I-9 Retention Calculator
Enter an employee's first day of work and last day to find the earliest date you can destroy their Form I-9: 3 years after the hire date or 1 year after employment ends, whichever is later.
How long to keep Form I-9
Keep a Form I-9 for every current employee for as long as they work for you. After someone leaves, keep their form until the later of:
- 3 years after the first day of employment, or
- 1 year after employment ends.
In practice: if the person worked for you less than two years, the 3-year date controls. If they worked longer, the 1-year date controls.
Why purging on time matters
Forms you're no longer required to keep can still be inspected, and every error on them can count against you in an audit. Destroying forms on schedule, securely, reduces your exposure, and it limits how much sensitive personal information you store. Destroy the copies of identity and work-authorization documents at the same time.
Before you destroy anything
Don't destroy forms involved in a pending audit, investigation or lawsuit, even if the retention period has passed. Check whether any other law or policy requires you to keep them longer.
For the deadlines that start when someone is hired, use the I-9 deadline calculator.
Want your I-9s and contractor files checked?
A records review for small employers is in the works: what's missing, what's expiring, and what to fix first. Email to be told when it opens. Don't attach any documents.
Rules last checked: October 1, 2026. Rates, deadlines and penalty amounts change; each page names its sources.
Spot an error or a rule change?
Email admin@employercheckup.com. Rates, deadlines and penalty amounts change, and corrections are made promptly.
Talk to a professional
For a decision about a specific worker, talk to an employment attorney or CPA. These tools estimate exposure and explain the rules; they don't decide individual cases.
General information, not legal advice. Source: USCIS, Handbook for Employers (M-274), Part 10: Retaining Form I-9.