Belle Wong is a freelance writer specializing in small business, personal finance, banking, and tech/SAAS. She spends her spare moments testing out the latest productivity apps and plotting her latest novel. Connect with Belle on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Belle Wong, J.D. ContributorBelle Wong is a freelance writer specializing in small business, personal finance, banking, and tech/SAAS. She spends her spare moments testing out the latest productivity apps and plotting her latest novel. Connect with Belle on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Written By Belle Wong, J.D. ContributorBelle Wong is a freelance writer specializing in small business, personal finance, banking, and tech/SAAS. She spends her spare moments testing out the latest productivity apps and plotting her latest novel. Connect with Belle on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Belle Wong, J.D. ContributorBelle Wong is a freelance writer specializing in small business, personal finance, banking, and tech/SAAS. She spends her spare moments testing out the latest productivity apps and plotting her latest novel. Connect with Belle on LinkedIn or Twitter.
ContributorCassie is a deputy editor collaborating with teams around the world while living in the beautiful hills of Kentucky. Focusing on bringing growth to small businesses, she is passionate about economic development and has held positions on the boards of.
Cassie is a deputy editor collaborating with teams around the world while living in the beautiful hills of Kentucky. Focusing on bringing growth to small businesses, she is passionate about economic development and has held positions on the boards of.
Cassie is a deputy editor collaborating with teams around the world while living in the beautiful hills of Kentucky. Focusing on bringing growth to small businesses, she is passionate about economic development and has held positions on the boards of.
Cassie is a deputy editor collaborating with teams around the world while living in the beautiful hills of Kentucky. Focusing on bringing growth to small businesses, she is passionate about economic development and has held positions on the boards of.
Updated: May 7, 2024, 7:30pm
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Don’t let the prospect of new employee forms distract you from celebrating a new hire. Yes, you have to put together a new hire package, and yes, there are several forms you’ll need to include. But we’ve covered all the paperwork that’s required below, so you won’t have to worry about anything slipping through the cracks. Just get those papers signed—and filed, where necessary—and you’re good to go.
The forms and paperwork you’ll need for your new hire fall into the following four categories:
Copy and customize our free template for use with your new employees, to ensure all forms are filled out in a timely manner. You can also download it as a .docx file.
State and federal new employee forms are mandatory and should be completed as soon as possible. And you’ll need to file most of the completed forms with the relevant government agency.
Form I-9 is required by the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). It’s the government form with the most stringent compliance requirements—and the fines for noncompliance can be significant.
Your employee will need to complete and sign Section 1, Employee Information and Attestation, no later than their first day of employment (but not before they’ve accepted the job offer).
You must fill out and sign Section 2, Employer or Authorized Representative Review and Verification, within three business days of your new employee’s first day of employment.
You’re also required to physically examine the document or documents presented by your new hire to establish their identity and their employment authorization, which shows their eligibility to be employed in the U.S. This means you need to see original or certified documents, although certain receipts are acceptable.
Identity and Employment Authorization Documents
Employees must present either a document from List A in the Lists of Acceptable Documents, or a document from each of List B and List C. The Lists of Acceptable Documents are located on page three of Form I-9.
For example, a U.S. Passport or a U.S. Passport Card qualifies as a List A document, while a voter’s registration card and a state-issued birth certificate can be presented as a List B and a List C document, respectively.
Acceptable Receipts
In certain situations, the following receipts are acceptable in lieu of a document from the Lists of Acceptable Documents:
However, your employee must also present the actual documents for your examination within a specified time frame.
E-Verify
If you’re enrolled in E-Verify, a web-based system administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the USCIS, you can verify your new employee’s identity and employment authorization through the E-Verify system. While the system is voluntary, you should check with your state to see if it has mandated the use of the system.
You will also need to fill out Form W-2 and file it with the SSA. To complete this form, you’ll need your new employee’s Social Security number. If your employee doesn’t have their Social Security card, you can use the SSA’s Social Security Number Verification Service.
