Guides / I-9 fines in 2026
I-9 fines in 2026: $288 to $2,861 per form
Paperwork fines are charged per form, not per inspection. Here is the range in force today, why it didn't rise in 2026, and how ICE decides where in that range your business lands.
In short
- $288 minimum, $2,861 maximum for each Form I-9 with a paperwork violation.
- These amounts were set on January 2, 2025. There was no 2026 inflation adjustment.
- ICE starts from the share of your forms with violations, then adjusts for five factors by up to 25% in either direction.
- Knowingly hiring or continuing to employ unauthorized workers carries separate, higher penalties.
The per-form range
| Violation type | Minimum per form | Maximum per form | In force since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form I-9 paperwork violations | $288 | $2,861 | 01/02/2025 |
Civil penalties are normally adjusted for inflation every year. In April 2026 the Office of Management and Budget cancelled the 2026 adjustment, so the amounts published in January 2025 still apply to penalties assessed in 2026.
How ICE sets the amount
Step 1: the share of forms with violations
After an inspection, ICE divides the number of forms with violations by the number of forms it inspected. A higher share, and prior violations, push the starting amount per form toward the top of the range.
Step 2: five factors
ICE then adjusts that starting amount using five factors. Each one can add 5%, subtract 5% or change nothing, and the total adjustment is capped at 25% either way.
| Factor | What tends to help | What tends to hurt |
|---|---|---|
| Size of the business | Small business | Large business |
| Good faith of the employer | Self-audits, corrections, training | Ignoring known problems |
| Seriousness of the violations | Minor omissions | Forms never completed |
| Unauthorized workers involved | None found | Unauthorized workers on the payroll |
| History of previous violations | No prior violations | Earlier fines or warnings |
The "helps" and "hurts" columns are general tendencies, not ICE's published criteria.
A worked example
A restaurant keeps 40 forms. An inspection finds substantive violations on 12 of them, 30% of the file.
| Forms | Per form | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| If every form landed at the minimum | 12 | $288 | $3,456 |
| If every form landed at the maximum | 12 | $2,861 | $34,332 |
The real amount falls between those numbers, depending on the violation share and the five factors.
Why the March 2026 change matters for fines
Technical errors come with at least 10 business days to fix after ICE points them out, so they rarely turn into fines. On March 16, 2026 ICE moved more than ten common errors to the substantive list, where there is no correction window. The same file can now produce a much larger fine than it would have a year ago. The full list is in our guide to the rule change.
How to lower your exposure before an inspection
- Run a self-audit of every form you are required to keep.
- Correct errors the way USCIS describes, with today's date and your initials.
- Keep a memo of what you reviewed and fixed. It is evidence of good faith.
- Know which old forms you may discard. The USCIS Handbook for Employers (M-274) explains the retention period.
Sources
- Federal Register, Civil Monetary Penalty Adjustments for Inflation, January 2, 2025.
- Office of Management and Budget, M-26-11, Cancellation of Penalty Inflation Adjustments for 2026, April 17, 2026.
- ICE, Form I-9 Inspection fact sheet: five factors and the 25% adjustment cap.