New Hire Document Checklist: What to Collect and Validate

This article is provided for information only and is not legal advice. Regulatory references are accurate as of the publication date (29 September 2026). Check current rules with a qualified professional before applying them to an individual file.

A new hire document checklist lists the papers an employer must collect before or on the first day of work: proof of identity, proof of the right to work, tax and social security identifiers, bank details and any role-specific credentials. Collecting them is only half the job. Each document also has to be valid on the start date, readable, and consistent with the others in the file. This guide gives the checklist, the validation logic behind it, and the differences that matter in the UK, the US, France, Germany and Spain.

What should a new hire document checklist contain?

A complete new hire file has five blocks: identity, right to work, tax and social security identifiers, payment details, and role-specific proof (qualifications, licences, medical clearance). The blocks are the same everywhere; the document names and the legal deadlines are not. The table below is the version most HR teams can adapt.

Ask only for what the job and the law require. Under the UK GDPR data minimisation principle and its EU equivalent, an employer that photocopies every document "just in case" creates a data liability. Users on HR forums often ask whether a copy of the passport must be kept in the file. In most countries the answer is that you keep the evidence the law asks for (a dated copy of the right to work check, for example) and nothing more.

How do you validate documents rather than just collect them?

Validation means three checks run on every document: completeness, validity and cross-document consistency. Completeness asks whether every page and field is present. Validity asks whether dates, issuers and formats are acceptable on the day the person starts. Consistency asks whether the same name, date of birth, address and bank holder appear across the file.

Most onboarding delays come from the third check. A passport reads "Katarzyna Nowak-Smith", the bank account is held by "K. Smith", and the tax form uses a maiden name. None of these is necessarily a problem, but each one needs a human decision before the first payroll run, not after a failed bank transfer. A validation step compares fields and dates and flags the mismatches. It does not prove a document is genuine; it tells the HR officer where to look.

Our platform supports more than 3,200 document types and OCR extraction in 24 languages across 32 jurisdictions, so the same comparison logic works on a UK share code check, a French carte de séjour or a German Aufenthaltstitel. See how this works for HR teams on the human resources solution page.

United Kingdom: the right to work check comes first

UK employers must check a new hire's right to work before employment starts, and must keep a copy of the evidence; the Home Office can fine an employer for each illegal worker. The obligation comes from the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, and the government's right to work check guidance sets out three routes: a manual check of original documents, an online check using a share code, or a check through a certified identity service provider for British and Irish passport holders.

The share code is a 9-character code generated by the worker on GOV.UK. The employer enters it with the date of birth in the online checking service and sees the live Home Office record. British and Irish citizens cannot generate a share code, so their passports are checked manually or through an identity service provider. Beyond immigration, the HMRC guidance for new employees lists the starter information payroll needs: full name, date of birth, address, National Insurance number and a starter declaration if there is no P45.

United States: Form I-9 within three business days

A US employer must complete Form I-9 for every new hire, with Section 1 done by the employee no later than the first day of work and Section 2 by the employer within three business days of the start. The employee chooses either one List A document (identity and work authorisation together) or one List B document (identity) plus one List C document (work authorisation), as set out on the USCIS acceptable documents page.

Two rules trip up HR teams. First, the employer cannot tell the employee which documents to present; asking for a specific one can create discrimination exposure. Second, documents must appear genuine and relate to the person, and expiry dates on List A and List C permits must be diarised for reverification. Alongside the I-9, the employer collects the federal W-4 and any state withholding form. E-Verify is voluntary at federal level but some states require it, so check the state where the employee works.

France, Germany and Spain: declarations and identifiers

In continental Europe the checklist is driven by pre-hire declarations to social security bodies, which fix what must be in the file before day one.

• France. The employer files the DPAE (déclaration préalable à l'embauche) with the Urssaf, at the earliest within eight days before the planned start, as described on urssaf.fr. It needs the employee's civil status data and, if they have one, the numéro de sécurité sociale. For non-EU hires, article L8251-1 of the Code du travail bars employing a foreign worker without a valid work-authorising title.
• Germany. The employer registers the employee with social insurance and needs the social security number, tax ID (Steuer-ID) and health insurer details. Non-EU staff need a residence title that permits the job; the rules are in section 4a of the Aufenthaltsgesetz.
• Spain. The employer registers the worker with the Seguridad Social (alta) before work begins, which requires the DNI or NIE and the affiliation number, as explained on seg-social.es.

Portugal, Belgium and Canada follow the same logic with different filings (Dimona in Belgium, the SIN request in Canada). We publish country-specific versions for those markets.

Which mistakes cost HR teams the most time?

The most frequent onboarding delays are documents that expire soon after the start date, names that differ between documents, and forms collected in the wrong order. A short list of controls prevents most of them:

1. Record the expiry date of every permit and set a diary reminder at least 60 days ahead.
2. Compare the name on the ID with the contract, the bank account and the tax form before payroll is set up.
3. Run the legal check (right to work, I-9, DPAE) before the first day, not during it.
4. Store the evidence the law asks for, with the date and the name of the person who checked.
5. For regulated roles, check the licence with the issuing body and note the reference. Our guide on HR document verification, diplomas and the right to work goes deeper on credentials.

Agencies placing temporary staff face the same steps on a shorter clock; see the temp worker first assignment checklist for that variant. For the wider picture of industry-specific verification, the industry verification pillar guide maps the other file types.

What do HR teams ask most often about new hire paperwork?

The recurring questions are about what is mandatory, what can be refused, and what happens when a candidate cannot produce a document in time. Synthesising typical questions from HR and employment forums: can I start someone before their document arrives; must I keep a copy of the ID; what if the bank details differ from the name on the contract. The short answers are: not if the law requires the check before start; only where the law or a specific check requires it; and treat the mismatch as a query to resolve before payment.

A last point on process. A checklist in a PDF does not enforce order or dates. A digital file that validates each item on upload, flags expiry within the next 60 days and holds one reviewer's decision per line is easier to defend in an audit. Pricing for that step is on the pricing page, and how files are stored is described on the security page.

To run these checks on your own onboarding files, start from the CheckFile solution for HR teams, which compares fields, dates and registers across the documents in a new hire file.

Frequently Asked Questions

What documents do I need from a new employee?

At minimum: proof of identity, proof of the right to work, the tax and social security identifiers your country uses, and bank details for payroll. Add qualifications or licences only where the role requires them.

Can a new hire start before all documents are collected?

Not if the law requires a check before work begins, as with the UK right to work check or the French DPAE. For other items such as a bank account or a diploma, employers commonly set a short deadline, but this depends on the contract and local law.

How long should I keep new hire documents?

It depends on the country and the document. Keep only what the law or a specific check requires, and delete the rest. Under UK GDPR and the EU GDPR, retention must be justified and limited.

Does validating a document prove it is genuine?

No. Validation compares dates, formats and fields across documents and against reference data, and highlights inconsistencies for a person to review. It complements, and does not replace, the legally required check.

Is the checklist the same for remote or cross-border hires?

The blocks are the same, but the filings and permits are those of the country where the person works. A cross-border hire may need documents from two countries, so build the checklist by work location.