee's Section 1, examining the documents, and completing, signing and dating Section 2 or Supplement B on your behalf.
USCIS M-274 § 2.0; I-9 Central, Completing Section 2
That is why the choice of person matters more than the permission. A representative who has never seen a Form I-9 is allowed; a representative who accepts a photocopy, asks for a specific document, or signs for someone else who looked at the documents is a violation waiting to be found.
What to do
- Pick someone who can meet the new hire in person, or on a live video call if you qualify for that.
- Never let a new hire complete or correct their own Section 2, however small the office.
- Brief the representative before the first day, not on it.
What you stay liable for
| Duty | Who does it | Who answers for it |
|---|---|---|
| Reviewing Section 1 and examining the documents | Representative | You |
| Completing, signing and dating Section 2 | Representative | You |
| Getting the form done within three business days | Representative, on your timetable | You |
| Keeping the form and producing it at an inspection | Not their job | You |
| Paying a penalty for an error on the form | Not named in the rule | You |
Handing over the pen does not hand over the risk. USCIS is direct about it: “You are liable for any violations in connection with the form or the verification process, including any violations committed by the authorized representative acting on your behalf.” If a notary in another state misreads an expiration date, the paperwork violation is yours.
I-9 paperwork penalties currently run $288 to $2,861 per form (2025 inflation-adjusted amounts, still in force in 2026). Our I-9 penalties guide covers how they are set.
8 CFR 274a.10(b)(2); 28 CFR 68.52
USCIS also “does not require you to have a contract or other specific agreement with your authorized representative”. You can appoint someone by email. A short written instruction is still worth sending: it is your evidence of what you asked for, and it is where a representative finds the first day of work and your business address when they sit down with the form.
What to do
- Treat every representative's Section 2 as your own: review it the day it comes back.
- Keep the instruction you sent with your I-9 records.
- Fix an error with a line through it, the right entry, initials and the date; never correction fluid, never a backdate.
What the representative fills in
| Section 2 field | What goes there |
|---|---|
| Document title, issuing authority, number, expiration | From the documents the employee chose |
| Employee's first day of employment | The date you give them, not the meeting date |
| Last name, first name and title | The representative's own name; a title such as “Authorized Representative” |
| Signature and today's date | The person who examined the documents |
| Employer's business or organization name | Your company, not the representative's |
| Employer's business address | Your street address; never a P.O. box |
| Alternative procedure box | Ticked only for a remote examination you qualify for |
The rule that trips most remote hires is the signature line. M-274 says “the same person who examined the employee's documents must also complete the fields in the certification block, then sign and date Section 2”. A representative cannot look at the documents and then send them to you to sign; nor can you examine scans and ask a notary to sign. Whoever examines, signs.
The business name and address are yours, because the representative signs as your agent. M-274 asks for the employer's physical street address and rules out a P.O. box; with several locations, use the address that most appropriately identifies your location. Send the representative the exact wording so it matches the rest of your forms.
Section 2 is complete within three business days after the first day of work: start Monday, finish by Thursday. A job shorter than three business days needs Section 2 by the first day. The I-9 deadline calculator gives the date for any start day.
8 CFR § 274a.2(b)(1)(ii); USCIS M-274 § 4.0
Use the current form. USCIS lists the edition dated 01/20/25 and accepts the 08/01/23 edition that expires 05/31/2027; send the representative that form, with Section 1 done or ready for the employee to finish by the first day. Our Form I-9 employer guide covers the form's other parts.
Using a notary as your representative
Notaries are the classic choice for a remote hire: there is one in most towns, and checking identity documents is part of their day. USCIS allows it, with a twist that catches both employers and notaries. The notary is your agent, not a notary: “If you choose to use a notary public as an authorized representative, that person is not acting in the capacity of a notary.”
“When acting as an authorized representative, a notary public should not provide a notary seal on Form I-9.” The signature is an agent's signature: no stamp and no notarial certificate.
