New hire document checklist, in before day one.

A new hire document checklist gets the paperwork in before someone's first day, so day one is spent on the job, not on forms. This one is for US employers: tax and pay, signed policies, what the role needs and benefits, with a "why we ask" line you can paste next to each document.

Every list here is a set of typical examples to tailor to each new hire.

Who this checklist is for

It's for HR teams, office managers and owners of small businesses who hire a few people a month or a few a year. It suits an office hire, a licensed field role and anything in between.

How to use the list

• Send it once the offer is accepted. Not before: some forms, Form I-9 among them, can't be started until then.
• Keep one list per kind of role. An office hire and a field technician need different documents.
• Remove what doesn't apply. A short list gets answered faster.
• Set the due date a few days before the start date. That leaves time to ask again for an unsigned form.
• Keep the "why we ask" lines. People who know what a document is for send the right one.

Form I-9 isn't on this list

Form I-9 is the employer's to complete, and collecting copies ahead of day one doesn't replace examining documents. Under USCIS rules:

• Section 1 comes after the offer. Your new hire completes it no later than their first day of work, and you can't ask them to before they accept the offer.
• Section 2 means examining originals. Within three business days of the start date, you examine their original, unexpired documents in their physical presence. Copies aren't acceptable for that, except certified copies of birth certificates.
• Remote examination has its own procedure. E-Verify employers in good standing can examine documents remotely, but it includes a live video call with the same documents, not only uploaded copies.
• Your new hire chooses the documents. They pick from the Lists of Acceptable Documents. You can't specify which ones they present.

So leave passports, Social Security cards and work permits off your pre-start checklist. A list that asks for particular identity documents in advance can look like you're specifying them.

The rules come from these USCIS pages, all checked on 21 October 2026:

• Completing Section 1, M-274 Handbook for Employers
• Completing Section 2, M-274 Handbook for Employers
• Remote Examination of Documents
• Preventing Discrimination

The checklist

Tax and pay

The IRS asks employers to have a signed Form W-4 on file for each employee, effective with the first wage payment (Hiring employees, checked on 21 October 2026).

State forms vary. Some states have their own withholding certificate and some don't, and some add forms or notices of their own. Check your state's rules and add what yours asks for.

Policies and agreements

The role

Benefits, if you offer them

Contacts

Documents people forget

• The signature. Policies come back read but not signed, or with only the first page.
• The state form. People fill in the W-4 and miss the state one.
• The back of a license. Endorsements and expiry dates are often on the reverse.
• The current version. An expired certification, or last year's insurance card.
• The bank details. A direct deposit form with no routing number.

Copy the checklist

Paste this into your own request or email, keep the sections that fit the role, and remove what doesn't apply.

NEW HIRE PAPERWORK: [NAME]
Role: [job title], starting [start date]
Please send by: [date]
Typical examples, tailored to your role.

TAX AND PAY
- Form W-4, signed
- [State] withholding form, if our state has one
- Direct deposit form
- Voided check or bank letter (if payroll asks)

POLICIES AND AGREEMENTS
- Signed handbook acknowledgment
- Signed [safety / IT use / confidentiality] policy
- Signed offer letter (if we don't have it yet)

THE ROLE
- [License or certification], front and back
- Driver's license and proof of auto insurance (driving roles)

BENEFITS
- Benefits forms, if on paper
- Documents to add a spouse or dependent

CONTACTS
- Emergency contact details, on our form or as a note

Please bring your Form I-9 documents on your first day.
You choose which ones from the Form I-9 list of acceptable documents.

How to do this in GarnerDocs

GarnerDocs sends each new hire one list through a private link and chases what's missing until it's in. Each new hire is added as a client: a name and an email address.

• A template per kind of role. Save an office list and a field list, with each "why we ask" in the document's description.
• Uploads with no account. New hires upload from a phone or computer, and their progress is saved between visits.
• Reminders until the start date. Set the due date before day one. Reminders list only what's still missing and stop once it's in.
• Replacements with a note. Ask again for an unsigned policy. Your note shows next to that document.
• Signed copies, not e-signatures. GarnerDocs has no e-signature or form fields. New hires sign your policy and upload a photo or scan of the signed page.
• Not your I-9 or HR system. GarnerDocs doesn't complete Form I-9 or use E-Verify. It deletes files after your retention period, so download each new hire's files as one ZIP into your HR system.

Create a template

Sources

• I-9 Central, USCIS. Checked on 21 October 2026.
• Handbook for Employers M-274, Section 1, USCIS. Checked on 21 October 2026.
• Handbook for Employers M-274, Section 2, USCIS. Checked on 21 October 2026.
• Remote Examination of Documents, USCIS. Checked on 21 October 2026.
• Form I-9 Acceptable Documents, USCIS. Checked on 21 October 2026.
• Preventing Discrimination, USCIS. Checked on 21 October 2026.
• About Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Certificate, IRS. Checked on 21 October 2026.
• Hiring employees, IRS. Checked on 21 October 2026.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Federal, state and local rules differ and change, so check what applies to your business before you rely on it.