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tammyhrs23
Participating Frequently
May 16, 2023
Answered

Form i-9 request e-signature

  • May 16, 2023
  • 5 replies
  • 7366 views

When I try to use the request-E signatures on a fillable I9  I am getting an error that states unsupported file choose another. I have downloaded the fillable version from irs.gov website and saved it as an acrobat adobe pdf. It will allow fields to be filled in but won't allow to e-signature. It will not let me prepare the form and add the text box either to the "Signature of Employee" line due to it being an I9 and security settings don't allow it to be edited.  Can anyone help or give me some help with this?

    Correct answer mariahweyne

    Sorry, the I9 - send them the link where the file is located.  I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification (uscis.gov)  They can download it, sign it and send it back to  you already filled out ans signed.

    5 replies

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    sarah_7481
    Participant
    September 2, 2024

    I am having this same issue - I sent the link to the I-9 form to a new employee and they filled and signed their part. But once I open the form and fill out the employer sections and sign, I am not able to Save a copy, Save as other, or Export. I also don't have a print to pdf option, which I also was trying to figure out how to add but looks like it isn't available for Mac anymore? Is the only option to print this out and fill it in manually? Is there anything else I can try? I am only paying for my Adobe subscription to fill out forms like this and I always get some kind of error like this and end up spending a lot of time trying to troubleshoot.

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    beau-sdys
    Participant
    September 6, 2024

    Hi two, 

    This issue vexed me for sometime, but I was eventually able to find a solution with assistance from the Adobe support team. I was able to save the online form and remove the fields. Then, I opened it in Acrobate and added the fields back. After getting it how I wanted it, I prepared it for Adobe Sign by assigning roles for the fillable fields. You can hopefully see when you open the attached that section one is fillable for the signer and part 2 is either prefill or fillable by the sender. 

    Hope this helps! 

    A
    AdamHavas
    Participant
    January 9, 2025

    Beau-sdys, if I knew you, I would buy you several rounds of beer/coffee/beverage-of-your-choice for posting this. You saved me so much work, you beautiful human. Thank you!

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    tammyhrs23Author
    Participating Frequently
    September 28, 2023

    I ended up figuring this out by trial and error and from what DreWorkforce suggested below but just a few different steps thereafter. I can still send the fillable I9 via Adobe Sign and have the employee fill out setion 1 and sign. Once they submit it, and comes back to you download it as it won't give you the option from here to print it as a pdf. After downloaded then you can print as a pdf and then save. Once this is done you can click tools/ "Fill & Sign" and it will let you fill it out and sign. Please let me know if anyone has questions I have also found to do this another way via email if you choose not to use Adobe sign to request signature. The trick really is to save as a pdf and it may mess up the original fillable fields so you may have to prepare form and make some of the fields text fields again. The phone number, and employer business name and address fields kept disappearing as fillable fields when I didn't prepare it and just saved it as a pdf. 

    Meenakshi Negi
    Community Manager
    Meenakshi NegiCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    August 1, 2023

    Hi tammyhrs23,

     

    Thank you for reaching out.

     

    Please confirm if you are referring to the default template in Acrobat Sign.

    If you are referring to a specific form, would you mind sharing the form? Share the screenshot of the error message.

    We will check and update you with the correct information.

     

    Thanks,

    Meenakshi

     

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    tammyhrs23Author
    Participating Frequently
    August 10, 2023

    It's attached! When I attempt to send it via Adobe Sign (request signature) it's giving me a message that the file is unsupported. 

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    Stephanie32577932kti0
    Participant
    September 28, 2023

    Did anyone figure this out? I am running into the same problem. Thank you for any insight. 

    mariahweyne
    mariahweyne
    Inspiring
    July 21, 2023

    The W9 form is secured and cannot be altered. That's why its giving you the error.  Just send the link to the employee for signature.  No need to use Sign for this.

     

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    tammyhrs23Author
    Participating Frequently
    August 10, 2023

    What do you mean send the link? What link it's a form they need to fill out and sign. If I am missing something please educate me, I would really be appreciative. 

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    Ali29937637d2y1
    Participant
    July 20, 2023

    Did you happen to figure this out?  I'm having the same issue and was curious if you had a solution.

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    tammyhrs23Author
    Participating Frequently
    August 10, 2023

    I did actually get it to work via Adobe Sign finally, but now that the new version is out it won't allow me to send via Adobe Sign and states it's a unsupported file. So back to square one! 

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    DREWorkforce
    Participant
    August 15, 2023

    What I recommend you to try is to "Print" the I-9 as a pdf and save it to your desktop like that instead of just outright downloading it. What I find is that these government documents are locked and will not allow any edits to the document. However, when you download it by hitting print and then saving it as a pdf that is not attached to Adobe, you can upload it to the Adobe app to edit without restrictions. This is how I add signature fields to my documents. 

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