Form I-9 Supplement A: when a preparer or translator must sign, and how to fill it in

Supplement A, titled "Preparer and/or Translator Certification for Section 1," is the page that anyone who helps a new employee fill in or translate Section 1 of Form I-9 must complete and sign. Each helper uses a separate certification block with their name, physical address, signature and date, the employee still signs Section 1 in their own name, and the employer keeps the supplement with the form. If nobody helped, you are not required to provide or keep Supplement A at all. That is the rule on the 01/20/25 edition, the current one on uscis.gov as of November 2026.

Supplement A replaced the preparer box that used to sit at the bottom of Section 1, and it trips up employers in two ways: helpers who never sign it, and blank or half-filled blocks that turn into inspection findings. The basics of Section 1 are in Form I-9 Section 1 instructions; this page covers the supplement itself.

When is Supplement A required?

The form's own instruction is short: the supplement "must be completed by any preparer and/or translator who assists an employee in completing Section 1." USCIS defines a preparer or translator as any individual who helps the employee complete Section 1 or translates it for them.

Who can be a preparer or translator, and what may they do?

USCIS sets no qualifications and no limit on the number of helpers. A preparer can be an HR or onboarding coordinator, a staffing agency recruiter, a site supervisor, a relative or a friend. USCIS's published answers from its 2016 and 2017 Form I-9 teleconferences, still posted on uscis.gov, say an employer's staff can act as preparers or translators and, because they act as individuals, enter their personal residence address on the certification, with the business address going in Section 2. The current M-274 does not repeat that point, but it does say preparers and translators may not enter a P.O. box.

The regulation describes the job narrowly. The preparer or translator "must read the Form I-9 to the individual, assist him or her in completing Section 1," and have the individual sign or mark the form. Helping is recording and explaining; it is not choosing. The attestation in Section 1 is the employee's, so the employee decides which citizenship or immigration status box applies. A preparer on the employer's payroll also carries the employer's limits: the form's anti-discrimination notice forbids asking for documents to verify anything entered in Section 1, and the instructions let employees leave optional fields, such as email and phone, blank.

How do you fill in Supplement A, field by field?

1. Copy the employee's name to the top of the page. Last name, first name and middle initial, exactly as entered in Section 1. The instructions put this on the preparer or translator.
2. Each helper takes one certification block. The 01/20/25 edition has four blocks per page; attach more pages if needed.
3. Sign and date the block. Signature of Preparer or Translator, and the date in mm/dd/yyyy. USCIS's Completing Section 1 page says the date next to the employee's Section 1 signature should match the date the preparer or translator signed the supplement.
4. Enter the helper's own name: last name, first name and middle initial, if any.
5. Enter a physical address: street number and name, city or town, state and ZIP code. No P.O. box.
6. Leave unused blocks empty. No field in an unused block needs "N/A".
7. Attach the page to the Form I-9 and keep it for the same period as the form. The instructions say employers must retain completed supplement sheets with the employee's form.

What exactly is the helper attesting to?

Every block carries the same sentence: "I attest, under penalty of perjury, that I have assisted in the completion of Section 1 of this form and that to the best of my knowledge the information is true and correct." It is a personal attestation by the helper, separate from the employee's own attestation in Section 1 and from the employer's in Section 2. In practice that means:

• Only the person who actually helped signs. A manager does not sign for a coordinator who did the work.
• Nobody signs a blank block in advance, and nobody signs before Section 1 is filled in.
• If the helper has doubts about an answer, they raise it with the employee before signing rather than changing it themselves.

Can the Spanish Form I-9 replace a translator?

Only in Puerto Rico. The Form I-9 instructions say employers in the United States, except Puerto Rico, must complete the English-language version; only employers located in Puerto Rico may complete the Spanish-language version instead. Any employer may use the Spanish form and instructions, both downloadable from uscis.gov/i-9, as a translation tool. ICE's inspection fact sheet lists completing the Spanish version outside its authorized area as a substantive violation.

For employees who read Spanish, handing them the Spanish version to read next to the English one can remove the need for a translator, if they then complete the English form themselves. For any other language, or for an employee who cannot read either, a translator who reads the form to them is the route, and that translator completes a Supplement A block.

How does Supplement A work for minors and special placements?

When a minor cannot present any List B identity document, a parent or legal guardian may establish identity by completing Section 1 for the minor, writing "Individual under age 18" in the employee signature field and completing a Supplement A block. The employer then writes "Individual under age 18" in the List B column and records the minor's List C document. A similar procedure applies to some employees with disabilities placed by a nonprofit organization, association or rehabilitation program, where a representative of that organization, a parent or a legal guardian completes Section 1 and the supplement, using "Special Placement." Neither procedure is open to E-Verify employers: M-274 Sections 4.2 and 4.3 say the employee must instead present a List A document, or a List B document with a photograph plus a List C document. See Form I-9 for minors.

What about remote and electronic onboarding?

The rules do not change when the help happens by phone or video. A staffing recruiter who walks a remote candidate through Section 1 in another language, or an onboarding coordinator who types in answers during a call, is a preparer or translator and needs a completed block. Plan for it: a remote helper has to be able to sign the supplement, and the employee's signature date should line up with theirs.

For electronic Form I-9 systems, 8 CFR 274a.2(h) requires the attestations on an electronically completed form to be captured with an electronic signature system that meets its standards. Ask your vendor how it records each preparer's or translator's block, signature and address, and whether its audit trail shows who entered what; see electronic I-9 storage requirements. ICE lists a missing preparer or translator name, address, signature or date as a substantive violation, and a missing employee name at the top of Supplement A as a technical one.

How do you fix a Supplement A mistake?

Only the preparer or translator may correct their own block. For errors in Section 1 itself, M-274 Section 9.0 lets the preparer or translator who helped either correct it (line through, correct information, initials and date) or have the employee make and initial the correction. Then:

• If the same person already completed a Supplement A block when the form was first filled in, they do not complete a second one.
• If they had not, they complete a block now.
• If a different preparer completed the earlier block, the new helper enters their information in the next block and writes "for corrections."
• If someone helped at hire but never signed, that person completes a block now, dated the day they actually sign, and you attach a short note explaining the late entry. Never backdate it.

The common errors by section, and who may correct each part of the form, are in common Form I-9 mistakes; the full correction method is in how to correct Form I-9 errors.

A Supplement A checklist

• Ask every new hire, neutrally, whether anyone helped them with Section 1, and record the answer the same way for everyone.
• Keep blank Supplement A pages with paper onboarding packets so a helper can sign on the spot.
• Employee's name at the top of every supplement page.
• One block per helper: signature, date, full name and a physical address, no P.O. box.
• Helper's date matches the employee's Section 1 signature date.
• English form completed outside Puerto Rico, whatever language was used to explain it.
• Supplement pages filed with the Form I-9 and retained on the same schedule; see I-9 retention rules.
• Corrections made by the helper who signed, or recorded "for corrections" by a new one.