I-9 Employment Verification in Denver. Mobile authorized representative.

Form I-9 employment-eligibility verification for Denver-area employers with remote hires or employees who can't come to HR. I serve as the authorized representative, meet the employee at their location, examine their identity and work-authorization documents, complete Section 2 of Form I-9, and return the completed form to the employer the same business day. $35 to $50 per verification.

1. 01

   Employer sends the assignment

   The employer (or their HR team) emails or calls with the employee's name, contact information, and start date. Section 1 of Form I-9 should be completed by the employee before the appointment; I bring blank forms as backup in case Section 1 hasn't been done yet.

2. 02

   I schedule directly with the employee

   I reach out to the employee, confirm a meeting time and location (their home, a coffee shop, anywhere convenient for them), and remind them which documents to bring per the Lists of Acceptable Documents on the back of Form I-9. The appointment is usually within 24 to 48 hours of the assignment.

3. 03

   I examine documents and complete Section 2

   At the appointment, I examine the documents the employee chose to present, confirm they reasonably appear genuine and relate to the employee, complete Section 2 with the document information, and sign the form as the authorized representative. The appointment takes 15 to 20 minutes.

4. 04

   I return the completed form to the employer

   Same business day. Email scan, secure portal upload, or mailed original, whatever the employer specified. The three-business-day federal completion deadline is the employer's compliance window; my goal is to deliver the completed Section 2 well within it.

01

What is I-9 employment verification?

Form I-9 is the federal form U.S. employers use to verify a new hire's identity and employment authorization. Federal law requires every employer to complete Form I-9 for every new employee within three business days of the start date. The form has two main parts: Section 1, which the employee completes; and Section 2, which the employer (or their authorized representative) completes after examining the employee's identity and work-authorization documents.

02

Why would an employer hire a notary for I-9?

Mostly for remote hires. When an employer is in Denver but the new employee is in another state, or the employee can't come to the Denver office during the three-business-day window, the employer designates an authorized representative to complete Section 2 in person with the employee. Notaries are a common choice because they're trained in identity verification, they travel to the employee, and they're available across the Denver metro. Any adult can technically serve as an authorized representative, but employers often choose notaries because of the documentation familiarity.

03

Are notaries legally required for I-9 verification?

No. Federal regulations allow any adult to serve as an authorized representative for Form I-9 Section 2. The employer (not USCIS or DHS) designates who serves as the representative; the regulations don't require the representative to be a notary, an attorney, or any specific role. That said, employers often choose notaries because of the identity-verification training, the availability for mobile appointments, and the professional standards around documentation.

04

Can I-9 verification happen remotely?

DHS made remote I-9 verification permanent for E-Verify-enrolled employers in good standing in 2023, allowing those employers to verify documents over secure video with the employee. For employers not in E-Verify (or who prefer in-person verification anyway), the in-person mobile authorized-representative model is still the standard approach. I handle in-person mobile I-9 verifications; the remote video model is something the employer arranges directly with the employee through their HR system.

05

What documents does the employee need?

The employee chooses from the Lists of Acceptable Documents on the back of Form I-9. They can present one document from List A (which establishes both identity and work authorization in a single document, like a U.S. passport), or one document from List B (identity, like a driver's license) plus one from List C (work authorization, like a Social Security card or birth certificate). The employee chooses which documents to present; the authorized representative doesn't specify which combination.

06

What does the notary's role look like in an I-9 appointment?

I meet the employee at an agreed location (their home, a coffee shop, their temporary workspace, anywhere they're comfortable). I examine the documents the employee chose to present, confirm they reasonably appear genuine and relate to the employee, complete Section 2 of Form I-9 with the document information, sign the form as the authorized representative (with my full name and address as required by the form), and return the completed form to the employer through whatever channel the employer specified (email scan, secure upload, mailed original).

07

Who pays for the I-9 verification, the employee or the employer?

Almost always the employer, since the employer is the party with the legal obligation to complete the I-9. Many employers either pay me directly through their accounts payable or reimburse the employee, who paid me at the appointment. Some staffing agencies and PEOs have established arrangements for I-9 verification fees. Tell me on the call which model the employer prefers and I'll structure the appointment accordingly.

08

How quickly can you complete an I-9 verification?

Most appointments happen within 24 to 48 hours of the request, often the same day if the employee is available. The verification itself takes 15 to 20 minutes once I'm with the employee. Return of the completed Section 2 to the employer happens the same day; whatever scan-and-upload or email-attachment method the employer specifies usually gets done within an hour of the appointment ending.

09

What if the employee's documents are unusual or unfamiliar?

Form I-9 includes a full list of acceptable documents with specific guidance for each type. Permanent resident cards, employment authorization documents, foreign passports with I-94 records, Trusted Traveler cards, and similar documents are all on the acceptable lists. The authorized representative's job is to confirm the document reasonably appears genuine and relates to the employee, not to make a forensic identification determination. If the document genuinely looks unusual, I'll note it on the form and the employer can decide whether additional verification is needed.

10

Do you upload to E-Verify or just complete the I-9?

I complete Section 2 of Form I-9 and return the completed form to the employer. The employer (or their HR or compliance team) handles any E-Verify case creation, which is an employer-side activity tied to the employer's E-Verify account. The authorized representative's role ends when Section 2 is completed and the form is returned; the E-Verify submission is a separate step the employer manages.

11

What's the cost for an I-9 verification?

$35 to $50 per verification, depending on travel distance and any additional documentation work. The range is below the Denver-area market norm for mobile I-9 verification, which often runs $50 to $75 per appointment. For employers with regular remote-hire volume (a Denver-based company hiring 5 to 10 remote employees a month), recurring-relationship pricing can be set up; quoted on request based on volume.

12

What's your turnaround for returning the completed I-9 to the employer?

Same business day in almost every case. After the appointment ends, I scan the completed Section 2 and email it to the employer's HR contact (or upload it to the employer's secure portal if that's the preferred channel) within an hour. If the employer needs the physical original sent by mail, I drop it at the post office the same day. The three-business-day completion deadline for I-9 is the employer's compliance window; my goal is to return the completed form well inside that window.