The I-9 receipt rule: which receipts count, and when the real document is due

A receipt lets a new hire satisfy Form I-9 temporarily while the real document is on its way. The rule is narrow. USCIS recognizes a short list of receipts, each with its own validity period, and nothing else counts as one. If the employee presents an acceptable receipt and the job will last three business days or more, you must accept it. When the receipt period runs out, the employee must show the actual document or other acceptable documentation, and you cannot accept a second receipt in its place.

This page covers which receipts qualify, which ones look similar but never qualify, how to record them, and how to keep track of the follow-up so it does not become a missed deadline. For the underlying lists, see I-9 List A, B and C documents.

The receipts USCIS accepts

The replacement receipt is the one most employers actually see: someone lost a wallet, applied for a new Social Security card or driver's license, and brings the application receipt on day one. It covers only the list the lost document belonged to. A receipt for a replacement Social Security card covers List C; the employee still needs a List B document, or can present a List A document instead.

Things that look like receipts but are not

• A receipt for an initial application for employment authorization. USCIS's guidance is explicit that a receipt showing someone applied for an initial grant of employment authorization is not acceptable. A Form I-797C for a first-time Form I-765 does not let someone start work.
• A renewal EAD receipt filed on or after October 30, 2025. Under the interim final rule effective that day, such a Form I-797C is not evidence of employment authorization and cannot be used alone or with an expired EAD. Older automatic extensions keep running to their stated end.
• An online confirmation page. USCIS's Q&A says a confirmation printed from the USCIS website is not acceptable as proof of a pending replacement EAD application; the mailed Form I-797C Notice of Action is.
• A second receipt. Accepting a second receipt when the first one's validity period ends is not permitted.
• Any receipt for a job under three business days. If employment will last less than three business days, receipts cannot be accepted; Sections 1 and 2 must be completed with actual documents by the end of the first day.

How to record a receipt in Section 2

1. In the column for the list the receipt covers, enter the word "Receipt" followed by the title of the document the receipt is for, along with the receipt number and issuing authority.
2. Enter the date the receipt period ends in the expiration field. For a 90-day receipt, count 90 days from the first day of employment.
3. Diary the follow-up date now, well before the receipt period ends, not on it.
4. When the employee presents the replacement or other acceptable documents, cross out "Receipt" and the related entries, record the new document in the Additional Information field, and initial and date the change.
5. If you photocopy documents as a policy, copy the receipt and the later document too, and keep both with the form.

A worked example with dates

A warehouse associate starts on Monday, October 5, 2026. Her wallet, with her driver's license in it, was stolen the week before. She chooses to present a receipt from her state motor vehicle agency for a replacement driver's license (List B) and her original, unrestricted Social Security card (List C), which she keeps at home.

• Section 2, List B: "Receipt: driver's license", the state as issuing authority, the receipt number, and the end of the receipt period.
• Section 2, List C: the Social Security card, recorded normally.
• Receipt period: 90 days from October 5, 2026 puts the end of the window at the beginning of January 2027. Diary a reminder for early December, so the conversation happens well before the deadline and does not land over the holidays.
• If she brings the new license on November 2: cross out "Receipt" in List B, record the license in Additional Information, initial and date it.
• If the license has not arrived by the end of the window, she may present any other acceptable List B document, or a List A document, her choice. A second receipt from the motor vehicle agency does not extend the period.

Receipts and E-Verify

E-Verify treats receipts differently depending on which one was presented, per its User Manual, Section 2.1.1:

• Replacement receipts: wait. Create the E-Verify case once the employee presents the replacement document or other acceptable documentation, and update the I-9 first. When E-Verify asks why the case is late, E-Verify's guidance is to select "Other" and enter "Receipt provided."
• I-94 with a temporary I-551 stamp, and the refugee I-94: do not wait. Create the case by the third business day after the start date as usual.

If the case later produces a mismatch, the normal process applies; see E-Verify tentative nonconfirmation.

Receipts at reverification

Receipts are also acceptable when an employee's work authorization is being reverified on Supplement B. For a replacement receipt, the 90 days run from the date the prior employment authorization expired, not from the original hire date. The reverification rules otherwise stay the same: only List A or List C documents, and only for employees whose authorization actually expires. See I-9 reverification for the full process.

Refugees: the one that surprises people

A newly arrived refugee often has no EAD yet. The I-94 with a refugee admission stamp or "RE" code is a List A receipt for 90 days. At the end of that window the refugee may present an EAD, or a List B document such as a state ID together with an unrestricted Social Security card. Because refugees are authorized to work by virtue of their status, asking them specifically for an EAD would be specifying a document; let them choose between the two routes the table shows.

A tracking checklist for receipts

• Confirm the receipt is one of the types in the USCIS table, not an initial-application receipt or web confirmation.
• Confirm the job will last at least three business days.
• Record "Receipt" plus the document title and the end date of the receipt period.
• Set a reminder at least 30 days before the end date, and a second one a week before.
• For E-Verify, note whether the case must wait (replacement receipt) or be created on the normal schedule (ADIT or refugee I-94).
• When the document arrives, update Section 2 through Additional Information and initial and date the change.
• Never accept a second receipt, and never ask for a particular replacement document; the employee may choose any acceptable documentation.
• For staffing agencies, keep receipt tracking centralized; a branch that places the worker on a new assignment should not be the only office that knows the clock is running.

Common mistakes

• Treating a Form I-797C for a first-time EAD application as a receipt and letting the person start.
• Recording the receipt as if it were the document, with no "Receipt" label and no end date, so nobody knows a follow-up is due.
• Letting the 90 days lapse and then accepting a second receipt.
• Creating an E-Verify case from a replacement receipt instead of waiting for the document.
• Telling the employee they must bring the same type of document as the one they lost. The choice at follow-up is theirs.

For when Section 1 and Section 2 are due in the first place, see Form I-9 timing in hiring.