Do You Need an ID to Work? Accepted Documents and the Rules

Yes, you need to show identification to start a job in the United States, but no single specific ID is required. Federal law gives you a menu. A U.S. passport works on its own. So does a driver’s license paired with a Social Security card. A school ID with your photo plus an unrestricted Social Security card works too. Roughly a dozen combinations are acceptable, and you get to choose which ones to present.¹

What the Law Actually Requires

Every employer in the country has to verify that every new hire is authorized to work, whether the hire is a citizen or not.² They do it through Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. You fill out Section 1 on or before your first day. Your employer completes Section 2 after looking at the documents you bring, and they have three business days from your start date to do it.³

What Section 2 requires is proof of two things: who you are, and that you’re legally allowed to work. The Form I-9 document lists are built around those two questions.

The Documents That Count

Acceptable documents are organized into three lists. You either bring one document from List A, which proves both identity and work authorization at once, or you bring one from List B for identity and one from List C for work authorization.⁴

List A: One Document Does It All

If you have any of these, you’re done in a single step:

U.S. passport or passport card
Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551, commonly called a green card)
Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766, with photograph)

Additional List A documents exist for foreign nationals in specific visa categories. When you present a List A document, your employer cannot ask you for anything else.⁴

List B: Proof of Identity

Most people who don’t carry a passport use a List B document for identity. The list is broader than many workers realize:

Driver’s license or state ID card with a photograph or identifying details like name, date of birth, and address
Government-issued ID card from any federal, state, or local agency with a photograph or identifying information
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 Card
Native American tribal document
Canadian driver’s license

You don’t need a driver’s license to start a job. A school ID with your photo, a voter registration card, or a military ID satisfies the identity requirement.⁵

List C: Proof of Work Authorization

Pair one of these with your List B document:

Social Security card, as long as it does not carry a restriction like “NOT VALID FOR EMPLOYMENT” or “VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION”
Original or certified birth certificate from a U.S. state, county, or territory bearing an official seal
Certification of Report of Birth from the Department of State

A Social Security card with a restrictive notation printed on it does not qualify for List C.³

You Choose Which Documents to Present

Your employer cannot dictate which documents you bring. If you show up with a school ID and an unrestricted Social Security card, that combination has to be accepted. Insisting on a driver’s license or a passport when you’ve already offered valid alternatives is unlawful if done to discriminate based on citizenship status or national origin.⁶

The employer’s job is to accept any document that reasonably appears genuine and relates to you. They cannot reject a document because it has a future expiration date or because it looks unfamiliar, as long as it’s on the approved lists.⁷ Requesting “more or different documents than are required” is treated in federal law as an unfair immigration-related employment practice when done with discriminatory intent, and violations can carry civil fines from $250 to $2,000 per person for a first offense, rising to $3,000 to $10,000 for repeat violations.⁶

If You Don’t Have the Documents Ready

Not having the right paperwork on your first day doesn’t automatically cost you the job, but the grace periods are narrow.

Receipts for Lost or Damaged Documents

If a required document has been lost, stolen, or damaged and you’ve applied for a replacement, the receipt for that application works as temporary proof. The receipt is valid for 90 days from your hire date. Within that window you need to obtain and present the actual replacement.⁸ If 90 days pass without the real document, your employer can terminate you, because they have no legal basis to keep you on the payroll without completed verification.

A replacement Social Security card is free and can be requested online in many cases or by calling the Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213; cards usually arrive within 5 to 10 business days.⁹ A certified birth certificate comes from the vital records office in the state where you were born. Replacement driver’s licenses and state IDs come from your state’s motor vehicle agency.

You’ve Applied for a Social Security Number but Don’t Have It Yet

You can still start working. The Social Security Administration explicitly allows an employee to work while the application is being processed.¹⁰ Your employer collects your identifying information and writes “Applied For” on tax forms until the number arrives. Once the card comes, give the number to your employer so they can update their records.

Workers Under 18

Minors complete Form I-9 the same way adults do, with one accommodation. If a minor has no List B identity document, such as a driver’s license or a school ID with a photo, a parent or legal guardian can establish the minor’s identity by signing Section 1, writing “Individual under age 18” in the signature block, and completing a Preparer/Translator Certification.¹¹ Minors can also use List B documents adults cannot: a school record or report card, a clinic or hospital record, or a day-care or nursery school record.⁵ One limit: if the employer uses E-Verify, the parent-attestation route is not available, and the minor needs a standard List A document or a photo-bearing List B plus a List C.

If Your Work Authorization Has an Expiration Date

Workers on temporary permits and some Employment Authorization Documents have to be reverified before their authorization runs out. This does not apply to U.S. citizens or to permanent residents who presented unexpiring documents. USCIS recommends employers give you a heads-up at least 90 days before the expiration, and when the date arrives you need to present an unexpired List A or List C document showing continued authorization.¹² Missing the reverification deadline can cost the job, because the employer has no legal basis to continue paying you without current authorization on file.

The Honesty Rule

The final thing worth knowing is what not to do. Using forged, counterfeit, or borrowed documents to satisfy Form I-9 requirements carries civil penalties and, for anyone not authorized to be in the United States, potential removal and a permanent bar on reentry.¹³ Making a false attestation on Section 1, such as claiming U.S. citizenship when you aren’t a citizen, is a federal crime carrying up to five years of imprisonment.² Bring genuine documents from the list, present the combination that works for you, and the verification is a short conversation on your first day.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1324a – Unlawful Employment of Aliens
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. List B Documents That Establish Identity
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1324b – Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Completing Section 2 – Employer Review and Verification
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Acceptable Receipts
9
Social Security Administration. Replace Social Security Card
10
Social Security Administration. Employer Responsibilities When Hiring Foreign Workers
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Minors (Individuals Under Age 18)
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Completing Supplement B, Reverification and Rehires
13
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Form I-9 Inspection Under Immigration and Nationality Act 274A