I-9 Form Notary Service in Massachusetts

Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, is the federal form every U.S. employer must complete for every employee hired after November 6, 1986, under the Immigration Reform and Control Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a). It confirms two things: that the new hire is who they say they are, and that they are authorized to work in the United States. Size, industry and location do not matter; a one-person startup in Lowell has the same obligation as a hospital system in Boston.

The form has two parts the employer is responsible for seeing completed. Section 1 is filled out by the employee no later than the first day of work for pay. Section 2 is completed by the employer, or by someone the employer designates as its authorized representative, within three business days of that first day. Section 2 requires a physical examination of the employee’s original, unexpired documents, with the employee present. A photograph of a passport or a video call does not satisfy the standard rule.

That physical-presence rule is the reason this service exists. A company headquartered in Austin or Denver that hires a software engineer working from Andover has nobody local to look at the documents. The engineer cannot mail the passport to HR. The company can, however, appoint any person it chooses as its authorized representative, and that person can be a Massachusetts notary public who meets the employee at the kitchen table.

The critical distinction: authorized representative, not notarization

Form I-9 does not require notarization, and USCIS guidance is explicit that a notary public who acts as an authorized representative must not place a notary seal on the form. The person signing Section 2 is acting as the employer’s agent and attesting, under penalty of perjury, that they examined the documents and that they appear genuine and relate to the employee. That is an employer attestation, not a notarial act under M.G.L. c.222. We never apply a seal, never attach a notarial certificate, and never record the appointment in the notary journal as a notarization. Hanson Webb signs his own name, dates the form, writes “Authorized Representative” as the title, and enters your business name and address, not ours, in the employer fields.

You designate us, we meet the employee, we examine the documents and complete Section 2, and you receive the signed form the same day. Here is the full sequence.

1. You designate Hire Mobile Notary as your authorized representative. This can be done verbally or by email; USCIS does not require a particular form. Tell us the employee’s name, the address where we will meet, the first day of work for pay and whether you use E-Verify. Send the partially completed Form I-9 (Section 1 done by the employee) or ask us to bring the current USCIS edition.
2. We confirm the appointment. Same-day and next-day appointments are usually available across Massachusetts, seven days a week, including evenings by confirmation. We schedule inside the three-business-day window and confirm the time in writing.
3. We meet the employee in person. At their home, your Massachusetts office, a co-working space or a campus. The employee presents one List A document, or one List B plus one List C document. We examine each original, confirm it is unexpired and appears genuine and relates to the person in front of us.
4. We review Section 1. We check that the employee signed and dated Section 1, that the citizenship or immigration status box is checked, and that any required A-Number, I-94 number or foreign passport information is present. We flag gaps before signing; we cannot fill in Section 1 for the employee.
5. We complete Section 2. Document title, issuing authority, document number and expiration date for each document; the employee’s first day of employment; our signature, date and the title “Authorized Representative”; your business name and address. No seal, no notarial wording.
6. We return the form. A scanned PDF goes to your HR contact the same day if you want it, and the original is handed to the employee, mailed to you or held for pickup, as you instruct. You then create the E-Verify case within three business days if you are an E-Verify employer.

Most appointments take 15 to 20 minutes. Employers who also need a CORI acknowledgment form notarized for the same hire can have it done at the same visit as a separate notarial act, with a seal, because the CORI form is a true notarization.

Any employer with a Massachusetts employee who is not physically at an office where HR can see the documents. In practice that is four groups.

Remote-first and out-of-state companies

You hired someone in Cambridge, Lexington or Worcester and your people team is in another state. We complete Section 2 at the employee’s location inside the deadline and send HR the PDF. Many of our clients are tech companies, consultancies and healthcare staffing firms with a single Massachusetts hire at a time.

Small businesses and startups without an HR department

A founder who is traveling, a restaurant group with a new location in Lowell, a contractor onboarding a crew. We handle the verification correctly so the owner does not have to learn the Lists under time pressure.

Staffing agencies and payroll providers

High-volume placement across many Massachusetts sites. We provide consistent Section 2 completion and can set up recurring scheduling and a single monthly invoice. Volume engagements are quoted per package at booking.

Schools, hospitals and nonprofits

Educational institutions, community health centers and nonprofits that hire seasonal or grant-funded staff across the Merrimack Valley and North Shore. Many of these employers also need notarized CORI forms, and we handle both at one visit.

Only by employers enrolled in E-Verify and in good standing, using the DHS alternative procedure that took effect August 1, 2023. That procedure requires a live video interaction with the employee, retention of clear copies of the front and back of every document, completion of E-Verify fraud awareness training, and a notation on the form that the alternative procedure was used. It must be offered consistently to all employees at a hiring site, or to all remote hires at that site.

Every other employer must physically examine original documents in person. Even E-Verify employers often prefer in-person examination because it avoids the document-retention burden and the training requirement. For those employers, an authorized representative who meets the employee in Massachusetts is the simplest compliant path.

Massachusetts remote online notarization, authorized by Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2023, has nothing to do with Form I-9. RON is a way to perform a notarial act; Section 2 is not a notarial act. If you are curious about where RON stands in Massachusetts, read our remote online notarization in Massachusetts page, but do not expect it to replace an in-person I-9 examination.

A mobile I-9 visit is priced by zone, with travel included and no separate mileage charge: from $125 in Zone 1 (Tewksbury, Gardner, Ashby, Athol), from $179 in Zone 2 (Lowell, Billerica, Andover, Chelmsford, Dracut, Lawrence, Worcester, Fitchburg, Leominster, Concord, Burlington, Woburn and 40+ more) and from $250 in Zone 3 (Boston, Cambridge, Newton, Lexington, Wellesley, Weston, Lynn, Gloucester, North Andover and 110+ more). Find your town on the notary zones page.

If the employee can come to 1215 Main St, Suite 115 in Tewksbury, the in-office rate of $45 applies, the same flat rate we charge for a notarial act. Staffing agencies, payroll companies and employers with several hires a month are quoted per package, with monthly invoicing available. A CORI notarization or other notarial act performed at the same visit is quoted up front. We do not add after-hours surcharges without telling you first, and we do not promise a turnaround that depends on the employee’s schedule.

Five minutes of preparation prevents a second visit.

• Confirm the employee’s first day of work for pay and count three business days forward. Book inside that window.
• Have the employee complete and sign Section 1 before we arrive, or on the day of the appointment before we begin Section 2.
• Send us your legal business name and the address you want in Section 2, plus the HR email for the scanned PDF.
• Tell the employee to bring original, unexpired documents of their choosing from List A, or List B and List C. Remind them a photo on a phone is not acceptable.
• Tell us if you are an E-Verify employer so you can create the case within three business days of hire.
• If you also want a CORI form or any other document notarized, say so when booking so we quote it and bring the journal and seal for that separate act.

Hire Mobile Notary is a service of Neighborhood Parcel. Hanson Webb has been a Massachusetts Notary Public since 2007, is an NNA Certified Signing Agent, background screened, bonded and insured, with 1,190+ completed signings and a BBB A+ rating. We are not a law firm and do not provide legal or immigration advice. The employer remains responsible for Form I-9 compliance; for questions about an ICE audit, E-Verify obligations or an employee’s immigration status, consult a licensed attorney. For a broader look at what we notarize at workplaces, see our business and corporate notary services page, and for the general rules on identification, read what ID is accepted for notarization in Massachusetts.