I-9 authorized representative work: what notaries can and cannot do

What an I-9 authorized representative does

Form I-9 splits the work. The new hire completes Section 1. The employer, or someone acting for it, examines the hire's identity and work authorization documents and completes Section 2 within 3 business days of the first day of work for pay. When the hire lives hours from any office, that someone can be a person the employer has never met, hired for one visit.

USCIS says an authorized representative can be any person the employer designates, hires or contracts with to complete, update or correct Section 2 (or Supplement B, for reverification and rehire) on its behalf. Its own list of examples includes personnel officers, foremen, agents and notaries public. No contract is required for Form I-9 purposes, and a new hire can never act as the representative for their own form.

USCIS spells out what the visit involves. You review the hire's Section 1, examine the original documents (or an acceptable receipt) they choose to present from the Lists of Acceptable Documents, and decide whether each one reasonably appears genuine and relates to the person in front of you. Then you fill in Section 2, sign it with your own name and title, and hand the documents back. If you already do general notary work for local businesses, this service sits next to it, but it runs on a different rulebook.

Can a notary complete an I-9? Not as a notary

People search for an "I-9 notary" or a "notary for I-9". The phrase is understandable and wrong. USCIS says that when an employer uses a notary public as its authorized representative, that person is not acting in the capacity of a notary, must perform the same steps as any other authorized representative, and should not provide a notary seal on Form I-9. Completing an I-9 is not a notarization, and Form I-9 does not get notarized.

That changes how you work at the table. No seal or stamp on the form, no notarial certificate attached to it, and nothing on the confirmation or the invoice that calls the visit a notarization. If a hiring manager asks you to "notarize the I-9", say no, explain the rule in one sentence, and offer to complete Section 2 as the employer's representative instead.

Your commission still counts in the sale, just not on the form. Checking IDs and keeping appointments is already your daily work, and an HR manager can see that. It gives you no authority under the I-9 rules, so don't let anyone treat it as if it does.

Federal rules are not the whole answer, because the state that commissioned you can restrict the work. California is the clearest case. The state's official notary newsletter told California notaries in January 2020 that a notary public who is not also an immigration consultant is prohibited from completing Form I-9, even in a non-notarial capacity and without using the title or the seal. Under California law that status means being qualified and bonded as an immigration consultant, which includes a $100,000 bond filed with the state, a background check and a disclosure form.

California is not alone. Montana's official notary FAQ answers no when asked whether you can complete an I-9 because you are a notary, Maryland's says a notary may not verify the information on one, and the District of Columbia's notary handbook says a notary public may not assist. Pennsylvania and Oregon take the other view: a notary may do it as the employer's representative and not as a notary, and Pennsylvania adds that no notary title or seal should be used. Check with the office that commissioned you before you offer this service.

Remote I-9 verification and the E-Verify alternative procedure

Since August 1, 2023, employers enrolled in E-Verify in good standing can examine I-9 documents remotely under a DHS-authorized alternative procedure. Employers outside E-Verify cannot use it. They still have to examine the original documents physically, which DHS describes as generally happening in the physical presence of the employee.

The procedure has fixed steps. The employer, or an authorized representative acting for it, examines copies of the documents (front and back, if two-sided), holds a live video interaction where the employee presents the same documents, checks the alternative procedure box on the form, and keeps clear copies of everything examined. An employer that offers it at an E-Verify hiring site has to offer it consistently to everyone there, though USCIS lets it limit the option to remote hires as long as that is not done for a discriminatory purpose.

Remote online notarization is not this procedure. A RON session is a notarial act and an I-9 is not notarized, so a RON commission adds nothing under the I-9 rules and cannot make remote examination available to an employer outside E-Verify. If you sell both, keep the offers separate (more on selling remote online notarization to businesses).

Even E-Verify employers sometimes need someone in the room. When DHS set up the procedure, it said qualified employers must allow employees who are unable or unwilling to use it to present their documents for physical examination instead.

Who is responsible for each I-9 step

The employer owns the I-9 from start to finish. USCIS says the employer is liable for any violations in connection with the form or the verification process, including violations of the employer sanctions laws, committed by the authorized representative acting on its behalf. That is the employer's risk to carry, and it is why a careful HR manager will ask how you work before sending you a single hire.

Here is how the work splits. Every row except the last is I-9 work under USCIS guidance and the employer's instructions, and none of it is a notarial act.

