I-9 Verification for Remote Hires in Evansville
· I-9 Verification
The Three-Day Clock Nobody Warned You About
Hiring a remote employee is easy right up until the paperwork. Your new hire lives in Evansville, Newburgh, or Princeton. Your HR office is in Chicago, Nashville, or somewhere on a coast. And federal law says the employer portion of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, has to be completed within three business days of the employee's first day of work for pay.
Here is the part that surprises people: Section 2 requires someone to physically examine the employee's original identity and work authorization documents. Not a scan. Not a photo texted from a phone. Someone has to hold the documents and look at them, then sign an attestation that they appear genuine and relate to the person standing there.
So how do you do that from 400 miles away? You don't have to. Federal guidance allows an employer to designate an authorized representative to complete Section 2 in person on the employer's behalf — and that is where a local mobile notary becomes the simplest solution on the table.
What an Authorized Representative Actually Is
An authorized representative is simply any person an employer designates to complete, update, or correct Section 2 for them. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services describes this broadly: it can be a personnel officer, a foreman, an agent, or a notary public. There is no special federal certification and no required contract.
In practice, employers pick notaries for a reason. We already verify identity for a living, we already keep careful records, and we are already set up to travel to a person rather than making them come to us. A hiring manager in another state can send the form, and I can meet the new employee at their home, a coffee shop, or their new job site the same week.
The important legal point — and this catches both employers and inexperienced notaries off guard — is that this is not a notarization. When I complete Section 2, I am acting as your company's representative, not in my capacity as an Indiana notary public. That distinction drives everything in the next section.
The One Mistake to Avoid: Do Not Stamp the I-9
If you take one thing from this article, take this: a notary seal does not belong on Form I-9. USCIS guidance is explicit that a notary public acting as an authorized representative is not acting as a notary and should not affix a notary seal to the form.
I have seen completed I-9s come across my desk with a bright notary stamp in the margin, added by someone trying to be helpful. It is a genuine problem. An I-9 is an employment record subject to federal audit, and a stamp that does not belong there is exactly the kind of irregularity an auditor flags.
What actually goes in Section 2 is straightforward: the document title, issuing authority, document number, and expiration date from the documents examined, followed by the representative's signature, printed name, title, business name, and address. I sign as the employer's authorized representative — and my stamp stays in my bag.
The other thing worth knowing is that as the employer, you remain liable for any errors in the verification process, including mistakes made by your representative. That is a good reason to use someone who does this regularly rather than asking a relative or a neighbor to help out.
What the Appointment Looks Like
The process itself is short — usually fifteen to twenty minutes. Before we meet, the employee should have already completed Section 1, which they are responsible for filling out no later than their first day of work. The employer sends me the partially completed form along with any instructions specific to their HR process.
At the appointment, the employee brings original, unexpired documents — either one item from List A (a U.S. passport or passport card, or a Permanent Resident Card, for example), or one from List B establishing identity plus one from List C establishing work authorization. The classic List B/C pairing is a driver's license plus a Social Security card or certified birth certificate.
I examine the originals in person, record the details in Section 2, sign, and return the completed form to the employer the same day by whatever method they prefer. Employees choose which documents to present, by the way — neither the employer nor the representative may demand a specific document.
For employers who need this often, we can set up a standing arrangement so onboarding does not turn into a scramble every time. Call 812-205-3322 and we can talk through how your HR workflow fits together.
When You Might Not Need a Representative at All
Two situations are worth mentioning honestly, because a good service provider tells you when you don't need them.
First, employers enrolled in E-Verify and in good standing may be eligible to use the DHS alternative procedure for remote document examination — a live video review instead of an in-person one. If your company already runs every hire through E-Verify, check with your HR counsel before scheduling anything. Not every employer qualifies, and the requirements are specific.
Second, if you have any employee, manager, or contractor already located near the new hire, they can serve as the authorized representative just as validly as I can. Federal rules do not require a notary — they just allow one. Employers hire me when there is genuinely nobody local, or when they want the job done by someone who does identity verification every week.
And a note that applies to everything on this site: I am a notary public, not an attorney, and none of this is legal advice. For questions about your specific compliance obligations, talk with an employment attorney or your HR compliance team.
Serving Employers Across the Tri-State
Southern Indiana Notary travels throughout Vanderburgh, Warrick, Gibson, and Posey counties — Evansville, Newburgh, Boonville, Princeton, Mount Vernon, Poseyville, and the communities in between. We handle I-9 verification appointments alongside mobile notary work, loan signings, and after-hours emergency calls.
Because completing Form I-9 is not a notarial act, it is not billed at Indiana's $10 per-act notary fee. It is quoted as a service and travel fee up front, based on location and timing, with no surprises when we arrive.
If you have a new hire starting and that three-day window is already running, call or text 812-205-3322. We can usually get an appointment on the calendar within a day.
Jason Dicken is a commissioned Indiana notary public serving Evansville and the Tri-State. This article is general information, not legal advice.
Need this handled in person? See our mobile notary service page, review mobile notary pricing, or contact Southern Indiana Notary to schedule.