New Hire Paperwork

Federally required forms (US)

Every US employer needs these for every employee, regardless of size or state:

• [Form I-9](/glossary/form-i-9/), Employment Eligibility Verification. Confirms identity and authorization to work in the US. The employee completes Section 1 by the first day of work, and the employer completes Section 2 within three business days of the start date.
• [Form W-4](/glossary/form-w-4/), Employee's Withholding Certificate. Tells payroll how much federal income tax to withhold. If an employee does not submit one, the IRS requires withholding as if they were single with no adjustments.
• [New hire reporting](/glossary/new-hire-reporting/). Not a form the employee fills in, but a federal requirement: employers must report new hires to their state directory of new hires within 20 days of hire, used mainly for child support enforcement. Some states set shorter deadlines.

E-Verify is federal too, but only required for some employers, such as federal contractors with an E-Verify clause and private employers in states that mandate it.

Common state forms

State requirements vary widely. The usual categories:

• State income tax withholding forms, in states with an income tax. Some states accept the federal W-4; many have their own form.
• Wage notices. Some states require a written notice at hire stating pay rate, payday and employer details. California's Labor Code section 2810.5 notice and New York's pay notice under the Wage Theft Prevention Act are well-known examples.
• Required state notices and pamphlets, such as workers' compensation, paid sick leave, disability insurance or paid family leave information.
• Local forms for city or county taxes in some areas.

When you hire in a new state, build a state-specific add-on to your standard packet rather than sending everyone every form.

Company and payroll documents

Beyond what the law requires, most employers collect:

• Signed offer letter and, where used, employment agreement, confidentiality agreement or arbitration agreement
• Direct deposit authorization (some states restrict requiring direct deposit, so offer an alternative)
• Emergency contact form
• Employee handbook and key policy acknowledgments (code of conduct, anti-harassment, IT acceptable use, attendance)
• Benefits enrollment forms, usually within a set window such as 30 days after the start date
• Voluntary self-identification forms for EEO reporting, which must be optional and kept separate from personnel files
• Background check disclosure and authorization, usually collected before or with the offer
• Job-specific items such as license copies, uniform size or equipment sign-out

Use our new hire paperwork checklist to build a packet by role and state.

A worked example: paperwork at volume

A staffing agency places 300 light industrial workers a month across Texas, Georgia and Illinois. Paperwork used to happen on paper at the branch on the worker's first day, and about one in ten new hires reached their first paycheck with a missing W-4, a wrong bank number or no direct deposit form.

Branch manager Lisa Grant moves everything to a mobile packet sent by text the same day an assignment is accepted. The packet is assembled by state: Georgia workers get the state G-4 withholding form, Illinois workers get the IL-W-4, and Texas workers, with no state income tax, skip that step. Required document templates are signed electronically and stored automatically.

I-9 Section 2 still needs document review, so workers bring documents to a 10-minute branch appointment before their first shift. Within two months, more than 90% of packets are complete before day one, payroll errors on the first check drop sharply, and branch staff stop losing first mornings to clipboards.

Record keeping and storage

• I-9s: keep for three years after the date of hire or one year after employment ends, whichever is later. Many employers store them separately from personnel files so an inspection does not expose other records.
• W-4s and payroll records: the IRS generally expects employment tax records to be kept at least four years.
• Medical information: under the ADA, any medical records, including drug test results and accommodation paperwork, must be kept confidential and in a separate file.
• EEO self-identification: keep separate from anything the hiring manager can see.
• Personnel records: EEOC rules generally require keeping them at least one year, and state law often requires longer.

Retention rules vary by state, so check the longest applicable period before deleting anything.

Common mistakes

• Waiting until day one. Most forms can be completed after offer acceptance. Leaving them all to the first morning wastes paid time and invites errors.
• Collecting I-9 documents before the offer is accepted. Not allowed. Run it after acceptance.
• Asking for specific I-9 documents. Employees choose which acceptable documents to present. Requesting a particular one can be unlawful discrimination.
• Mixing medical and personnel records. Keep them separate.
• Using one packet for every state. You either miss state notices or bury people in irrelevant forms.
• No tracking. Without a dashboard of what is missing, recruiters chase paperwork by memory. Pair it with a preboarding workflow and reminders.