For restaurants, contractors, farms & staffing firms

Your I-9s passed last year. ICE changed the rules in March.

On March 16, 2026, ICE reclassified more than ten everyday I-9 mistakes as substantive violations, fined per form with no chance to correct. Upload scans or phone photos, and I9Scan flags the errors ICE now fines on sight while there is still time to fix them.

Check your fine exposure See what changed
$288–$2,861civil fine per form with a substantive error
3 daysto hand over every I-9 after a Notice of Inspection
0corrections allowed once the notice arrives
Form I-9 · Section 2Edition 01/20/25 · Example, not a real employee
Employer or Authorized Representative Review and Verification
U.S. Passport
U.S. Dept. of State
•••••4417
 missing!
 
Okafor
Dana
 no title
Harbor Street Kitchen, 214 Harbor St
Passport copy kept on fileCopy no longer cures missing data
Section 2 document expiration date left blanksubstantive
First day of employment missingsubstantive
Employer representative title missingsubstantive

What would an inspection cost you today?

Answer five questions. The range uses the civil penalty amounts currently in force for Form I-9 paperwork violations. It's an estimate, not a legal opinion.

About how many of those forms have at least one of these?All of these became substantive on March 16, 2026.
  • Blank document title, number, issuer or expiration in Section 2
  • No first day of employment
  • No employer representative name or title
  • No employee legal name, date of birth or signature date
  • Missing A-Number or expiration in Section 1
  • Spanish form used outside Puerto Rico
Has your business been fined for I-9 violations before?
What kind of business is it?
Have you received a Notice of Inspection?

Estimated civil fine exposure

$1,440 to $68,664
$288 / form$2,861 / form
Forms likely carrying a substantive error
5–24
Where your answers point in the range
Middle of the range
Industry audit pressure
High

Don't know your error rate? That's the most common answer, and the reason the range above is wide. Scanning your forms shows which ones have errors.

Find the forms with errors

Per-form amounts from the Jan 2, 2025 Federal Register inflation adjustment; OMB cancelled the 2026 adjustment. ICE sets the final amount from the share of forms with violations and five factors: business size, good faith, seriousness, unauthorized workers and prior violations. Excludes penalties for knowingly hiring unauthorized workers.

The March 16, 2026 fact sheet, side by side

Errors on the left are fined as soon as they're found. Errors on the right still give you 10 business days to fix them after ICE points them out.

SUBSTANTIVE · FINED ON SIGHT

Now substantive

  • Section 1Missing employee legal name or date of birth
  • Section 1Missing A-Number or USCIS number, when required
  • Section 1Missing date next to employee signature
  • Section 1Missing expiration date for work authorization
  • FormSpanish-language I-9 used outside Puerto Rico
  • Section 2Missing name or title of employer representative
  • Section 2Incomplete List A, B or C data, even with copies on file
  • Section 2Missing first day of employment
  • Supp. AIncomplete preparer or translator information
  • RemoteAlternative procedure box unchecked, or not enrolled in E-Verify
  • ElectronicAudit trail, e-signature or security gaps
TECHNICAL · 10 BUSINESS DAYS TO FIX

Still correctable

  • Section 1Social Security number missing (E-Verify employers)
  • Page topsEmployee name missing at the top of Section 2 or supplements
  • Section 1Other last names used not provided
  • Supp. BNew name not recorded at reverification
  • FormOutdated form edition used
  • Section 1Employee address missing
  • Section 2Business name or address missing

Summarized from ICE's Form I-9 Inspection fact sheet as reported by employment counsel, April 2026. Read the full guide.

From a box of paper forms to a clean file in one sitting

No software to install and nobody to schedule a call with. Scan with your phone or office copier.

  1. Upload your scans

    Photos or PDFs of paper forms, handwritten or typed. Anything I9Scan can't read clearly is flagged for you to confirm instead of guessed.

  2. See the errors, circled

    Each form is checked against ICE's March 2026 substantive and technical lists, with your exposure in dollars. Anything unclear is marked for you to confirm.

  3. Fix it the accepted way

    Step-by-step corrections that follow USCIS's own handbook: what to add, where to initial and date, and when a memo to file is needed.

Every plan costs less than the fine on one form

One substantive error costs at least $288. Start with a one-time audit, then choose how to keep new forms clean.

START HERE · ONE-TIME AUDIT
$249up to 75 forms

$2.50 per form from 76 to 300 · $2 per form above 300

  • Scan and check the forms you keep today
  • Dollar exposure for each form
  • Correction steps for each error
  • A summary you can keep as your audit memo
Get the one-time audit
NEW HIRE CHECK
$29/ month · up to 10 forms

For high turnover or staff with temporary work authorization · $2 per extra form

  • Each new form checked while the employee is still on staff
  • Alerts 90, 60 and 30 days before work authorization expires
  • Cancel any month
Get new hire checks
PAY PER FORM
$5per form

For businesses that hire a few people a year

  • Check any single form when you need to
  • Same checks and correction steps
  • No subscription
Pay per form

Fix it while the employee is still here

USCIS says Section 1 errors must be corrected by the employee. In a business where people leave within months, an error found at the annual audit often can't be fixed anymore. Checking each form in its first week keeps it fixable.

Don't miss a reverification date

When an employee's work authorization expires, reverification has to happen on time. Late reverification is a substantive violation, so you get reminders well before each date.

Get early access

I9Scan is opening to employers in stages. Leave your details and you'll get one email with your upload link when your account is ready.

Software, not a law firm. If you've already received a Notice of Inspection, speak with an immigration attorney before changing any form.

Plan

From your fine check: 48 forms · error rate unknown · restaurant

No card now. One email with your upload link, nothing else. Privacy

Questions employers ask

What happens to the ID numbers and personal data on the forms?

Scans are read, checked and deleted. I9Scan keeps the findings for each form (which fields have errors) and never needs to store document images to show them to you.

Can I still fix forms if I've received a Notice of Inspection?

Recent notices instruct employers not to change forms after receiving them. Don't use any tool to edit forms at that point; contact an immigration attorney. I9Scan is built for the time before a notice arrives.

We keep copies of every ID. Doesn't that cover missing Section 2 details?

Not anymore. Under the March 2026 fact sheet, missing List A, B or C information in Section 2 is substantive even when a copy of the document is on file.

Our payroll provider handles I-9s. Do we still need this?

Most payroll tools collect new forms going forward. They don't re-check the paper forms you completed before switching, and those are the forms an inspection asks for first.

Which Form I-9 editions does it read?

Early access starts with the editions most employers have completed since 2023, beginning with Section 1 and Section 2. Older editions and Supplements A and B follow. If a form isn't supported yet, I9Scan tells you instead of guessing.

Do I need the monthly plan?

Only if you hire often or employ people whose work authorization expires. A business that hires a few people a year is usually better off with the one-time audit and paying per form after that.

Is this legal advice?

No. I9Scan compares your forms with published ICE and USCIS guidance and shows what it finds. Decisions about your situation belong with your attorney.