Where in-person I-9 work still fits

The alternative procedure did not end in-person I-9 work. These are the situations where an employer still needs someone to see the documents. Find out which one a prospect is in before you pitch, because it decides whether they need you for one hire or for every hire.

Some of your I-9 calls will come from new hires who searched "authorized representative for I-9 near me" because their employer told them to find someone. Take the appointment once the employer confirms it has named you its representative, then ask who there sent them. That HR contact is the account worth building.

• An employer outside E-Verify with a hire who lives far from any office. It cannot examine remotely, so someone has to see the original documents in person.
• An E-Verify employer that kept physical examination, or that offers the remote option to remote hires only. Its onsite and hybrid hires still get a physical check.
• A remote hire at an E-Verify employer who is unable or unwilling to use the remote procedure. The employer has to allow physical examination.
• Reverification in Supplement B at an employer outside E-Verify, for someone who lives nowhere near an office. A rehire needs a new document check only if the work authorization on the original form has expired or the employer completes a new Form I-9.

How to price and package I-9 authorized representative work

Sell it as a business service and bill the employer, since the duty and the liability are the employer's. Before you quote, check how your commissioning state treats fees for work that is not a notarial act, and keep the I-9 visit on its own invoice line, apart from any notarization. Build the price from what the job costs you: travel, time on site, the 3-business-day deadline and the second trip when a hire brings the wrong document. The notary business plan guide covers how a line like this sits next to your notarial work.

Two more things before the first booking. Ask your insurer whether your E&O policy covers work that is not a notarial act, and don't assume it does. And don't steer the hire toward particular documents: the hire chooses what to present from the Lists of Acceptable Documents, and USCIS says that if they present acceptable List A documentation, you do not ask for List B or List C.

• A written authorization from the employer naming you as its authorized representative for named hires. USCIS does not require a contract, but you want one.
• An intake form: the employer's business name and physical address for Section 2 (USCIS says no P.O. box), the hire's first day of work for pay, whether the employer uses E-Verify (if it does, a List B document presented with a List C document must have a photo), and how the completed form goes back.
• A flat fee per hire inside a set travel radius, with add-ons for distance, same-day or after-hours visits, and repeat trips.
• A batch or monthly rate for staffing firms and professional employer organizations (PEOs) that send you hires often.
• One line in every confirmation: you act as the employer's authorized representative, not as a notary, and the employer should follow USCIS guidance.

Who buys I-9 representative services, and what to tell them

The buyer is the employer, and inside it, whoever owns onboarding. At a company with an HR team, that is the HR operations or people operations manager, or the onboarding coordinator who books the visits. At a small company with no HR team, start with the owner or office manager. Staffing firms and PEOs can be recurring buyers, because they onboard people for many client businesses and need the same visit again and again.

Open with the rule. A good first touch says three things in plain words: you examine documents in person and complete Section 2 as the employer's authorized representative; you do not notarize the I-9, and USCIS says you should not; and the employer stays responsible, so it should follow USCIS guidance and its own counsel. Then say where you cover and how you meet the 3-business-day deadline. The wider playbook is in how to get notary clients that bring repeat business.

Example (invented): a 60-person software company with one office makes its first three hires in states where it has no office. If it is not in E-Verify, each hire's documents have to be examined in person, by the employer or by a representative near the hire, and the need comes back every time it hires far from home. That is a buyer for a monthly rate, not a one-off visit.

This page is general business information, not legal advice. Employers decide how they complete Form I-9 and should follow USCIS guidance.

How Clean helps you find employers that need I-9 visits

Waiting for a new hire to search for you gets you one appointment at a time. Clean works from the other end. It finds businesses with a real reason to buy what you sell, shows the evidence behind each one, and names who decides there (for I-9 visits, look for whoever owns onboarding). The moments that fit this service are an employer that starts hiring in states where it has no office and a business that opens a new office in another state. More on how Clean treats moments like these is in buyer signals explained.

You tell Clean who to look for by industry, size, region and what you sell, and who to leave out, such as your current clients. Every prospect is backed by real-world records, and Clean keeps the source behind every reason so each one can be checked. Anything Clean cannot confirm stays marked unknown instead of being guessed, and whether an employer uses E-Verify is a question for your first call. Clean also shows who in your team's network can introduce you.

Clean does not use intent data, and it is not an automated messaging tool. It shows who is worth reaching and why; your team decides who to contact and what to say. Book a demo to see businesses in your market with a real reason to need notary work or an I-9 visit, and who decides there. The rest of the guides are on the Clean for notary businesses hub.