USCIS M-274 § 2.0
| Jurisdiction | What it says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Federal (USCIS) | A notary may act as your representative but is not acting as a notary, and should not apply a seal | M-274 § 2.0 |
| Pennsylvania | Section 2 is not a notarial act; no notary title or seal; do not notarize a separate acknowledgment of the I-9 | PA Department of State guidance |
| California | A notary who is not a bonded immigration consultant may not enter client data on immigration forms | Gov. Code § 8223(b)–(c) |
Pennsylvania's Department of State spells out the logic. A notary can sign as the employer's representative, because the Section 2 certification is an unsworn statement made for the employer, not one of the notarial acts the state authorizes. It also warns about a request some employers make: a separate notarized “acknowledgment” of the I-9. That would have the notary notarize their own signature, which the state's notary law does not allow. Do not ask for one.
California is the state where to slow down. Its notary law says a notary who is not qualified and bonded as an immigration consultant “may not enter data provided by a client on immigration forms nor otherwise perform the services of an immigration consultant”. Whether a Section 2 signed for an employer falls inside that line is a question for the Secretary of State's Notary Public Section or your counsel, not for the notary you are about to book. You can sidestep it by using your own manager, a colleague near the new hire, or a remote I-9 service.
What to do
- Tell the notary in writing that they act as your authorized representative and must not use a seal.
- Ask them to write a title that shows the role, such as “Authorized Representative”.
- Hiring in California: get an answer on the notary question before the first day, or pick someone else.
E-Verify employers and remote hires
| Your situation | How the representative examines | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Not enrolled in E-Verify | In the employee's physical presence | Originals only (certified birth certificate copies excepted) |
| Enrolled, good standing, E-Verify hiring site | In person, or remotely under the DHS alternative procedure | Copies first, then a live video call with the same documents |
| Enrolled, but this site is not an E-Verify hiring site | In the employee's physical presence | Alternative procedure not available here |
For most employers the representative still has to be in the room. M-274 says that, in general, “you or your authorized representative must review the employee's documentation in their physical presence”. A video call is not enough on its own. That is the whole reason notaries and local agents are used for remote hires.
E-Verify changes that. An employer enrolled in E-Verify in good standing may examine documents remotely at its E-Verify hiring sites, and M-274 § 4.5 says this “includes the use of an authorized representative acting on your behalf, such as a third-party vendor”. The representative receives copies of the documents, holds a live video call in which the employee presents the same documents, ticks the alternative-procedure box, and keeps clear copies for you. If you offer it at a site, offer it to every new hire there, or to every fully remote hire. Our alternative procedure guide has the detail, and the services that do this for employers are compared in remote I-9 verification services.
- A List B identity document must carry a photo.
- A U.S. passport, passport card, Permanent Resident Card or Employment Authorization Document is copied and the copy kept with the form, because E-Verify's photo matching uses it.
- They still may not ask for any particular document, including one that triggers photo matching.
E-Verify User Manual §§ 2.1, 2.2.2
The representative completes the Form I-9; they do not usually open the E-Verify case. Cases are created by your registered E-Verify users, each of whom has finished E-Verify's tutorial, or by your E-Verify employer agent. Get the finished form back fast: the case is due by the third business day after the employee starts work for pay, and it is built from what the representative wrote. More on that sequence in E-Verify for employers.
What to do
- Check, before you brief anyone, whether the hire's site can use the alternative procedure.
- Give E-Verify representatives the photo and copy rules in writing.
- Ask for the completed form and copies within one business day of the meeting.
