Does Form I-9 have to be notarized?

No. Form I-9 is never notarized and should not carry a notary seal. USCIS requires the employer or its authorized representative to physically examine the employee's original documents and sign Section 2; that is what our notary does for El Paso hires, signing as the employer's representative rather than as a notary. A seal or notarial certificate added to an I-9 is a mistake, not a requirement, and we will not add one.

Can a notary act as an authorized representative for Form I-9 in Texas?

Yes. USCIS lets an employer designate anyone as an authorized representative — a notary, a manager or an agent — and Texas does not bar notaries from serving in that role, provided no seal is applied and the review is not treated as a notarial act. Our notary meets the employee in El Paso, examines the original documents and completes Section 2 as your HR team instructs. The employer remains responsible for the form.

How soon after the start date must Section 2 be completed?

Within three business days of the employee's first day of paid work. Start on a Monday, and Section 2 is due by Thursday; if the job will last fewer than three days, it must be completed on the first day. Section 1 is the employee's part and is due no later than the first day. We schedule El Paso appointments to fit that window, including evenings and weekends.

Which documents does the employee need to bring to the I-9 appointment?

Original, unexpired documents from the Lists of Acceptable Documents: either one List A document proving identity and work authorization — a U.S. passport, Permanent Resident Card or Employment Authorization Document — or one List B identity document (a Texas driver license) plus one List C document (an unrestricted Social Security card). The employee chooses which to present; we cannot request specific documents. No photocopies, except a certified copy of a birth certificate.

Can the I-9 be done by video or Remote Online Notarization instead of in person?

Not by us. Section 2 normally requires a physical, in-person examination of the original documents, which is why employers use a local representative in El Paso. The DHS alternative procedure for remote examination is available only to employers enrolled in good standing with E-Verify, and the employer runs that itself. Remote Online Notarization is a separate notarial service for documents that are notarized — useful for other onboarding forms, not for the I-9 itself.

I-9 Verification Notary in El Paso, TX

Form I-9 Verification in El Paso — Authorized Representative for Remote Hires

Your new hire lives in El Paso; your HR office does not. Our notary meets the employee, physically examines their original documents and completes Section 2 as your authorized representative — a service, not a notarial act, so no seal is applied.

Texas Notary Public · commissioned by the Texas Secretary of State · online notary commission

Form I-9 is the federal form every U.S. employer completes for each new employee to verify identity and authorization to work. The employee fills out Section 1; Section 2 requires the employer to physically examine the employee's original documents. That is simple when HR is down the hall and hard when the company is in Austin or Phoenix and the new hire is a nurse in El Paso, a remote customer-service rep in Horizon City or a logistics coordinator at a warehouse near the airport. QWIK Mobile Notary fills that gap as the employer's authorized representative, meeting the employee anywhere in El Paso County.

USCIS allows an employer to designate any person as an authorized representative to complete Section 2 on its behalf. Within three business days of the employee's first day of work, the representative examines the original List A document, or one List B identity document plus one List C work-authorization document, records the document details, and signs and dates Section 2. This is not a notarial act: no notary seal is applied, the representative signs in the employer's name, and the employer remains liable for any errors, as the USCIS Handbook for Employers (M-274) explains. We follow your HR team's instructions exactly.

Email or text us the packet — the current Form I-9, your instructions and the employee's contact information — and we schedule a meeting at the employee's home, your El Paso worksite or a public place. The employee brings original, unexpired documents; photocopies are not acceptable, except a certified copy of a birth certificate. The review takes about fifteen minutes, and we return the completed form by same-day scan or mail, as you specify. Because completing an I-9 is not a notarial act, the Texas notary fee schedule does not apply; QWIK charges a flat, quoted fee per employee. Text or call (915) 302-0902 with the number of hires and the location.

Documents we notarize

Form I-9 Section 2 completion as employer's authorized representative
Remote-hire onboarding packets
Employment Eligibility Forms
Reverification (Supplement B, formerly Section 3)
Employee handbook acknowledgments
Drug testing chain-of-custody and consent forms (witnessed or acknowledged where the employer requires)
Background check authorizations
Confidentiality/NDA acknowledgments
Direct deposit/payroll authorizations

What the authorized representative does — and what stays with the employer

The representative does three things: examines the employee's original documents to see that they reasonably appear genuine and relate to the person presenting them, records each document's title, issuing authority, number and expiration date in Section 2, and signs the certification with their name, the date and the employer's business name and address. The employee, not the representative, chooses which documents to present from the Lists of Acceptable Documents. Everything else stays with the employer: reviewing and retaining the form, E-Verify submission if enrolled, and reverification with Supplement B when a work authorization expires.

El Paso specifics: remote hires, Fort Bliss families and onboarding packets

El Paso has a large remote workforce — call-center, healthcare, defense-contractor and logistics employees hired by companies with no local office — plus Fort Bliss military spouses starting remote jobs after a move. We meet those employees at home, at a coworking space or at your local site, in English or Spanish, and we work from the paper or fillable I-9 your HR platform provides. If the onboarding packet also includes handbook acknowledgments, NDAs or direct-deposit and background-check authorizations that carry a notarial certificate, we notarize those at the statutory fee on the same visit.

What to bring

The employee's original, unexpired documents: one List A document, or one List B plus one List C (no photocopies, except a certified copy of a birth certificate)
Form I-9 with Section 1 completed and signed by the employee — paper or the employer's fillable PDF
The employer's written instructions: business name and address for Section 2, whether to photocopy documents, and how to return the form
Any other onboarding forms in the packet that need a witness or a notarial certificate
Payment for the quoted fee, unless the employer has arranged to pay directly

How a mobile appointment works

Text or call to book

Send the I-9, your instructions and the employee's contact information by text or email, or call (915) 302-0902. We confirm the flat fee and set a meeting inside your three-business-day window, anywhere in El Paso County.

We meet the employee

Our representative meets the new hire at home, at your El Paso site or in a public place, physically examines the original List A or List B and C documents, and completes, signs and dates Section 2 in the employer's name.

Completed and returned

We return the completed form by same-day scan, secure upload or mail, as you instruct — with no notary seal, because this is not a notarial act. Reverification with Supplement B can be scheduled the same way later.