# How HR and payroll teams request a W-9 from contractors

Source: https://dokutrak.com/requests/hr-payroll/w-9
Author: Arthur Teboul, DokuTrak
Published: 2026-10-26
Language: en-US

> Ask every independent contractor for a completed and signed Form W-9 before you make the first payment. It gives you their legal name, business name, tax classification and taxpayer identification number, which you need to file Form 1099-NEC by January 31. Ask for the current revision of the form, filled in by the contractor.

## Why HR and payroll teams need a W-9

Payroll or accounts payable uses the W-9 to set up the vendor, then to file the 1099-NEC with the IRS and send the contractor their copy. If the name and TIN do not match IRS records, you can receive a notice and may have to start backup withholding. Collecting the form before the first invoice is paid is much easier than chasing it in January.

## What exactly to ask for

The full Form W-9 from irs.gov, current revision, with the TIN in Part I and the signature and date in Part II. For a business, the name on line 1 is the name that goes with its EIN; for a sole proprietor, line 1 is the individual’s own name, with the business name on line 2.

## What to check when it arrives

- The name on line 1 and the TIN belong together: a person with their SSN, or an entity with its EIN.
- A federal tax classification box is checked, since corporations generally do not receive a 1099-NEC.
- The form is signed and dated, and it is the current revision from the IRS.

## Email to send your client

Subject: Form W-9 before your first payment

```text
Hi [Client name],

Welcome aboard, and thank you for working with us. Before we can pay your first invoice I need a completed Form W-9 for our records.

You can download the form from irs.gov. Please fill in your legal name, your business name if you have one, your tax classification and your taxpayer ID number, then sign and date it.

Could you send it back by [date]? If you are not sure which name or number to use, reply and I will walk you through it.

Thank you,
[Your name]
```

## Ask once. DokuTrak does the chasing.

- Your client uploads from one link, with no account and no password.
- Reminders go out on a schedule, by default 2, 5, 10 and 14 days after the request, until the file arrives.
- With AI review switched on in your workspace (it is off by default), each upload gets a first pass that flags a file that is not a W-9 or an unreadable or blurry scan. It says so when it is not sure.
- You accept every file or mark it for re-upload, and your client gets the note by email. The AI never accepts a file.

14-day free trial, no card. Add one only to keep going.