The IRS requires employees to complete a Form W-4 when they start a new job. The form includes instructions for completion, and there is also an online tax withholding estimator they can use for increased accuracy.
The form contains information your payroll department will need to calculate how much to withhold from your new hire’s pay for income tax purposes. You do not, however, need to submit this form to the IRS. Employees should consider completing a new Form W-4 if their financial situation changes.
Your state might also require your employee to fill out a state tax withholding form. Contact your state’s revenue or taxation office if you’re unsure if it requires a separate tax withholding form for your employee.
Under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), all employers are required to report new hires within 20 days of the date of hire, although individual states may set more stringent reporting requirements.
To see what your state’s requirements are for reporting new hires, the Office of Child Support Enforcement provides state-specific information about each state’s requirements and contact information. If you have employees in more than one state, you can register with the Child Support Portal to select one state where you can report all of your new hires.
Internal new hire paperwork includes documents such as the offer letter, policy acknowledgments and employment contracts. While these documents aren’t legally required, they make sense from both a legal and a business perspective.
Your new hire forms and paperwork might include the following:
The offer letter contains details about the specific terms of the position you’re offering your new hire, such as salary or compensation, job description and start date.
Most states don’t require an employment agreement or contract for new hires. But an employment agreement clarifies the rights and obligations of both parties, and is highly recommended because it serves to protect both you and your employee.
A nondisclosure agreement often forms part of the employment agreement, but it can also be a stand-alone agreement. If your new hire will have access to sensitive or confidential business information, it’s usually a good idea to have them sign an NDA.
A non-compete agreement can also form part of an employment agreement, but can be a stand-alone agreement as well. A non-compete agreement restricts an employee from working for your competitors within a specific geographic area for a specific period of time after they leave your company.
It’s quite common for employers to conduct background checks before hiring a new employee. In fact, according to a survey by the Society of Human Resource Management, 87% of employers conduct background checks. And in some fields—for example, healthcare and child care—background checks are mandated by law.
Employee handbooks typically contain important information about things such as your company’s policies and benefits. If your company has an employee handbook, once your new hire has had a chance to read it, have them sign a form acknowledging they received a copy. The form often includes an acknowledgment that they’ve reviewed it, and agree to abide by the policies in it as well.
If your business has any workplace policies that aren’t included in the employee handbook—for example, policies about personal emails on company email accounts or internet browsing restrictions—once your new employee has had a chance to review these policies, have them sign a policy acknowledgment form.
If your company offers employee benefits, you’ll need to provide your new hire with the proper enrollment forms as well as relevant benefit information. These are typically provided by your insurance provider. Many providers also offer employees online sites or portals, in which case you’ll need to give your employee instructions on how to create a login and account on the portal.
In addition to the information you require for mandatory government forms, you’ll want to obtain certain information from your new hire as well. The most efficient time to do this is during the onboarding process. Similar to your internal new hire documents, you’re not required to obtain this information, but it makes good business sense.
The majority of employers in the U.S. pay their employees via direct deposit. If you do, too, you’ll need your new hire to fill out a direct deposit form so you know where to send their wages.
Accidents and health incidents happen, and you need to know who to contact in case of an emergency. You should have an emergency contact form for all of your employees to fill out so you have this information at hand.
If you give your employees holiday gifts or have monthly or annual “best employee” awards, a questionnaire about their interests will make it easier for you to select gifts and prizes that your employee will like. Be sure, though, to make the questionnaire optional, as some employees may not want to provide this kind of personal information.
As you can see, there are a lot of forms you will need to fill out or collect when you hire a new employee. The following are some best practices that can make the new hire onboarding process easier on both of you:
There’s a lot of paperwork to be filled out when you hire a new employee. Getting these forms completed and collected is a necessary—and in some cases, mandatory—part of the new hire process. But being prepared and knowing what forms you need will help you stay on track so you can enjoy the process of onboarding your new hire.
