New Hire Forms Checklist: Required Documents & Onboarding Essentials for Employers

Manage new hire onboarding smoothly using this checklist of required federal, state, and internal employment documents. Meet compliance needs and simplify hiring by collecting tax forms, offer letters, benefits paperwork, and signed policy acknowledgments.

By Brad Nakase, Attorney

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Have a quick question? We answered nearly 2000 FAQs.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Checklist for new hire forms

3. State and federal forms

4. Standard initial hire documents

Introduction

You have a new employee! Cheers! On the other hand, filling out new hire forms can be very tedious compared to other events. This will definitely apply if you’re not certain about your first steps or if it’s unclear what the right process is for your first filling of papers.

You should find the information you need in this manual, regardless of whether you are starting to onboard and hire or just want a refresher. As a consequence, you can focus on onboarding the new employees straight away so they are prepared to start working right away.

Checklist for new hire forms

Standard new worker forms, which are unique to your business’s human resources activities, and state and federal forms, which are mandated by law, are the two main categories of new employee forms. These forms collectively comprise our checklist of new hire forms.

State and federal forms

At the beginning of the onboarding process, all U.S. firms are required to have their staff members fill out some new hire forms.

1. Form I-9

The identity and eligibility of a new hire to be employed in the US are confirmed using the Form I-9. It contains sections for employers and employees, and workers must finish theirs by their initial day of work.

Employers have three days from the employee’s start date to fill out the form and physically review every piece of identification the employee supplies.

Since there are some really severe fines for both inadvertent errors and deliberate disobedience, it is important to study the directions to make sure you remain compliant with this form, which is the largest one. A technical infraction, for instance, carries a minimum penalty of $234 per person.

Retention: You are required to maintain the Form I-9 in file for either three years following the date of recruitment or one year following the termination of employment.

2. W-4

The correct amount to deduct from a worker’s salary for federal income tax is determined by the W-4. This should be filled out by each employee upon hire, and should they ever choose to modify their withholding, they have to send a revised W-4.

Retention: Each employee’s Form W-4 must be retained in file for a minimum of four years following the day the employment tax is due or paid, whichever comes later.

3. Forms for state new hire taxes

State income tax withholding forms vary from state to state. To find out what forms your state requires, go to the revenue website for your state.

4. Reporting of new hires

To remain compliant with the PRWORA (Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act) of 1996, you need to inform/notify the state government that you have hired a new employee.

To make it easier for state departments to effectively administer child support, one of PRWORA’s main provisions mandates that specific new hiring information be provided. States differ in where and when to provide this information as well as any extra reporting requirements.

In any state where it employs people, an employer can disclose all of its new recruits through the Multistate Employer Registry.

Standard initial hire documents

The following new hire forms are crucial for effectively onboarding new hires into your organization, but they are not mandated by any regulatory agencies.

1. Offer Letter

Candidates should get an offer letter detailing the conditions of their new job. Typically, the offer letter contains:

The type of work (for instance, hourly/salaried or full-time/part-time)
Compensation
Benefits offered by the company
Start Date
Supplementary Materials (such as a commission plan or comprehensive benefits information)

Retention: Following termination, the offer letter must be retained on file for a minimum of 3 years.

2. Employment Agreement

Both you as well as the employee have rights and obligations that are outlined in an employment agreement. In addition to being more thorough than the offer letter, it will cover any particular duties specific to your recruiting scenario, like nondisclosure or non-compete agreements.

Although there are free templates available online, we advise speaking with an employment lawyer to draft an agreement that works for your company.

Retention: Following termination, the contract of employment must be retained in file for a minimum of three years.

3. Acknowledgment of the employee handbook

Human resources & legal information, corporate policies, rewards and bonuses, and other details essential to your personnel operations are usually included in an employee handbook.

Employees should be given this handbook right away, and they should sign an acknowledgment document confirming that they have read and accepted it.

Retention: Following termination, every policy acknowledgment must be retained on file for a minimum of three years.

4. Authorization of direct deposit

You must obtain the bank account details of the staff if you pay them by direct deposit, as the majority of businesses do, so you recognize where they’re getting their paychecks.

You might be given a standard form by your payroll provider, but if you are creating your own forms, it should at least contain:

Name of the Bank
Account Type (Savings or Checking)
Account number
Routing number
Name of employee
Signature
Date of signature

You may additionally utilize a form that specifies that a voided check must be on file for every account or that permits employees to divide their deposits among several accounts.

Records pertaining to direct deposits must be retained for a minimum of four years following termination.

5. Contact details for emergencies

All staff should have their emergency contact details on file. This is a straightforward form that includes the employee’s relationship, phone number, email address, and contact name.

6. Acknowledgments of policies

On the first day of work, ask new hires to examine and sign off on any additional policies that aren’t covered in your handbook. Include the newly hired worker’s documentation with any separate policies you may have, such as those pertaining to sales commissions or internet usage.

Retention: Following termination, every policy acknowledgment must be retained on file for a minimum of three years.

7. Details of the benefits

Enrolling new employees in your benefits package should be as simple as possible. Inform them right away about plan summaries, enrollment procedures, and who to contact (if not you) with any queries they may have about benefits.

The appropriate enrollment forms will be sent to you by your insurance company or benefits broker; many are currently utilizing online portals to save you time and effort dealing with large paper documents.

Retention: For three years following termination, health and benefit forms ought to be on file.

8. Questionnaire for new hires

Even though the forms you need for new hires are unexciting, the onboarding process should keep everyone excited. You may supply them with a questionnaire at the start of their training so they know more about the company.

Some sample questions are:

Tell me about yourself. In the style of an elevator pitch.
Which of our guiding principles most caught your attention? Why?
Which is your favorite book?
What do you have a strong interest in?
What type of outdoor activities do you like?
Which is your hometown’s most renowned food item?

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New Hire Forms Checklist: Required Documents & Onboarding Essentials for Employers

Introduction

Checklist for new hire forms

State and federal forms

Standard initial hire documents

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