Briefing your representative: a checklist
- 01
Your appointment in writing: name, the hire, the date, “you act as our authorized representative”
- 02
The current Form I-9, with Section 1 done or ready for the employee to finish by day one
- 03
The employee's first day of work, and the deadline: three business days after it
- 04
Your business name and street address, worded exactly as they go in Section 2
- 05
The document rule: the employee chooses from the Lists; never ask for a particular document
- 06
Originals only, unexpired or an acceptable receipt; a certified birth certificate copy is the one exception
- 07
If you use E-Verify: List B needs a photo; copy a passport, passport card, Green Card or EAD
- 08
Notaries: act as our agent, no seal, title “Authorized Representative”
- 09
How to send the form and any copies back to you securely, and by when
A representative only knows what you tell them, and a notary or a site manager may never have filled in a Form I-9. The list above is the brief that keeps them inside the rules, and it doubles as the written instruction you keep on file. The two lines people skip are the fifth and the sixth: a representative who asks a new hire for a passport, or accepts a phone photo of a Social Security card, has just made your form wrong. Our I-9 acceptable documents checker is a quick way for them to check a combination.
The form carries a Social Security number when the employee gives one, and the copies carry document numbers. Agree how they come back to you: an encrypted upload or a tracked envelope, not an ordinary email attachment.
When the form comes back
| Check | If it is wrong |
|---|---|
| Section 1 is complete, signed and dated by the employee | Send back to the employee to fix |
| One List A document, or one List B plus one List C | A wrong mix is a paperwork error |
| Numbers and expiry dates match the documents or copies | A line through it, the right entry, initials, date |
| First day of employment is the real start date | Not the meeting date |
| Signer's name, title, signature and date are present | Same person who examined the documents |
| Your business name and street address, no P.O. box | Not the representative's own business |
| No notary seal or stamp anywhere on the form | Never conceal it; attach a short explanation |
| Alternative-procedure box ticked only if used | And only at an E-Verify hiring site |
Do the check the day the form arrives, while the representative can still fix Section 2 inside the deadline. A Section 2 correction is theirs or yours to make, never the employee's. Then file the form and any copies together and put the retention date on it; the I-9 retention calculator gives that date.
The same representative can handle Supplement B later: a reverification when an employment authorization document expires, or a rehire within three years of the original form. Brief them the same way; the reverification calculator tells you which date to work to.
- Who may act
- Any person you chooseUSCIS M-274 § 2.0
- Who may not
- The employee, on their own formUSCIS M-274 § 2.0
- Contract required
- NoUSCIS M-274 § 2.0
- Liable for their errors
- You, the employerUSCIS M-274 § 2.0
- Notary seal on Form I-9
- Should not be usedUSCIS M-274 § 2.0
- Who signs Section 2
- The person who examined the documentsUSCIS M-274 § 4.0
- Deadline
- 3 business days after day one8 CFR § 274a.2(b)(1)(ii)
- Remote examination
- E-Verify employers in good standingUSCIS M-274 § 4.5
- Paperwork penalty
- $288 to $2,861 per form8 CFR 274a.10(b)(2)
Questions employers ask
Who can be an authorized representative for Form I-9?
Any person you choose: an employee of yours, a manager at another site, a notary, an agent or a vendor. The only person excluded is the new hire, for their own form.
Can a family member of the new hire act as the authorized representative?
USCIS's handbook does not exclude anyone except the employee, and it does not address relatives. You remain liable for whatever they sign, so it is safer to choose someone with no stake in the hire being approved. If you have no other option, brief them as carefully as you would a notary.
Does the authorized representative need to be a notary?
No. A notary is one option among many, and one acting for you is not acting as a notary: no seal. In California, check the state notary rules first.
Can the authorized representative examine documents over video?
Only if you are enrolled in E-Verify in good standing and the hire is at an E-Verify hiring site, under the DHS alternative procedure. Everyone else examines documents in the employee's physical presence. See the alternative procedure guide.
Whose name and address go in Section 2?
The representative's own name, title, signature and date in the certification, and your business name and physical street address in the employer fields.
Do I need a signed agreement with the representative?
USCIS does not require one. Send a short written instruction anyway, and keep it with your I-9 records. A vendor will usually have its own terms; read who handles corrections and how copies are returned.
What if the representative makes a mistake?
It is your violation, so fix it like any Section 2 error: a line through the wrong entry, the right entry, initials and date, and a short note. The I-9 self-audit checklist covers the common errors.